[VadeRetro]

As for the suit, it is 200 pounds of latex, metal, and remote-control electronics. The actor can only wear it for about ten minutes at a time, due to its weight and lack of air, and he is nearly blind within it. He cannot remove it by himself, and is essentially helpless in emergencies. Several actors have been injured in the suit.

Sounds like computer graphics have been a relief to some people.

[Long Cut]

Actually, from interviews I've read, the suit-mation actors love their jobs. In Japan, acting as Godzilla is considered an honor.

They have steadily been increasing the amount of CGI in the films, a little at a time as they master it. They don't generally like to use a new technology whole-hog (ala Jurassic Park) until they are sure they fully understand how to use it effectively. It was also too expensive for them fore a lot of years. The average budget for a G-Film was only about $10 million.