Line #11 YMMV/KingKongVsGodzilla


1	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Akira Ifukube's second score for the Godzilla franchise is easily one of his best. While the replacement music featured in the American version isn't really all that bad, it still doesn't come anywhere close to the level of goodness of Ifukube's score.
2	* BrokenBase: Oh so very much. There are those who enjoy the Japanese version while viewing the American version as a bastardization by cutting out the satirical elements and rearranging scenes around, while those who prefer the American version felt it had a much better pace because of the rearrangement of scenes and thought said satire bits in the Japanese version made the overall tone of the film disjointed.
3	** Considering the convoluted, sketchy way the film came into being, there are also hardcore Willis O'Brien fans who see the film entirely as a disappointing, missed opportunity.
4	** There's also a major dispute of the final victor of the climax [[spoiler:despite Toho confirming that King Kong is the victor]]. While the fans over time begrudgingly accepted that [[spoiler:King Kong]] won the fight, it's still a heated debate over the victor. Godzilla and Kong wouldn't actually officially tie with each other until ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' where [[spoiler:Godzilla]] takes the win in that film.
5	* ContinuityLockout: For some people, it may be their first movie without the knowledge of the first film of the franchise unless they saw ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters1956 Godzilla: King of the Monsters!]]'' while ignoring ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain''. In the Japanese version, all three movies are connected while the English language versions suffer horribly by ContinuitySnarl and {{Retool}}ing. The previous film explains why Godzilla was frozen for seven years.
6	* CrossesTheLineTwice: Sakurai giving cigarettes to a child.
7	* DeathOfTheAuthor: Despite Toho putting all ends of the dispute on who won the final battle, fans ''persistently'' insisted the movie presents it as a draw. This even includes Creator/AdamWingard, director of 2021's ''Film/GodzillaVsKong''. Never mind that Godzilla was a ''villain'', and having ''him'' win would've rubbed the Japanese audiences the wrong way (he still represented Japan's horrors of nuclear weapons 2 decades prior).
8	** Funnily enough, ''Toho'' is also responsible for this. As Godzilla became the company's star and beloved across the country, the verdict on the final battle also changed. Tomoyuki Tanaka, often regarded as Godzilla's [[MyRealDaddy most dedicated creator]] and chairman at Toho even stated in compendium books he considers it a draw.
9	* HilariousInHindsight:
10	** Creator/MieHama and Creator/AkikoWakabayashi would later co-star in ''[[Film/WhatsUpTigerLily What's Up, Tiger Lily?]]'' and ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice''.
11	** A false yet longstanding urban legend said that the Japanese version had Godzilla win and the American version had Kong win. The American-produced ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' did this on a meta level with its trailers; the American trailer focused on Kong landing blows on Godzilla, while the Japanese trailer focused on Godzilla landing blows on Kong. As for the film itself, [[spoiler: the opposite of the urban legend is now true -- Kong wins in the original Japanese film, and Godzilla wins in the American remake, although by the end, [[EnemyMine they both win the battle against Mechagodzilla which follows]].]]
12	* JustHereForGodzilla: A standout example featuring the TropeNamer, since there ''is'' a real story, a self-referential satire that parodies its own 'crossover versus' plot and the corporate greed behind it. But nobody comes to the movie or remembers it for that because this is the movie that features ''[[CoolVersusAwesome King Kong and Godzilla fighting]]''.
13	* MemeticMutation:
14	** King Kong as an alcoholic has been making rounds thanks to the scene after he defeats a giant octopus, to the point of joking that every incarnation of King Kong is apparently him having withdrawal symptoms.
15	** "With a larger brain, Kong is a thinking animal." (juxtaposed to the scene where Kong idiotically flips himself headfirst into a boulder)
16	** The scene of King Kong forcing an uprooted tree into Godzilla's mouth has been turned into a popular [[https://i.imgur.com/RpYTz.gif gif]] due to how ridiculous it looks.
17	*** "EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!"
18	*** Made all the better by ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' recreating this scene, albeit with Kong jamming his axe (made from a dorsal spine of one of Godzilla's species) into Godzilla's mouth instead of a tree like in the original.
19	** Many fans unaware of the upscaling of King Kong often joke about how a "monkey who climbed a building can beat a lizard as tall as a building".
20	** With the ''Film/{{Monsterverse}}'' rebooting this film as ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' in 2020, fans have joked that they want to see some of the sillier aspects such as the tree scene in HD special effects.
21	*** Also, quoting ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', "SAVE...MOTHRA!"
22	** [[https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/756069-godzilla This picture of an iguana and a small monkey,]] captioned "King Kong vs. Godzilla: Early Years".
23	* MisaimedFandom: Several fans wondered how "a giant 30 foot tall gorilla can beat a 50-metered radioactive dinosaur". The answer is that Toho was allowed to scale up King Kong, and give him [[ShockAndAwe electric powers]]. The ending is another story. Despite who the winner is, the fans in droves believe it to be a tie. Despite [[http://imgur.com/h57idBo Toho's official English brochure clearly stating this]].
24	* SignatureScene: Kong shoving a tree down Godzilla's throat, thanks to MemeticMutation.
25	* SpecialEffectsFailure:
26	** The Octopus is a divisive one. For the most part, the filmmakers used a real octopus and placed it in the center of a model setup, creating a surprisingly convincing scene, but the bluescreening of the humans interacting with it aren't as good.
27	** Several shots of King Kong's rampage in Tokyo with people in them have the people looking like blue ghosts.
28	** Kong's suit is probably one of the worst costumes Toho has ever done, even among the generally cheesy tone of the Showa Era, and is usually considered the ugliest Kong design by fans. However, [[NarmCharm some people find it charming]] ''[[SoBadItsGood because]]'' [[SoBadItsGood it's so bad]].
29	** Several wide shots use very stiff hand puppets for Godzilla and Kong as they grapple. Needless to say, this was one of the last times such effects would be used in the Showa era to depict the battles.
30	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: Was this to ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain''.
31	* ValuesDissonance: After arriving on Faro island, Sakurai gives cigarettes to all of the natives. Back in the 1960's, people had a few years before it was realised just how hazardous smoking was to a person's health. Sakurai even says, "It's okay. They're all smoking."
32	** The natives are obviously Japanese actors in blackface, a trope that would be considered highly racially offensive nowadays.
33	!!Tropes exclusive to the U.S. version:
34	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: This probably mixes a whole lot with nostalgia filter but while Ifukube's music is excellent as usual the American version seems to match the music better with action. There are moments in the Japanese version that are loud when quiet would be better and quiet when something more dynamic would be useful.
35	** The cue (possibly from a random Hans Salter western) that plays during the re-edited Burial Operation sequence is undeniably awesome and could easily accent the original theme if mixed in.
36	* {{Misblamed}}: For the longest time, it was stated by many that Godzilla won in the Japanese version while King Kong won in the U.S. version. While the U.S. version ''did'' make many changes, the winner wasn't one of them; King Kong won in both versions.

Context YMMV / KingKongVsGodzilla