Rebirth of Mothra III

Rebirth of Mothra III
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji	モスラ 3 キングギドラ来襲
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Mosura Surī Kingu Gidora Raishū
Directed by	Okihiro Yoneda
Written by	Masumi Suetani
Produced by	Shōgo Tomiyama
Starring	Megumi Kobayashi Misato Tate Aki Hano Koichi Ueda Atsushi Onita
Cinematography	Yoshinori Sekiguchi
Edited by	Nobuo Ogawa
Music by	Toshiyuki Watanabe
Production company	Toho
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	December 12, 1998 (1998-12-12)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥850 million (USD$$6,493,258)

Rebirth of Mothra 3 (モスラ 3 キングギドラ来襲, Mosura Surī Kingu Gidora Raishū, released in Japan as Mothra 3: Invasion of King Ghidorah) is a 1998 Japanese kaiju film directed by Okihiro Yoneda, written by Masumi Suetani, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the final film in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, following the previous year's Rebirth of Mothra II.

Rebirth of Mothra III stars Megumi Kobayashi, Misato Tate, Aki Hano, Atsushi Ohnita, and Miyuki Matsuda, and features the fictional giant monster characters Mothra and King Ghidorah. The film was released theatrically in Japan on December 12, 1998, and was released in the United States as a Sci-Fi Channel TV premiere on May 31, 2003. However, despite its predecessors being released on DVD in 2000, the film did not receive a North American home media release until 2014 when all three films were released on a Blu-ray bundle by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Plot

The Elias sisters, Moll and Lora, attempt to stop their vengeful sister, Belvera, from stealing the Elias triangle, three power units that can transform the sisters' daggers into powerful swords. Belvera succeeds, but is thwarted by her sisters' pet, Fairy Mothra, and fails to retrieve the proper unit for her dagger while Moll and Lora end up with one for the former.

The next day, preteen Shota ditches school to investigate a meteor that recently landed while children from across the city mysteriously vanish. Upon examining the meteor's remains, the Elias deduce that King Ghidorah, a three-headed space dragon who previously visited Earth and killed the dinosaurs, has returned to capture the children and placed them in an organic dome. The pair summon their ally, Mothra Leo, to fight Ghidorah, but the dragon overpowers him and hypnotizes Lora, forcing her to attack Moll before attempting to drag them both into the dome until the Elias' pet, Fairy Mothra, rescues Moll. Intrigued by Ghidorah's arrival, Belvera investigates, but gets dragged into the dome.

While regrouping with Leo, Moll encounters Shota, who learned his siblings Shuehei and Tamako were captured as well, and tells him about Ghidorah's plan to feed on the children's life force. Using all of her power, Moll helps Leo transform into Light Speed Mothra and travel back in time to confront a younger Ghidorah. Following this, Moll gives Shota her sword and asks him to enter the dome to find Lora and convince her to help Leo. After he reluctantly agrees, a powerless Moll falls into a state of suspended animation. Meanwhile, Belvera encounters Lora and tells her that Ghidorah plans to destroy Earth. Still under Ghidorah's spell, Lora takes Belvera's unit, transforms her dagger, and engages her sister in combat. Belvera begs Lora to see reason and work with her, but to no avail. Shota soon finds them and helps free Lora of Ghidorah's brainwashing. As she collapses, her sword combines with Moll's. Realizing that the Elias triangle represents her and her sisters, Belvera uses the last unit to transform her dagger and combine her sword with Moll and Lora's in an attempt to break the dome. As it shakes violently, Shota realizes Leo is losing and asks Lora to help him. Lora sends her powers to Leo, allowing him to immobilize Ghidorah and drop it in a volcano, unaware that a severed piece of the dragon's tail burrows underground. Grievously injured during the fight, Leo crashes to the ground. However, three Mothra larvae of an ancient species appear and encase Leo in a silk cocoon, allowing him to rest and recover from his injuries.

In the present, Ghidorah and the dome disappear, freeing the captives. Shota reunites with his siblings and join Belvera and Lora as they stand vigil over Moll. Suddenly, a new Ghidorah, having regenerated from the severed tail, emerges and recaptures the children. Belvera and Lora join forces to fight Ghidorah until Leo emerges from his cocoon as Armor Mothra. Using his new powers, he disintegrates Ghidorah before telling the Elias to channel their powers through their sword to revive Moll. Sure enough, the pair succeed, though Belvera leaves shortly after. As the children are released once more and reunite with their parents, Shota's family watch as the Elias, Fairy, and Leo, now Eternal Mothra, fly off into the sunset.

Cast

• Megumi Kobayashi as Moll
• Misato Tate as Lora
• Aki Hano as Belvera
• Atsushi Ohnita as Father
• Miyuki Matsuda as Mother
• Kôichi Ueda as Kôchô

Release

Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray by Sony, as part of the Toho Godzilla Collection, with all 3 Rebirth of Mothra films in September 2014.

External links

• Rebirth of Mothra III at IMDb
• "モスラ3 キングギドラ来襲 (Mosura Surī Kingugidorah Raishū)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-19.