Editing Monster (section)

====Post–World War II monster films====
[[File:Gojira 1954 poster 3.jpg|thumb|upright|Original film poster for ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954)]]
In the [[Aftermath of World War II|post–World War II]] era, however, giant monsters returned to the screen with a vigor that has been causally linked to the development of [[nuclear weapon]]s. One early example occurred in the American film ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]'', which was about a [[dinosaur]] that attacked a lighthouse. Subsequently, there were [[Cinema of Japan|Japanese]] film depictions, ([[Godzilla]], [[Gamera]]), British depictions (''[[Gorgo (film)|Gorgo]]''), and even [[Cinema of Denmark|Danish]] depictions (''[[Reptilicus]]''), of giant monsters attacking cities. A recent depiction of a giant monster is depicted in [[J. J. Abrams]]'s ''[[Cloverfield]]'', which was released in theaters 18 January 2008. The intriguing proximity of other [[planet]]s brought the notion of extraterrestrial monsters to the big screen, some of which were huge in size (such as [[King Ghidorah]] and [[Gigan]]), while others were of a more human scale. During this period, the [[fish]]-human monster [[Gill-man]] was developed in the film series ''[[Creature from the Black Lagoon]]''.

[[File:Obake Karuta 4-12.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Card from the Japanese game ''[[obake karuta]]'', {{circa|early 19th century}}{{efn|Each card features a monster from [[Japanese mythology]] and a character from the [[hiragana]] syllabary.}}]]
Britain's [[Hammer Film Productions]] brought [[Color motion picture film|color]] to the monster movies in the late 1950s. Around this time, the earlier Universal films were usually shown on American television by independent stations (rather than network stations) by using announcers with strange personas, who gained legions of young fans. Although they have since changed considerably, movie monsters did not entirely disappear from the big screen as they did in the late 1940s.

Occasionally, monsters are depicted as friendly or misunderstood creatures. King Kong and Frankenstein's monster are two examples of misunderstood creatures. Frankenstein's monster is frequently depicted in this manner, in series and films such as ''[[Monster Squad]]'' and ''[[Van Helsing (film)|Van Helsing]]''. [[The Hulk]] is an example of the "Monster as Hero" archetype. The theme of the "Friendly Monster" is pervasive in pop-culture. [[Chewbacca]], [[Elmo]], and [[Shrek (character)|Shrek]] are notable examples of friendly "monsters". In the ''[[Monsters, Inc. (franchise)|Monsters, Inc.]]'' franchise by [[Pixar]], the monster characters scare (and later entertain) children in order to create [[energy]] for running machinery in their home world, while the furry monsters of ''[[The Muppets]]'' and ''[[Sesame Street]]'' live in harmony with animals and humans alike. Japanese culture also commonly features monsters which are benevolent or likable, with the most famous examples being the ''[[Pokémon]]'' franchise and the pioneering anime ''[[My Neighbor Totoro]]''. The book series/webisodes/toy line of [[Monster High]] is another example.
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