“Kudzu likes to climb,” warns an old man. “IT WILL BE TEMPTED. Six months later, you’ve got Kudzilla!”

These are not the ramblings of a demented uncle, but rather the excited advice of sorta-famous gardener Walter Reeves in a Kickstarter video. Kudzu vines can grow a foot a day, Reeves adds. The plant is invasive. It is devouring the South.

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But what if Southerners could gather to celebrate kudzu instead of quake in fear? Or at least smile during said quaking? ENTER KUDZILLA.

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A guy named Chris Ludland wants to grow this “Kudzilla”: a 40-foot Godzilla made out of kudzu. So of course he started a Kickstarter — and he’s enlisted Reeves, advisors, and even a rockin’ band, which plays their theme song on electric guitars (“Ohhhh no, they say he’s got to grow, grow Kudzilla!”). Why does Ludland need your money? “It’ll cost $50,000 to build a world-class Kudzilla,” he says, AS IF THERE WERE ANY OTHER KIND. Check it:

[kickstarter url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2048863414/kudzilla-a-monumental-monster-made-of-kudzu width=470]

If they raise more than 50 grand, where will the extra money go? “Flames,” an advisor says. EXCELLENT.