Directed by Ishiro Honda, the man who brought Godzilla and Rodan to audiences in the fifties, Mothra is a classic film in every sense of the word. Though the title monster (which is hardly a fair term for such a regal creature) would arguably become far more well known from an endless string of films in which it was pitted against (and sometimes alongside) the King of the Monsters himself, this is the movie that presents the world to the keeper and protector of an island that's brimming with life.
What I love about this movie is that the giant monarch is not motivated by malice or anger, but by instinct. Furthermore, the destruction that occurs within the film is a side effect of greed left unchecked by outsiders who do not respect nature and each other. It's like King Kong with an even more scathing expose on avarice and profiteering at the expense of human interest. Mothra is packed with themes of balance, progress at the expense of ethics, and maintaining an awe of mother nature. And also, yes, it's about the spectacle of seeing Tokyo demolished by a big bug.