NAME:
Titanosaurus (Chitanozaurusu チタノザウルス)

APPEARS IN:
The Terror of Mechagodzilla

DESIGN FEATURES:
– an awesome orange mohawk
– a nearly permanently agape mouth
– a neck that flops around like a dislocated shoulder

SKILLS:
– a gentle nature when not being controlled by aliens
– destroying submarines
– creating cyclones with tail-fin
– killing children

MONSTER SOUNDS:

I’ve said it before on Mondo Exploito – and I’m sure I’ll say it many more times to come – Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) is my favourite Godzilla flick. And one of the main reasons I love it so much is the appearance of Titanosaurus. Despite Mechagodzilla’s name appearing in the title (and despite his awesome presence), Titanosaurus is the true star of Terror of Mechagodzilla. Titanosaurus is not a name as recognisable as Mothra or King Ghidorah. Hell, he’s not even close to the fame of lower ranked kaijū like Gigan and Hedorah. And he only appears in this film (and apparently a video game, bizarrely enough). But, while there may be less figurines of him lurking about on the shelves of kaijū fanboys, Titanosaurus is a memorable monster, and one with a surprisingly tragic back-story. Not to be confused with the genuine dinosaur of the same name, Toho’s Titanosaurus is an enormous amphibious dinosaur that we first see destroying a submarine in the Pacific Ocean. However, he is not responsible for his destruction. His mind is taken over by the aliens that control Mechagodzilla and he is forced to bring his carnage to Japan by smashing up buildings, stomping on children, and, of course, battling Godzilla. It is pointed out a few times that Titanosaurus is “gentle by nature”.

Titanosaurus attacks Japan at dusk

While his story is simple, there is something very sad about Titanosaurus. Once his supposed gentle nature is revealed, his hostility takes on a new meaning. His furious screams become screams of pain. And you can see the alien hands forcing his actions appear. Yes, I’m probably looking into it too much, but damn it, dear old Titanosaurus’s plight tugged on my tiny heartstrings… a little. Really though, the tragedy of Titanosaurus only works in the context of the dark atmosphere of Terror of Mechagodzilla. While Terror of Mechagodzilla still contains much of the monster-posing of previous 60s and 70s entries, original Godzilla director Ishirō Honda adds an impressive layer of stylistic dread to the proceedings. Just take Godzilla’s much delayed (he doesn’t appear until after the halfway mark!) entrance for example:




As you can see, Titanosaurus is a little goofy looking. His elongated neck flops around unnaturally, and his gigantic size makes his movements awkward. But that’s okay. He retains the charm of the Godzilla monsters of the 70s, but also manages to be a little bit scary thanks to the gloomy cinematography and nicely paced editing. Even though he looks like a bathtub toy in some shots, his underwater attacks are impressively brutal. And just look what he does to these two kids (I’m not sure if the kids actually get crushed or if they’re rescued by Godzilla – it’s hard to tell):



In some ways, I’m glad Titanosaurus only made one lone appearance in the Godzilla franchise. While I would’ve loved to have seen him in action again, his minimal screen time gives him an aura of mystery and makes him that little bit more exciting. Fighting for screen time with a heavyweight like Mechagodzilla is no small task, but Titanosaurus manages to be just as entertaining as his more famous kaijū colleague. Titanosaurus is certainly a monster that breaks the Toho mold.

Godzilla tangos with Titanosaurus