TIME Google Doodle

New Google Doodle Honors Monster-Movie Aficionado Eiji Tsubaraya

Google

Tsubaraya passed away in 1970, but his distinctive influence on special effects lives on

Want to know the man behind Japanese monster flicks Godzilla and Ultraman? Tuesday’s Google Doodle celebrates iconic film director Eiji Tsubaraya’s 114th birthday by allowing you to make your own short live action film through an interactive game.

Tsubaraya was one of Japan’s best known special effects directors. Through his monster movies, he coined a style called Tokusatsu, a Japanese form of live action film.

Tsubaraya passed away in 1970, but his distinctive influence on special effects lives on in films like Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and even the Power Rangers.

Through a series of ten steps, the Google Doodle helps you create a series of scenes for a short Tokusatsu monster film of your own. It includes giant stomping godzillas and even a superhero to fly in and save the day.

See Google Doodles Through the Years

google doodle la tomatina Google doodle sally ride Google-Doodle-Eiffel-Tower-France Mar. 20, 2015 To celebrate the start of spring and the vernal equinox, Google created a stop-motion animation of flowers in bloom. Nov. 12, 2014 For the landing of the Philae lander, the first spacecraft on a moving comet, Google created a gyrating lander with passing stars. Sept. 9, 2014 For Tolstoy's 186th birthday the Google Doodle team created an appropriately long doodle, with a click-through doodle. http://redesign.time.com/3308635/google-doodle-tolstoy/ May 4 2014 For the Audrey Hepburn doodle http://redesign.time.com/87152/google-doodle-audrey-hepburn/ the doodle team adapted an image from a 1956 black and white photograph taken by Yousuf Karsh. June 9, 2011 The doodlers came up with the idea of a playable logo, then pegged it to guitar innovator Les Paul's 96th birthday. Turning on composer mode allows you to create songs that you can share online. March 24, 2011 The Harry Houdini doodle was created in the style of the old posters advertising the death-defying magician. Nov. 25, 2010 Chef Ina Garten prepared this Thanksgiving feast, which Google photographed. If you clicked on a dish, her recipe appeared. May 7, 2010 Google asked the San Francisco Ballet to pose and twirl to re-create Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Oct. 7, 2009 Scan the doodle that marks the first patent for the bar code and you'll decode Google embedded within. March 2, 2009 The doodlers arranged classic Dr. Seuss characters, like the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch, to form the logo's letters. Jan. 28, 2009 There was no other way to honor abstract artist Jackson Pollack than with a chaotic drip painting. Jan. 19, 2009 Guest artist Shepard Fairey (famed for his Obama HOPE poster) did a sketch for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Jan. 28, 2008 Early on, Google used Lego blocks as casing for hard disks. Later it feted Lego's 50th anniversary. April 22, 2007 A melting iceberg for Earth Day is one of many eco-minded doodles the team has created. Jan. 4, 2006 Enter the world of out-there doodles — Google in braille. Only problem: you can't feel it. March 30, 2005 The Van Gogh doodle appeared in an era when doodles began to get more ambitious, and it's one of the doodlers' best interpretations of a specific painter. Aug. 13, 2003 Early doodles of famous folk tended to be simple, like this silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock. March 14, 2003 The early doodles were often simple but playful, like this mustachioed drawing of Albert Einstein to celebrate his birthday. Nov. 14, 2001 Google's first doodler, Dennis Hwang, gave the logo an Impressionist look for Claude Monet's birthday.
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