Godzilla: The Series--Monster Wars

If Godzilla looks a bit funny here, it's because the artwork for this 1998 animated television series was based on the contemporaneous Roland Emmerich big-budget fiasco Godzilla and not the beloved man-in-a-dinosaur-suit from the classic Japanese Toho film series launched in the '50s. The good news is that these episodes are somewhat better than the horrible film that inspired them. Here, the Big G is teamed with a bunch of do-gooders from HEAT (Humanitarian Ecological Analysis Team) to save the world from a giant African bat and an aquatic dinosaur called Cryptocledius--creatures that are being controlled by devious brain wave technology from an alien spaceship operating on the bottom of the ocean (the extraterrestrials also have a Cyber-Godzilla, which is basically a metallic replica of the real deal). Still, these cartoons--clearly aimed at young kids unfamiliar with the original Godzilla films--are almost too serious for their own good, lacking the cheapo charm that made the Toho films so much fun. Optional. Aud: P. (P. Hall)