It’s difficult not to make comparisons between Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Godzilla Minus One, as the two films are similar and different in many ways, but one thing both directors can agree on is that they were inspired by cats.
Indeed, the cats of Adam Wingard and Takashi Yamazaki have a lot to do with the massive monster franchises. In fact, some scenes in the movies were largely inspired by the movements and mannerisms of their beloved pets.
Adam Wingard’s Cat Inspired The Epic Colosseum Scene In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
During a presentation for the press at IMAX headquarters, director Adam Wingard explained via GameSpot how his cat became his muse in helming Godzilla movies.
“With Godzilla himself in this movie, it’s funny, like, one of my biggest influences is my cat Mischief. She was, on Godzilla vs Kong, a lot of the mannerisms of Godzilla.”
The filmmaker did not feel too weird about it after discovering that Japanese director Takashi Yamazaki also borrows inspiration from his cats. Somehow this proves that great minds think alike.
“A couple weeks ago, I had a great conversation with Yamazaki who did Godzilla Minus One. And I was thrilled to find out that he too finds a lot of his influences from his cat as well. So I don’t know what it is about Godzilla. But somehow, in the creator’s mind, at least the current ones, we’re taking a lot of inspiration from our cats.”
Wingard surprisingly admitted that there’s a particular scene in the upcoming movie where he patterned the monster’s locomotion after the image of his pet snuggled cozily on its crib.
“There’s literally a shot in the film where Godzilla is curled up in the Roman Colosseum, and this picture here is the juxtaposition of, it was inspired by my cat and her cat nest. With Godzilla, you’re always trying to find ways to juxtapose him in familiar iconic locations.”
This iconic scene where Godzilla was lazily burrowed among the ruins of the Colosseum was straight up a picture of Wingard’s cat napping peacefully.
Takashi Yamazaki’s Love For Cats Influenced Godzilla’s Feline Behavior
On the other hand, recent Oscar winner Takashi Yamazaki told TheWrap that Godzilla’s feline characteristics were influenced by his own cats.
“Right before we went into production, (my wife and I) actually got a couple of cats. And I love my cats so much, so perhaps there was a subconscious tendency for me to sign off on (visual effects) shots that looked like them or just looked more cat-like.”
For a gigantic beast that has an innate desire for destruction, there is so much striking contrast when compared to cats. Still, many of the little creature’s behavior and mannerisms were successfully incorporated into the movie.
Wingard and Yamazaki give credit to their cherished pets for lending them ideas of how Godzilla should project with cat-like tendencies.
After the box-office and Oscar success of Godzilla Minus One, the upcoming Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will hit theaters this March 29, 2024.
