Rebirth of Mothra (1996) 
Rebirth of Mothra II (1997) 
Rebirth of Mothra III (1998)
Three films in which a pair of fairy sisters, Moll and Lora, work to save humanity with the help of children and the goddess moth, Mothra, while their evil sister attempts to do the opposite using various huge monsters.
In Rebirth of Mothra, a middle-manager at a lumber company accidently releases Desghidorah (aka Death-Ghidorah), who will drain the world of energy if not stopped. The good fairies team up with the middle-manager’s wife and children, and of course, Mothra, to stop the monster, while the evil fairy coaches it.
In Rebirth of Mothra II, a pollution monster has returned to destroy the world and is countered by Mothra. The winner of the battle between the giants will be determined by who finds a treasure hidden in a pyramid in the middle of the ocean: the evil fairy and her two thieves or the good fairies, three children, and a furby with healing urine. Yes, that last bit isn’t a typo. A Furbee with healing urine.
In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidora returns to Earth, with very different powers than he had in the Godzilla films. Now he captures children with a form of teleportation, storing them in a dome. Mothra travels back in time to the age of dinosaurs to fight him when he was weaker. In the present, a troubled youth attempts to save Lora, who’s been captured along with the children.
Mothra was the second most popular “monster” in Toho’s stable, and with the Godzilla films going on hiatus, they decided to spin off a trilogy of kids films. With the exception of the original Gojira, the Godzilla films had always had a juvenile quality, but the best were family films that everyone could enjoy. Mothra vs Godzilla is a family film, and a lot of fun. Son of Godzilla is a kid’s film, and is trash. The Rebirth of Mothra Trilogy is strictly for children. There’s nothing here for anyone older than 10. However, for Daikaiju kids films, they are better than average, and a step above the equivalent Godzilla films (i.e. the ‘70s juveniles), and leaps and bounds better than the early Gamera movies. The second falls down, but the first and third are surprisingly moving and should give the kids an enjoyable Saturday afternoon.
The first has a whacky segment early on, and the third spends a too much time dwelling on how hard it is to be a kid, but both play out primarily as earnest daikaiju films. The monstrous threat is very real, as are the emotions. The fights are surprisingly savage, a great deal more intense than in a majority of daikaiju films, and far more than in any of the others pitched at kids. I suspect you might have your own young children hiding behind pillows and getting teary-eyed now and again. By ‘90s daikaiju standards, the puppetry and special effects are pretty good, and by kids flick standards, they’re great.
The second is more of a fluffy children’s adventure tale. Nothing really matters and the kids just run around a maze-like temple for an hour. It might work for young children—I’d put the cut off around kindergarten—but better just to skip it.
That second runs into another problem: the children in the trilogy are annoying and the child actors are underwhelming. But in I and III, the children do very little, and are just around the action to be frightened and put in danger. In II, they are the protagonists, getting lots of screen time and lots of terrible dialog. They are worse than the urinating furby.
The fairies, on the other hand, are cute, with the good ones being played by teenage pop stars, which worked out well since they have multiple songs, all of which are pleasant (Lora was recast for the third when the actress’s career took off). The evil one overacts, but that’s pretty normal for the villainess in a kids movie.
All three movies have strong environmental messages, hammering their points over and over again, with characters repeatedly stating “pollution is bad and we must save nature.” Well, for a small child, perhaps that’s the way your message needs to be delivered. Still, it is another way the films are annoying for adults.
There’s a final problem. The dubbing is terrible. The emotions (or lack of them) do not match what should be coming from the character’s mouths. It kills the drama and the humor, and I take a Reel off of each when dubbed. The Japanese originals are the only way to watch these. Well, that will work if your kids happen to be speak Japanese. Otherwise, I’d be surprised if many seven-year-olds will want to read subtitles. I suppose you could use these as a reading lesson.
if you are a fan of Ms. Beckinsale’s seductive charms.
