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KaijuKid — Honoring The Little Guys #20: Monique DuPre
#1998 #bako #brigette #cartoon #dupre #gino #godzilla #gojira #guys #kaiju #monique #series #toho #zilla #honoring #godzillatheseries #godzilla1998 #kaijukid #kaijukidsam #little
Published: 2016-12-07 21:18:05 +0000 UTC; Views: 3056; Favourites: 51; Downloads: 0
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Dipping back into the animation category of kaiju characters, our first entry from the tie-in show Godzilla: The Series, Monique DuPre voiced by Brigette Bako. I relished this cartoon growing up because it offered me exactly what the GINO film had not, which was a strong anti-hero Godzilla that actually fought a slew of other creatures, some inspired and reinterpreted from the Toho creature roster. Monique was a fun addition to the show because of her element giving Nick a sort of foil, somebody who butted heads with him a lot but at the end of the day was definitely a valued member of the team. I liked how later episodes made it explicit she was working for Phillipe as well, tying it further into the groundwork of the 1998 film. It was a good show that took the problems of Godzilla '98 and made them a lot better, especially for any Toho fans who were antagonistic about the mark GINO had left on the world. This show gave American audiences, especially kids, a better taste and flavor of what made Godzilla our hero in the first place.Related content
Comments: 15
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Yes Yes a thousand times yes!
I absolutely loved Monique
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But of course, monsiuer, ze French women they are irresistible
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The animated series was the one good thing that came out of Gino98, aside from the Millennium era of Godzilla films that would arrive later in response Tristar's failure lol. I never liked how the 98 film blamed the French for the monster's mutation, wouldn't it have struck a stronger cord with American audiences if OUR nuclear tests had spawned a monster? But I will admit I really liked Monique in the animated series, and I think it was a good thing that she was there to remind Nick that despite his bond with their reptilian friend, he was still a wild animal, not a tame pet. He was on their side of course, but he did act unpredictably at times and there was always the possibility that one day he'd outgrow listening to his surrogate father's words, regardless of what Nick's parental instincts told him. Like ya said, the anti-hero angle, he's their friend today but another day he might be wrecking ships that wander into his territory or something etc.
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I liked that too that she kind of helped ground the team a lot of the time. I mean honestly I don't think I'd enjoy being around someone like her in REAL life because of personality issues such temperament and such, but as an interesting element to a diverse team she was especially fun to watch. It made me wish GINO 2 had been made just so that it might incorporate live action versions of her and other characters including NIGEL, but I'm not complaining with the cartoon we got at all.
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I LOVE this show, I bring it up any time some G Fan tries to tell me Zilla is a pushover. It definitely gave me everything I wanted as a kid the 98 movie didn't deliver. Like other monsters for "the G man" to tangle with, it kept all the actually INTERESTING characters from the film (Even though nick was completely different) and added a ton of interesting new characters like Monique.
As for the character herself, she was definitely one of the best characters in the show. The running gag with Randy's affection for her was always funny, and as a fan of foreign accents, I loved hearing her French accent. I always welcome a female character who ISN'T a damsel in distress and can leave quite a mark on assailants (or mostly for her, a not smooth at all guy hitting on her) on their own. My favorite Monique moment, I can't remember the episode, but I remember she and Randy make a bet, I THINK it was over Randy's candy addiction, but if Randy won, he gets a date with her. However she kept her "If I win" entirely French. At the end of the episode, she wins the bet, and her "if I win" translates to "You make ME dinner, and you do the dishes afterward".
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It is rather funny how polar opposite people can work so well together sometimes (sometimes I stress, I know I don't get on with a lot of people who are a little too far removed from what I enjoy in behavior and attitude), and even though I was never much of a Randy fan it was fun how they played off each other, it was something the movie lacked which was having the characters be more solid and have good interplay. Audrey and Nick were far more tolerable in the cartoon than in the film, while on the flipside I was disappointed that Animal in the cartoon wasn't more fun and enjoyable like he was in the movie, but trade offs are what they are. It's sad to think that Pokemon's epic boom in popularity kind of killed Godzilla the series, I would have liked at least one more season to see if they would have pushed the characters a little further in development.
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Yea, the series could have used a little more run time. I REALLY wish the Trendmasters toy line came to be. Also, a little suggestion, if you did an honor for Monique in this show, you REALLY need to do one for N.I.G.E.L. . He took quite a lot of beatings for the team.
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Oh fer sure, NIGEL gets consideration for some future spot on the list. The fact I still remember a lot of his random celebrity impressions on a regular basis proves he actually has character, he's infinitely more likeable than a couple of real people I could name from the '98 film XD
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Ooh, she's one of my favorites! "The Camera-Shy French Operative"!
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The ultimate "no nonsense" type of girl
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I loved this character escially since Randy had a major crush on her. I always thought it was funny that whenever Randy would try to ask her out she would show him one of the many karate moves of saying no.
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Yes! Especially considering how little I liked Randy I loved every scene where she smacked on him XD
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Yeah, but I didn't mind Randy. My two favorite character to be honest were Nick, and Craven because Craven just about made me laugh with either him getting sick, or him just being scared.
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