Bandai: Little Godzilla Figure 1994 Review

#3 on my top 10 countdown of 2011 is Bandai's Little Godzilla Figure.

Bandai: Little Godzilla Figure.

Little Godzilla is the son of Godzilla in the Heisei (90's) era. He was born as Baby Godzilla in a research center in Kyoto, but settled in Birth Island with his father. There, he grew up into this version: Little Godzilla. Unlike his father, Little Godzilla is in fact friendly and adjusted himself to researchers that settled on Birth Island. This little guy received some mixed opinions about his overall look amongst Godzilla fans. Some fans don't like him because Little Godzilla looks a little more cartoony or childish compared with his younger self Baby Godzilla (from "Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II") and older self Godzilla Jr (from Godzilla vs Destoroyah). Please refer to this timeline for further explanation:

Photo courtesy of: http://www.freewebs.com/tohoisland3/babygodzilla.htm and wikizilla

That's a good point because how could a hatch ling that looked more like a actual dinosaur grow into something that slightly resemble Barney the purple dinosaur then turn into Godzilla Jr? Little Godzilla's look does lack in continuity. However, I personally don't mind the change at all because I aesthetically prefer Little Godzilla than Minya any day. Minya does have more battle experience, but there's something about the way he looks that doesn't seem right. Let me show you the comparison:

Photo courtesy of: http://godzilla.wikia.com

Little Godzilla does look more like Heisei's Godzilla than Minya's comparison with Showa's Godzilla. Like seriously.....how can people pick on Little Godzilla for being too cute or annoying, while Minya sneaks under the radar! Sorry for my little outburst....anyway on to the review.

The Monster:  Little Godzilla stands about 98 feet and weighs 8,800 tons. Little Godzilla has the ability to belch/blow radioactive bubbles from his mouth, but he has never used his powers against an opponent.

The Figure:  Bandai overall captured the features that made Little Godzilla great. The detail in Little Godzilla's face and body proportions are pretty accurate. The design is a little hard to explain, but the bottom line is: he looks cute! However, there are some mistakes in the production of this figure. I think this toy is supposed to have some sort of "closed mouth" concept like Godzilla '91, but the green spacing between the top and lower jaw looks a little awkward like his mouth is filled with slime or something. Designing an open mouth for this toy probably would've been better. Another problem is the shade of green is too light; a darker green color (maybe hunter green) would be more accurate. Finally, the fingers and toes has no highlights to match the teeth and fins. I also wish his elbows were bent, instead of having the arms straight.

Articulation:  The bad news is: the legs barely move, but the arms can rotate up and down.

Size Comparison:  Unfortunately, Little Godzilla is not in scale with Godzilla '92. Godzilla '92 was reused to make Godzilla '94 but with a different color, so this comparison with the original would have the same results. In the movie, Little Godzilla is about a little taller than Godzilla's waistline, but the toy is around 3/4 of Godzilla's size. However, if Godzilla stood around the same height as Kiryu, the scale would be a little more accurate.

Final Thoughts:  Little Godzilla reached #3 because I always had a soft spot for this guy and this toy really did capture some of the appeal that I've liked for so long. So far, Bandai has not reissued this figure with vast improvements. I'm also curious if there are some vinyl kits from Kaiyodo or somewhere else that has a better design. If you think this guy and the toy is cute, go ahead and buy him!