Mothra is one of the Toho Company's kaiju, a large monster that attacks Japan in their series of fantasy monster movies. She first appeared in the film Mothra (Mosura), which appeared in 1961. The name Mothra is made by combining Moth and -ra but as Japanese does not have the pronunciation of "th", it would be pronunced Mosura.
In the series, Mothra is a giant moth; a larval form also appears in the films. Mothra is usually portrayed in the series as relatively benevolent for a giant, destructive monster; her activities are usually directed towards protecting her egg. Mothra has as allies two tiny women called Twin Fairies (played by the Peanuts). These two women, no more than a foot tall, are able to communicate with Mothra to some extent and can pacify the monster by singing.
Mothra did battle with Godzilla in Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla vs Mothra, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, and Godzilla: Tokyo SOS. (She played a supporting role in Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, where she rescued people while Godzilla battled another monster.) She has been in her own modern Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, and has made numerous appearances in other films such as Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla and Godzilla: Final Wars.
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Mothra is the original web browser for the Plan 9 operating system, it was originally developed by Tom Duff while at Bell Labs.
