Gappa the Triphibian Monster (大巨獣ガッパ Daikyojū Gappa/Colossal Beast Gappa), originally released in American theaters as Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, is one of the Nikkatsu Corporation's only two forays into the Kaiju genre (the other being Death Kappa).
When the publisher of Playmate Magazine, Daize Tonoka, funds an expedition to the South Seas in search of rare animals for a new island resort, the crew discovers a strange new creature on Obelisk Island and Tonoka decides to smuggle it back to Japan for his resort. Unfortunately for him that creature is a baby Gappa, a large reptilian monster that the natives of Obelisk Island worship as gods; what's more, that baby has parents that are very determined to get their child back.
Gappa contains examples of…
- Breath Weapon: The Gappas' Radiant Heat Beam.
- Expy: Daize Tonoka appears to be one of Carl Denham from King Kong, being greedy entrepreneurs who capture monsters for profit.
- Eye Beams: While not demonstrated in the film proper, supplementary materials show the Gappas can emit heat wave beams from their eyes.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Daize Tonoka kidnaps the baby Gappa and goes to great lengths to hide it so people won't find out that the two monsters destroying Tokyo are his fault.
- Our Gryphons Are Different: While they're never called so, the Gappas do resemble and can be considered reptilian gryphons, with their four limbs plus wings and a beak.
- Monster Is a Mommy: The Gappas only attack Tokyo to rescue their son.
