Introduced in Son of Godzilla, Minilla was born on Sollgel Island, when its egg was prematurely cracked open by a group of mutant giant mantises called Kamacuras. Godzilla soon arrived, killed two of the Kamacuras, and rescued Minilla. Godzilla proceeded to train Minilla and defended it against further attacks from the final Kamacuras and the giant spiderKumonga. Godzilla and Minilla were placed in hibernation when a group of scientists completed a weather experiment, resulting in the freezing of their island. The monsters were revived when the snow melted, and eventually relocated to Monster Island, as seen via stock footage in Godzilla vs. Gigan. In Destroy All Monsters, Minilla, Godzilla and many other Earth monsters live on a new island called Monsterland. Together they battle the three-headed space dragon King Ghidorah at Mt. Fuji. They kill Ghidorah and save planet Earth. After, Minilla and the other monsters return to Monsterland.
Development
According to director Jun Fukuda, Minilla's creation was not an attempt at appealing to child audiences, but was merely a new approach for the series. After filming Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Godzilla creatorTomoyuki Tanaka reportedly approached screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa and suggested the idea of giving Godzilla a son to commemorate the New Year. According to Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle, the character's creation was likely a response to the contemporary light-hearted Gamera films.
Godzilla / Godzilla-Kun: Kaijuu Daikessen – In the game, Minilla is trapped in a large maze. It awaits rescue by Godzilla, the player's character. The only point in which Minilla appears is during the ending sequence.
Godzilla Trading Battle
Godzilla Generations – A secret character that is unlocked after completing the game with Godzilla-USA, Minilla is the shortest of the playable characters and also the weakest in terms of defense. Its speed is average, and its breath weapon, atomic smoke rings, is not very powerful, as several uses are required to defeat even the Super X.
Cultural references
In the M*A*S*H* episode "Springtime", Radar O'Reilly asks a nurse played by Mary Kay Place if she would like to accompany him to a screening of "Firstborn of Godzilla" and remarks, "I saw the original—before Godzilla got married".
Doom metal band Goblin Cock have a song on their debut album titled "Ichiro's Dilemma" which summarizes the plot of the film All Monsters Attack and mentions Minya.
