Voyage Into Space (Minoru Yamada, 1970): Japan

Reviewed by Kathleen Amboy.  Viewed on DVD.

Voyage Into Space is a full length film, compiled from four episodes of the Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot television series, also known as Giant Robo (Giant Robot), the Japanese serial.

Ten year old Johnny Sokko (Mitsunobu Kaneko) and his friend Jerry Mano (Akio Ito) work as secret agents for a peace-keeping organization known as Unicorn.  The two are cornered by a gang of thugs, when they stumble upon an invention created to destroy mankind, by abducted scientist Dr. Guardian.

Giant Robot runs on atomic energy, has finger missiles, laser-beam eyes, a flame-thrower mouth, and flies with a jet-pack on his back.  He operates by voice command through a very cool transmitter watch, which fortunately for planet Earth, Johnny acquired first.

Emperor Guillotine, with his dreadlocked tentacles and crossed-eyes, issues commands from his spaceship at the bottom of the ocean.  He uses the dreadful, platinum head Dr. Botanus to do his bidding, and to supervise the bumbling beatnik, Gargoyle Gang, that are outfitted in quasi-nazi uniforms and salute with a heil.

The fluoride-intolerant Dr. Botanus issues orders and dispatches a variety of alien creatures, in an attempt to bring down Giant Robot.  Striking helpless women and threatening young children with guns, there seems to be no gutter low enough to which his gang will stoop, in order to succeed.

A fun (and funny) made for television film, Giant Robot is from a 1970’s Japanese tokusatsu serial.  A genre which consists of live action, superheroes, sci-fi special effects, and an economical technical wonder known as suitmation, or in other words – an actor in a monster suit.  American kid show creators Sid and Marty Krofft, used this same suitmation gimmick in their shows such as H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), Lidsville (1971), and Sigmund and the Sea Monster(1973) with great success.  A more recent equivalent would be Saban’s highly popular Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from the 1990’s.

Shot with an upward camera angle at Giant Robot, and reverse shot with a downward angle at Johnny and Jerry, the film contains themes of loyalty, friendship, and fearlessness.  A vanguard for television, pistol carrying Johnny Sokko, shoots at bad guys, and uses his wit to out-manuever the Gang.  There are also female agents who actually pilot the high-speed aircraft.

This high-action series for kids was created by manga artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, and was dubbed in English and broadcast in the early 1970’s by American International Television, the same producers of the Roger Corman horror flicks which starred Vincent Price.

Okay, so the lips aren’t completely in sync with the dialogue, who cares?  When Johnny gives the command “Giant Robot, attack!”  one can almost detect a slight smile emerging from Giant Robot’s mouth.