SDCC 2013: Godzilla Encounter

Wonder what’s in here?

Let’s go find out…

Ushered inside, we enter a devastated section of Tokyo.

This devastated Tokyo is littered with props, including the man-suit from Godzilla 2000, which is smaller than you might expect.

“News footage” on TV is culled from familiar sources.

And there’s an actual sushi bar. Wait till you get a load of their (sadly fake) menu (in reality, just dragon rolls and ramen)…

Whether any of those other kaiju show up in the movie or not, there’s a clear attempt here to show respect for and knowledge of the history of the character, including an interactive timeline that not only pointed out how the first movie was a reaction to Hiroshima, but that King Kong vs. Godzilla was a reaction to the Cold War, and Ghidorah a reaction to China going nuclear. Are they showing us this pattern to establish something similar? A North Korean reference, maybe – think Pulgasari will show up?

Anyway, before we could linger too long, sirens started flashing, and we were ordered to put away our cameras and move. This is where things get interesting. Ushered into a bunker, we got checked for radiation by hazmat crews and ushered into a control room, where actors playing scientists urged us to push every button. Warning signs on a global map indicate something bad is approaching California, and it’s getting closer, so they usher us into an elevator to the roof.

Well, the elevator shakes and doesn’t get very far, so we disembark on a higher floor that looks like an office building, with giant video screens behind the Venetian blinds. The ground shakes again, and then we see the big guy himself walk past. There’s a flash of light, and he roars and looks right at us.

Now, I’d love to tell you this was the movie Godzilla and he looks amazing, but he isn’t – despite a few sites jumping the gun and assuming it was, they’re saving the real reveal for the panel Saturday. This was a big guy created just for the attraction, and for what it’s worth he looked like a modern Godzilla ought to – like the old one with a slightly squarer lower jaw and more prominent teeth. This was no Universal King Kong ride, but for the equivalent of a haunted house attraction, it was reasonably fun.

Next time I’ll have one of these handy: