‘Godzilla Chomp’: New Series Shows Off Rare Items From Toho’s Archives
First known as a writer of the comic series Godzilla: Legends and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Chris Mowry is now living his dream job as creative manager of Toho International. And in a new doc series, Godzilla CHOMP, that premiered today, he and his dog Peanut play host in Toho’s Los Angeles headquarters, giving fans a virtual tour of the office and a look at some of the rare and highly sought-after Goji items held in its archives.
In episode one, “Hello, Toho!,” Mowry explains that the early years of Godzilla’s licensing produced some unique oddities. One prime example: a bendable Godzilla toy made by manufacturer GLJ in 1978. The semi-posable mini-monster isn’t exactly the spit and image of Godzilla, but Mowry’s had his copy since childhood, so naturally, he brought it along with him when he put down roots in Toho’s L.A. office.
Another fun one: Mattel’s Shogun Warrior Godzilla, complete with a pop-out tongue and flying fist.
Mowry teases that future episodes will showcase some even scarcer Godzilla items. In the meantime, he revealed to Dread Central what a couple of those rarities will be.
One vintage poster, he says, is a true anomaly—one of very few in existence that’s been preserved in its original condition.
“There’s a Destroy All Monsters poster down there,” Mowry told us following Toho’s licensing summit last week. “Old one-sheets were folded numerous times and mailed out, but this one was only flopped over and tucked away, so the colors just jump out at you.”
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And whatever you think of director Roland Emmerich’s “Zilla,” its official pinball machine—of which only a little over 500 were made—has some charms of its own.
“We also have an old Sega pinball machine from the 1998 movie that was never turned on,” Mowry says. “But we turned it on and surprisingly, it worked. It didn’t blow up or anything.”
Watch episode one of Godzilla CHOMP here:
New episodes of Godzilla CHOMP will air on Toho’s official North American YouTube channel.
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