Godzilla's golden anniversary

Hollywood's favorite giant radioactive green lizard from Japan turns 50 this year:

What's kept him popular is a dramatic range that stretches from camp to contemplative, and an ability to deliver a performance that's never less than smashing. This year, fans around the world will celebrate his golden anniversary _ five decades on the American screen for the king of the monsters, Godzilla.

"Godzilla is loved," says Anne Allison, a cultural anthropologist at Duke University, "But he's also kind of cheesy."

Cheesy? Giants of the industry _ Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah _ would beg to differ. But how best to honor Godzilla's life and work? Perhaps by stomping on a few miniature houses? Maybe by kicking around some Matchbox cars, or swamping a bathtub flotilla of toy fishing boats?

In celebration of the anniversary, expect to see new DVD versions of "Gojira," his original Japanese debut, as well as the forgettable 1998 remake where he should have eaten Ferris Bueller.