# Godzilla's size? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291 "2005-11-29T23:15:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/1 "2005-11-29T23:15:10Z")
Is it ever stated exactly how big Godzilla is supposed to be, in terms of height and length? Was he/it the biggest movie monster ever portrayed when he debuted in 1954? I know he was a lot bigger than King Kong, but I’m not sure how much bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/2 "2005-11-29T23:25:32Z")
According to the lyrics of the 1970s animated series, he was “30 stories high.” If a story is ten feet (and, is a story ten feet?) that would make him 300 feet tall. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/3 "2005-11-29T23:30:05Z")
I’m kind of thinking he’s a size 1200 (loose fit jeans, of course). ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/4 "2005-11-30T01:40:48Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > …(and, is a story ten feet?) … Actually, a story can be anywhere from ten seconds to ten minutes. Just depends on who is telling it. Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/5 "2005-11-30T01:56:49Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > I know he was a lot bigger than King Kong, but I’m not sure how much bigger. In [King Kong Vs. Godzilla](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056142) they were approximately the same size. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/6 "2005-11-30T02:00:14Z")
I go with “damn big.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/7 "2005-11-30T02:02:32Z")
His size increased and changed over the years. Keep in mind he started only the size of King Kong and I believe has maxed out at nearly 300’. Somebody on Wiki loves Godzilla: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla) ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/8 "2005-11-30T02:09:28Z")
Oooh, oooh! I got this!! In Godzilla 1954, there was a mistranslation where Raymond Burr’s character said G was 400 feet tall. He was actually about 50m tall or 164 feet (he didn’t tower over Tokyo’s 10 story buildings). He stayed this height until 1989’s Godzilla vs Biollante. He was moved up to 100 meters so he wouldn’t be as dwarfed by skyscrapers in Tokyo, Osaka, etc. Back in college, I made a home page for Godzilla and have these stats from my various sources. [http://www.gvsdestoroyah.com](http://www.gvsdestoroyah.com) Height 100 m (330 ft) Weight 60,000 tons Shoe Size 22.5 m (74 ft) Leg Height 41.5 m (137 ft) Tail Length 140 m (462 ft) Arm Length 22.5 m (74 ft) Fist Size 11 m (36 ft) From 1989-1995 (the Heisei Series), he remained that size. In late 1999, they restarted Godzilla, but reduced his size to 50M in Godzilla 2000: Millennium. It was easier to make more minature models at that scale. Perhaps this was due to the mid-90s Gamera movies, whose effects were superior to Godzilla movies and one reason was the 50M scale. He stayed at 50M until Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/9 "2005-11-30T03:05:50Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > Sorry, couldn’t resist. Try harder next time. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/10 "2005-11-30T03:08:07Z")
According to my copy of GURPS Warehouse 23, Gojira is currently 60 stories tall, weighs 50,000 tons, and displaces 74,000 cubic yards of seawater. It further states that Gojira has been involved in at least one attempt by timetravellers to alter history, making the creature’s origins and history very difficult to discover. You really got to give credit to the Secret Masters who convinced people that the big G was just a work of fiction. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/11 "2005-11-30T03:12:30Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > According to my copy of GURPS Warehouse 23, Gojira is currently 60 stories tall, weighs 50,000 tons, and displaces 74,000 cubic yards of seawater. It further states that Gojira has been involved in at least one attempt by timetravellers to alter history, making the creature’s origins and history very difficult to discover. > > You really got to give credit to the Secret Masters who convinced people that the big G was just a work of fiction. [Here](http://www.io.com/~woodward/d7/ggodzilla.html) is another site for GURPS stats for the big G. I tried to get access to former Doper **godzillatemple** ’s site but it appears to be down ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/12 "2005-11-30T05:46:40Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m kind of thinking he’s a size 1200 (loose fit jeans, of course). Using the 30 stories/100 meters (approximately equivalent) figure, I’d say at least double that. Jeans sizes are the circumference of the waist in inches, and typical humans have a waistline of about half their height. Given that Godzilla appears to have a higher girth-to-height ratio than a human, a 2500 inch waist doesn’t seem unreasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/13 "2005-11-30T07:20:30Z")
I suspect that this is something only Mrs. 'Zilla needs to know. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/14 "2005-11-30T09:50:48Z")
No one has pointed out how in the gawdawful Devlin & Emmerich version his size kept changing _ **during the course of the film!** _ One minute he was the size of a building, the next he (she?) could fit thru a subway tunnel. Roger Ebert mentions this in his review: _How, for example, does a 300-foot-tall creature fit inside a subway tunnel? How come it’s sometimes only as tall as the tunnel, and at other times taller than high-rise office buildings? How big is it, anyway?_ ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/15 "2005-11-30T11:48:56Z")
> [@Hail Ants](#): > > No one has pointed out how in the gawdawful Devlin & Emmerich version his size kept changing _ **during the course of the film!** _ One minute he was the size of a building, the next he (she?) could fit thru a subway tunnel. > > Roger Ebert mentions this in his review: > _How, for example, does a 300-foot-tall creature fit inside a subway tunnel? How come it’s sometimes only as tall as the tunnel, and at other times taller than high-rise office buildings? How big is it, anyway?_ What the hell are you talking about? There was never an American version of Godzilla! Certainly not one directed by D&E, and starring Mathew Broderick and some sitcom stars. There were rumors one was in production, but it was so awful it was never finished, and certainly never released. Never happened. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/16 "2005-11-30T16:17:02Z")
Thanks for the replies! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/17 "2005-11-30T20:22:47Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Keep in mind he started only the size of King Kong . . . I don’t think so . . . Kong (until re-engineered for a Godzilla movie) was never more than 40 feet tall. Godzilla, according to **Hubzilla’s** research in post #11, started out at least four times that height (and grew from there). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/18 "2005-11-30T20:24:19Z")
> [@Hail Ants](#): > > No one has pointed out how in the gawdawful Devlin & Emmerich version his size kept changing _ **during the course of the film!** _ One minute he was the size of a building, the next he (she?) could fit thru a subway tunnel. > > Roger Ebert mentions this in his review: > _How, for example, does a 300-foot-tall creature fit inside a subway tunnel? How come it’s sometimes only as tall as the tunnel, and at other times taller than high-rise office buildings? How big is it, anyway?_ The same way Captain Nemo in _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ had a submarine the size of a modern aircraft carrier that could slip unnoticed into Venice by sailing, submerged, through the canals (during Carnival, in July :rolleyes: ). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/19 "2005-11-30T20:32:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I don’t think so . . . Kong (until re-engineered for a Godzilla movie) was never more than 40 feet tall. Godzilla, according to **Hubzilla’s** research in post #11, started out at least four times that height (and grew from there). In this still from the film [King Kong vs. Godzilla](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056142/) [http://movies.monstrous.com/pictures/Godzilla\_Movie\_16.jpg](http://movies.monstrous.com/pictures/Godzilla_Movie_16.jpg) Godzilla is only a little taller than Kong. I was not basing my post of facts however. Just memories of watching all the “classic” Giant Monster movies as a kid. Jim ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godzillas-size/333291/20 "2005-11-30T22:40:28Z")
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