Godzilla (Japanese: Gojira) is a fictional monster that looks like a huge green bipedal lizard featured in Japanese films which has become one of the world's most recognized movie characters. Godzilla was first released by Toho Co. Ltd in Japan in 1954, under the name "Gojira." Two years later, Gojira reached America as "Godzilla King of the Monster." To date, Toho has produced 28 Godzilla films. In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a remake, set in New York City. 

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Godzilla is one of the defining aspects of Japanese popular culture for many people worldwide. Though his popularity has waned slightly over the years, he is among the top monstrous creatures in movies along with Dracula and the Wolfman. Embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu Japanese movie genre, Godzilla has been called a filmographic metaphor for the United States. Godzilla is also among the few fictional characters granted a Lifetime Achievement Award when he was awarded one by MTV in 1996, becoming the second fictional character (and the first non-human) to have received it. The character was also recently awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.