Ep. 26 - Godzilla (1954)
Few movies have been as shaped by their pop culture legacy as Godzilla (1954), and hey, that’s the premise of this podcast! Adam and Nate watch this influential monster movie for the first time on its 70th anniversary alongside “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo” (S10E23), the Simpson family’s controversial vacation to Japan.
Also in this episode:
Godzilla vs. Kong (or is it Godzilla x Kong?): We compare the rampages of these two iconic movie monsters
How the American adaptation, Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), influenced how the world understood the original for 50 years
What movie has the most Simpsons actors besides The Simpsons Movie?
Something called an “oxygen destroyer”
After a short break, we’ll be back in June with Batman: The Movie (1966)—the Adam West one—and the Simpsons send-up of superhero movies, “Radioactive Man” (S7E2).
Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network. Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Letterboxd.
Every Simpsons Reference to Godzilla
By our count, Godzilla has been directly referenced 15 times in the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons. The first reference appears in “Bart Gets an ‘F’” (S2E1) from 1990, 36 years after the release of the original movie.
Scene & Character References
Marge Gets a Job (S4E7): When Lisa tells the family that the Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium and died of radiation poisoning, Bart has a fantasy of giant radioactive Curies attacking Tokyo, as the residents run in fear.
Notably, the lip sync of the people in the fantasy is a little off, like a dubbed translation. This is probably a reference to later imported monster movies, since the Americanized release of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), included spoken Japanese alongside a character who could translate into English.
Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo (S10E23): When the Simpson family finally escapes Japan, their flight is interrupted by “some moderate Godzilla-related turbulence.” In the original film, Godzilla attacks a few different types of transportation, including a train and fighter jets.
Small References
Bart Gets an ‘F’ (S2E1): One of the toys in Bart’s room is a figurine of Godzilla. This is the first episode where it appears.
Brother from the Same Planet (S4E14): Kent Brockman says, “Early reports indicate, and these are very preliminary, that one of the fighters is a giant lizard." Coincidentally, in Godzilla (1998), Harry Shearer would go on to play a news anchor that sounds almost identical to Brockman.
Marge in Chains (S4E21): When reporting on the Osaka Flu, Kent Brockman’s news segment features Godzilla with a hot water bottle and thermometer.
Bart’s Comet (S6E14): Bart dubs his prank weather balloon, which looks like Principal Skinner with a big floating rump, “Buttzilla.”
Treehouse of Horror VI (S7E6): In the segment, “Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores,” Lard Lad’s roar sounds like Godzilla.
Homer’s Phobia (S8E15): A Godzilla figurine can be seen on a shelf in Cockamamie's collectible shop.
The Canine Mutiny (S8E20): With his mail order credit card, Santos L. Halper (Bart) tries to buy a comic book called “Zoidzilla.”
Mayored to the Mob (S10E9): At Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con, Godzilla can be seen signing autographs alongside the latest Doctor Who and a less popular Neil Armstrong.
Faith Off (S11E11): When Lisa challenges Homer to come up with an idea for a float that has something to do with college, he draws a picture of Superman attacking Godzilla with a knife. After seeing the drawing, Lisa says, “I think Godzilla’s bigger than Superman.” Homer responds, “Pfft… it’s not to scale.”
Worst Episode Ever (S12E11): When Bart and Milhouse take over The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop from Comic Book Guy, one of the kids in the shop is reading A comic called “Bloodzilla: Vampire Dinosaur.”
New Kids on the Blecch (S12E14): Lance Bass of ‘N Sync says that the U.S. Navy is "out there every day, protecting us from Godzilla."
Hungry, Hungry Homer (S12E15): When Homer tries to convince Kirk Van Houten that the Springfield Isotopes are moving to Albuquerque, Kirk doubtfully responds, “It would have been on a talk radio show like Sports Chat or Sportszilla and the Jabber Jocks.”
Simpsons Tall Tales (S12E21): In one of the tales the hobo spins to the Simpson family on the train, Bull Bunyan (Homer) fights Rodan, but Rodan’s cry sounds like Godzilla.
Bonus: Other References to the Godzilla Franchise on The Simpsons
Rodan (1956), Mothra (1961) & Son of Godzilla (1967)
Lisa on Ice (S6E8): In Lisa’s fantasy, she is banished to Monster Island, which first appears in Son of Godzilla (1967). On the island, we see what might be parodies of Mothra (1961) and Rodan (1956). In the foreground, however, is Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965)—a knockoff of Godzilla that’s not part of the Toho universe.
30 Minutes Over Tokyo (S10E23): After the Simpson family’s plane is attacked by Godzilla, we see the monster, alongside the Monster Island crew from Lisa on Ice (S6E8)—Mothra, Rodan, and Gamera.
Children of a Lesser Clod (S12E20): In the chalkboard gag for this episode, which aired on Mother’s Day in 2001, Bart writes, “Today is not Mothra’s day.”
Extra Credit
Looking for more like this or an interesting double feature? Here are our recommendations.
From Nate: Godzilla Minus One (2023)—watch it before the original!—and Akira (1988)
From Adam: Godzilla (2014), Jurassic Park (1992), and Pacific Rim (2013)
