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Godzilla (or Gojira, ゴジラ) is a kaiju (strange beast or monster), or more specifically daikaiju (giant monster), in a series of films made in Japan. Godzilla is believed to have originally been intended by Toho to represent the United States of America (being superior in its destructive capability) and took the form of a radioactive prehistoric reptile. Given that his origin (in the 1954 film) was the ocean, Godzilla can be considered not just a monster, but a sea monster. The name "Gojira" is a combination of "gorilla" and kujira, which means "whale" in Japanese.
Godzilla died at the end of the original 1954 film. Subsequent films in the series retconned the first movie by assuming that Godzilla wasn't killed, and that the body of the monster was never found.
The character of Godzilla was greatly inspired by the commercial success in Japan of King Kong, and the 1953 success of Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Much of the plot of Godzilla is inspired by Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Godzilla would go on to inspire Gorgo, Gamera, and many others.
The Godzilla timeline is generally broken into three parts. The series are the Showa series, the Heisei series, and the Mireniamu or Millennium series.
This Showa timeline spanned from 1954, with Godzilla (1954) to 1975 with Terror of Mechagodzilla. With the exception of the serious Godzilla (1954) and the semi-serious sequel Godzilla Raids Again, this period featured the semi-comic 'hero' Godzilla. This phase started with the comic King Kong vs Godzilla, which had the highest ticket sales of any Godzilla movie. The Showa period saw the addition of many monsters into the Godzilla continuity, three of which (Mothra, Rodan and Varan) had their own solo movies, as well as a movie for the Toho-ized King Kong. This period featured a rough continuity, although the chronology is confused as many of the movies were set in an arbitrary future time, often 1999.
The timeline was revamped in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla; this movie was created as a direct sequel to the 1954 film, and ignores the continuity of the Showa series. Known as the Heisei series (for the ruling emperor of the time), the continuity ended in 1995's Godzilla vs. Destoroyah after a run of seven films. The reason for the continuity shift was based on a realization that the marketing of the movies had removed the reason it was so loved. When it was discovered that Godzilla was popular with children, sequels were toned down in obvious screen violence, and Godzilla was made out to be a good guy instead of an indestructible abomination of the mistakes of Man. Characters such as Minilla, the "son of Godzilla" (a dimunitive chubby replica who blew smoke rings) were introduced. However, the further Godzilla was taken away from his roots, the less popular he became. Hence, The Return of Godzilla brought the series back to form.
The Mireniamu series is the informal term for the Godzilla movies made after the Heisei series ended with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Unlike the previous two series, this era does not feature a continuous timeline. Only two of the films in this era, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla (1954) as the jumping-off point.
The 1998 film Godzilla (1998), set in New York City and produced by Columbia Pictures, is not considered to be a part of any of the above three series. UPDATE: The events in this movie are referenced in the movie Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. There, it's revealed that the monster that appeared in New York was not, in fact, Godzilla, but an entirely different monster.
Godzilla was originally an allegory for the effects of the hydrogen bomb, and the unintended consequences that such weapons might have on our world. The Heisei and Mireniamu series have largely continued this concept.
Films have been made over the last 5 decades, each reflecting the social and political climate in Japan. All but 1 of the 29 films were produced by Toho; a version was made in 1998 by Columbia Pictures and set in the United States by the directors of Independence Day (ID4) and is somewhat despised by Godzilla fans, many of whom refer to it as GINO (Godzilla In Name Only). Toho immediately followed it with Mireniamu or Millennium series.
Much of Godzilla's popularity in the United States can be credited with TV broadcasts of the Toho Studios monster movies during the 1960s and 1970s. The American company UPA contracted with Toho to distribute its monster movies of the time, and UPA continues to hold the license today for the Godzilla films of the 1960s and 1970s. Sony currently holds many of the rights to the movies of the 1980s and 1990s. The Blue Öyster Cult song, Godzilla, also contributed to the popularity of the movies.
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