Gremlins Think It's Fun To Hurt You
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''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
comedy horror film Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...
directed by
Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...
, written by Chris Columbus and starring
Zach Galligan Zachary Wolfe Galligan (born February 14, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Billy Peltzer in the comedy-horror films ''Gremlins'' (1984) and '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990). Early life and education Galligan was ...
,
Phoebe Cates Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963) is an American businesswoman and retired actress and model. She appeared in the films '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), '' Gremlins'' (1984), '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990), '' Drop D ...
,
Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...
,
Polly Holliday Polly Dean Holliday (born July 2, 1937) is an American retired actress who appeared on stage, television and in film. She is best known for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom ''Alice'', which she ...
and
Frances Lee McCain Frances Lee McCain is an American actress. Early life and education McCain was born in York, Pennsylvania and grew up in New York, Illinois and Colorado in addition to California. She graduated from Ripon College with a BA in Philosophy an ...
, with
Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', playing rowd ...
providing the voice of Gizmo the ''Mogwai''. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"
gremlin A gremlin is a mischievous fictional creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft, and later in other machinery, processes, and their operators. Depictions of these creatures vary widely. ...
s"—in the British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
going back to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The story follows Billy Peltzer, who receives Gizmo as a pet, who then spawns more of his kind that evolve into the titular imp-like monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's hometown during
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
. The film was accompanied by a large merchandising campaign and juxtaposes
black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
with a Christmastime setting.
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
was the executive producer, with the film being produced by
Michael Finnell Michael Finnell is a film producer active from the 1970s in film, 1970s to the present. He has produced several horror film, horror-comedy films, particularly with the director Joe Dante. Finnell worked for the American producer Roger Corman befo ...
. ''Gremlins'' was theatrically released on June 8, 1984, by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
to critical and commercial success. However, it was heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. In response to this and to similar complaints about ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...
'', Spielberg suggested that the
Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...
(MPAA) alter its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new
PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...
rating. It was followed by a sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990).


Plot

Struggling inventor Randall Peltzer visits a
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
antique store to find a Christmas present for his son, Billy. In it, Randall uncovers a small and furry creature called a (
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
: , 'devil'). The owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell it to Randall, but his grandson secretly does, warning Randall to remember three important rules concerning the ''mogwai'' – do not expose the creature to light, especially sunlight, which will kill it; do not let it come in contact with water; and above all, never let it eat after midnight. In Randall's hometown of Kingston Falls, Billy works at the local bank, but fears that his dog Barney will be put down by widowed miser Ruby Deagle. His father returns and offers him the ''mogwai'', now named "Gizmo", as a pet, and informs him of the rules. Gizmo is friendly and docile, but when Billy's friend, Pete Fountaine, accidentally spills water on Gizmo, five more ''mogwai'' spawn from him – a more mischievous sort led by the aggressive Stripe, named after the white
mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...
-like tuft of fur on his head. Billy shows one of the ''mogwai'' to his former elementary school science teacher, Roy Hanson, spawning another ''mogwai'', whom the latter experiments on. Back at home, Stripe and his fellow ''mogwai'' trick Billy into feeding them after midnight by severing the power cord on his bedside clock. They form cocoons, as does Hanson's ''mogwai'', which soon hatch, emerging as destructive and reptilian imp-like monsters called "gremlins". Hanson is murdered by his gremlin, while those at the Peltzer house torture Gizmo and assault Billy's mother, Lynn. Lynn and Billy are able to dispatch all the gremlins except for Stripe, who escapes to the local
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
where he jumps into its
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
, spawning an army of gremlins that wreak havoc on Kingston Falls. Many locals are injured or outright killed during their rampage, including Deagle. The police are helpless in the ordeal, as they too fall victim to the gremlins' mischief. After Billy rescues his co-worker and girlfriend, Kate Beringer, and they seek refuge in the bank, the latter discloses that her father went missing on Christmas Eve when she was nine years old, but was then found dead in their house's chimney several days later. Planning to surprise his family in a
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
costume, he inadvertently slipped and broke his neck while climbing down the chimney. Still suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
due to the incident, Kate confesses how this led to her dislike of the holidays. The trio find the gremlins gathered in the local
movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...
due to
morning Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and nigh ...
approaching and set off a natural gas explosion, killing them all except for Stripe, who left the theater earlier to retrieve candy at a
Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". ...
store across the street. They follow Stripe into the store, where he attempts to use a
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...
to spawn more gremlins, but Gizmo then opens a nearby
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...
, exposing Stripe to sunlight and killing him. As the local news reports on the day's mysterious tragedies, Mr. Wing arrives at the Peltzer house to reclaim Gizmo. He scolds the family for their negligence and criticizes
Western society Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
for its carelessness with nature. However, as he turns to leave, Gizmo, having bonded with Billy, bids him goodbye. A compassionate Wing then concedes that Billy may be ready to properly care for him one day.


Cast

The film features various cameos from crew members or guests.
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
cameos as a man riding a
recumbent bicycle A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position, and often called a Human-powered_land_vehicle, human-powered vehicle or HPV, especially if it has an aerodynamic fairing. Recumbents are available in a w ...
;
Jim McKrell James McKrell (October 12, 1937, also written MacKrell), sometimes known on-air as Jimmy Kaye, is a retired American actor, radio host, and television personality, best known for hosting television game shows such as ''Celebrity Sweepstakes'' an ...
plays Lew Landers; composer
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...
plays a man in a phone booth;
Kenneth Tobey Jesse Kenneth Tobey (March 23, 1917 – December 22, 2002) was an American actor active from the early 1940s into the 1990s, with over 200 credits in film, theatre, and television. He is best known for his role as a captain who takes charg ...
plays a smoking gas station attendant; and
William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on ''Richard Diamond, Private ...
plays Father Bartlett. Animator
Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...
plays Mr. Jones, Billy's drawing mentor; he would later create the ''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
''-centric segments for the sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990).


Voices

* Howard Mandel as Gizmo *
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...
as Stripe *
Don Steele Don Steele (born Donald Steele Revert; April 1, 1936 – August 5, 1997) was an American disc jockey and one of the most popular disc jockeys in the United States from the middle of the 1960s until his retirement for health reasons in May 199 ...
as Rockin' Ricky Rialto *
Marvin Miller Marvin Julian Miller (April 14, 1917 – November 27, 2012) was an American labor union leader and baseball executive who served as the first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982. Miller l ...
as
Robby the Robot Robby the Robot is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1956 film ''Forbidden Planet''. He made a number of subsequent appearances in science fiction films and television programs, which has given him the distinction as "the harde ...
(''uncredited'') * Ilene Keys as Gizmo's singing voice (''uncredited'') The vocal effects of the ''mogwai'' and gremlins were provided by Mandel, Welker, Brad Kesten (uncredited),
Michael Winslow Michael Leslie Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and beatboxer billed as The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven ' ...
,
Bob Bergen Robert Berger (born March 8, 1964), known professionally as Bob Bergen, is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted ...
, Fred Newman,
Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''The Transformers (TV series), Transformers'' animated series, later returning to the role in ''Transformers'' media in 2007, sta ...
,
Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...
(unused),
Sonny Melendrez Sonny Melendrez (born 1946) is an American radio and TV personality, motivational speaker and author. Biography Melendrez was born in Silver City, New Mexico. Twice named ''Billboard'' magazine's "Radio Personality of the Year", he is includ ...
(uncredited),
Mark Dodson Mark Dodson may refer to: * Mark Dodson (record producer) * Mark Dodson (actor) Mark Dodson (February 1, 1960 – March 2, 2024) was an American voice actor. Career Dodson began his career in 1983. He voiced Salacious Crumb in ''Return of th ...
, Bob Holt, Michael Sheehan and director
Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...
(uncredited).


Production


Background

''Gremlins'' was produced at a time when combining horror and comedy was becoming increasingly popular. According to Professor
Noël Carroll Noel Carroll (born December 25, 1947, in Far Rockaway, New York City) is an American philosopher and a leading figure in the contemporary philosophy of art. In 2016 in ''Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog'', Carroll was ranked sixth in a list of ...
, ''
Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...
'', released the same weekend as ''Gremlins'', and the comic strip ''
The Far Side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrea ...
'' also followed this trend. Carroll argued that there was now a new genre emphasizing sudden shifts between humorous and horrific scenes, drawing laughs with plot elements that have been traditionally used to scare. The notion of gremlins was first conceived during the 1920s when mechanical failures in RAF aircraft were jokingly blamed on the small monsters. The term "gremlins" also entered popular culture as children's author and RAF pilot
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...
published a book called ''
The Gremlins ''The Gremlins'' is a children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl and published in 1943. In writing the book, Dahl draws on his own experience as a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot during the Second World War. The story's principal chara ...
'' in 1943, based on the mischievous creatures.
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
considered making a film of it. A
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...
cartoon of the era, ''
Falling Hare ''Falling Hare'' is a 1943 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The cartoon features Bugs Bunny. In this film, Bugs Bunny tries to prevent the wrecking of an American military aircraft by a gremlin. The setting is a ...
'', shows Bugs battling a gremlin on an airplane. Joe Dante had read ''The Gremlins'' and said that the book was of some influence on his film. In 1983, Dante publicly distanced his work from earlier films, explaining, "Our gremlins are somewhat different—they're sort of green, and they have big mouths, and they smile a lot and they do incredibly, really nasty things to people and enjoy it all the while".


Development

The story of ''Gremlins'' was conceived by Chris Columbus. As Columbus explained, his inspiration came from his loft, when at night "what sounded like a platoon of mice would come out and to hear them skittering around in the blackness was really creepy". He then wrote the original screenplay as a
spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...
to show potential employers that he had writing abilities. The story was not actually intended to be filmed until
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
took an interest in turning it into a film. As Spielberg explained, "It's one of the most original things I've come across in many years, which is why I bought it." Spielberg considered
Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...
to direct the film after seeing his
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
'' Frankenweenie''. After deciding to executive produce the film himself, Spielberg chose Dante as his director because of his experience with horror-comedy; Dante had previously directed ''
The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner, first published by Fawcett as a paperback original. It was the inspiration for the film '' The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the film was only vaguely similar to that of the boo ...
''; however, in the time between ''The Howling'' and the offer to film ''Gremlins'', he had experienced a lull in his career. Dante began doing storyboard work on the film while also working as a director on '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983), a film on which Spielberg also served as a director. The film's producer was
Michael Finnell Michael Finnell is a film producer active from the 1970s in film, 1970s to the present. He has produced several horror film, horror-comedy films, particularly with the director Joe Dante. Finnell worked for the American producer Roger Corman befo ...
, who had also worked on ''The Howling'' with Dante. Spielberg took the project to Warner Bros. and co-produced it through his own company,
Amblin Entertainment Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are lo ...
. Designer Chris Walas spoke on the creation of the initial concept of the creatures, “After reading the script, my first idea was to take the
tarsier Tarsiers ( ) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was prehistorically more globally widespread, all of the existing species are restricted to M ...
, a little primate, and give it cartoony proportions. I wanted the big eyes to make it cute. I showed it to Mike Finnell and Joe Dante and they asked for some tweaks, so I made the next one. This is more like a puppy. Big, floppy ears. It’s not based on any one dog in particular — just a Cocker Spaniel or something. Fortunately they did not go with it. These were the only two Mogwai I sculpted before the final one.” The film's script went through a few drafts before a shooting script was finalized. The first version was much darker than the final film. Various scenes were cut, including one which portrayed Billy's mother being decapitated during her struggle with the gremlins, with her head thrown down the stairs when Billy arrives. Dante later explained the scene made the film darker than the filmmakers wanted. There was also a scene where the gremlins ate Billy's dog and a scene where the gremlins attacked a
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
, eating customers instead of burgers. Also, instead of Stripe being a ''mogwai'' who becomes a gremlin, there was originally no ''mogwai'' named Stripe; rather, Gizmo was supposed to transform into Stripe the gremlin. Spielberg overruled this plot element as he felt Gizmo was cute and that audiences would want him to be present throughout the film. The film mentions an urban legend in which Kate reveals in a speech that her father died at Christmas when he dressed as
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
and broke his neck while climbing down the family's chimney. After the film was completed, studio executives insisted upon its removal, because they felt it was too ambiguous as to whether it was supposed to be funny or sad. Dante refused to take the scene out, saying it represented the film as a whole, which had a combination of horrific and comedic elements. Spielberg did not like the scene but, despite his creative control, he viewed ''Gremlins'' as Dante's project and allowed him to leave it in. A parody of this scene is featured in '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''.


Casting

Phoebe Cates Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963) is an American businesswoman and retired actress and model. She appeared in the films '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), '' Gremlins'' (1984), '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990), '' Drop D ...
was cast as Kate, Billy's girlfriend, despite concerns that she was known for playing more risqué parts, such as Linda Barrett in ''
Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Stor ...
'' (1982). Spielberg urged the casting of the relatively unknown
Zach Galligan Zachary Wolfe Galligan (born February 14, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Billy Peltzer in the comedy-horror films ''Gremlins'' (1984) and '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990). Early life and education Galligan was ...
as Billy because he saw chemistry between Galligan and Cates during auditions. Galligan later compared himself to Billy, saying he was a "geeky kid", and that being in the film "was really kind of a dream" given "what I get to do, what my character gets to do, blow up movie theatres", adding that he "got to work with great people". Spielberg commented when Galligan was testing with Cates that "he's in love with her already" and that was how Galligan won the part.
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
,
Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...
,
Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( , ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Daniel LaRusso in the ''Karate Kid'' films (1984–1989, 2025), a role he reprised in the martial arts series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–2025). F ...
,
Emilio Estevez Emilio Estevez (; born May 12, 1962) is an American actor and filmmaker. The son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen, he made his film debut with an uncredited role in '' Badlands'' (1973). He later received his first ...
,
Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...
and
Judd Nelson Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959) is an American actor. After a lead role in the film '' Making the Grade'' (1984), Nelson had his breakout with a starring role in the coming-of-age teen film ''The Breakfast Club'' (1985), which caused ...
also auditioned. In contrast to Galligan, many of the supporting actors and actresses were better known. Veteran actor
Glynn Turman Glynn Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. First coming to attention as a child actor in the original 1959 Broadway production of ''A Raisin in the Sun'', Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' ...
portrayed the high school science teacher whose study of a newborn ''mogwai'' leads to his death after it forms a cocoon and emerges as a vicious gremlin.
Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...
, who was a regular in Dante's films, was another experienced actor on the set, playing a
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
veteran who first refers to the creatures as gremlins. Rand was played by
Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...
, who was always the filmmakers' preferred choice for the role even though it was widely contested by other actors. Axton's experience included acting as the father in ''
The Black Stallion The Black Stallion is the name of a bestselling series of books by Walter Farley, and also the name of the first book in the series (from 1941), and the title character, an Arab stallion also known as the Black or Shêtân. The series chroni ...
'' (1979), and he was also a country music singer-songwriter. After an introductory scene to ''Gremlins'' was cut, Axton's voice earned him the added role of the narrator to establish some context. Mr. Wing was played by
Keye Luke Keye Luke (; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American actor, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He portrayed Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the Charlie Chan films, the original Kato in the 1939–1941 ...
, a renowned film actor, whose film career spanned half a century. Although in reality he was around 80 at the time of filming, and his character was very elderly, Luke's youthful appearance had to be covered by make-up.
Corey Feldman Corey Scott Feldman (born July 16, 1971) is an American actor and musician. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s films such as '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984), '' Gremlins'' (1984), '' The Goonies'' (198 ...
, who up to that time had primarily been in commercials, played Pete Fountaine, establishing his early credentials as a child actor; he previously met with Spielberg when he auditioned for ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...
''.
Polly Holliday Polly Dean Holliday (born July 2, 1937) is an American retired actress who appeared on stage, television and in film. She is best known for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom ''Alice'', which she ...
, an actress best known for her role in ''
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
'', played Mrs. Deagle. Dante considered the casting fortunate, as she was well-known, and he considered her to be talented. Two other well-known actors, ''Fast Times''
Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who is best known for his work in Hollywood films during the 1980s. He has starred in several popular films such as '' Stripes'' (1981), '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High' ...
and character actor
Edward Andrews Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. (October 9, 1914 – March 8, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and in films from the 1950s through the 1980s. His stark whi ...
, received roles that were significantly reduced after the film was edited; they played Billy's superiors at the bank. Tom Hanks also read for Gerald.


Special effects

Some of the performances were shot on the
Courthouse Square Courthouse Square is a backlot located at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The set is composed of several facades that form an archetypal American town square with a courthouse as its centerpiece. The set was built for ...
and
Colonial Street Colonial Street is one of the backlot street sets at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The street set has a long history, spanning over 60 years of movies and television. From 2004 to 2012, it was used in the filming of the ...
sets of the
Universal Studios Lot Universal Studios Lot is a television and Film studio#Typical components, film studio complex located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California, and is part of the entire Universal Studios complex, which also includes the adjacen ...
in Universal City, California (Mrs. Deagle's house was one such set as well as the opening street scenes in Chinatown, which were filmed on the
Warner Bros. Studios Warner Bros. Studios may refer to: * Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios located in Burbank, California * Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, Warner Bros. Studios located in Leavesden, England * Old Warner Brothers Studio, now known as ...
backlot). This required fake snow; Dante also felt it was an atmosphere that would make the special effects more convincing. An earlier attempt to use
monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...
s to interpret the gremlins was abandoned because the test monkey panicked when made to wear a gremlin head.
Puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...
s and
marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...
s were used instead, so the actors worked alongside them in most scenes. Nevertheless, after the actors finished their work for good, a great deal of effort was spent finishing the effects.
Chris Walas Christopher James Walas (born 1955) is an American special effects artist, make-up effects artist, film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the film '' The Fly'' (1986), for which he won an Academy Award and was ...
designed numerous small rubber puppets to portray Gizmo and the gremlins. There was more than one Gizmo puppet, and occasionally Galligan, when carrying one, would set him down off camera, and when Gizmo appeared again sitting on a surface it was actually a different puppet wired to the surface. These puppets had many limitations. The Gizmo puppets were particularly frustrating because they were smaller and thus broke down more. While Walas recommended making the ''mogwai'' larger to make their creation and functioning easier for the special effects team, Dante insisted on keeping their size small to enhance the cuteness of the creatures. Consequently, to satisfy the crew, a scene was included in which the gremlins hang Gizmo on a wall and throw darts at him. This was included on a list that the crew created known to them as the "Horrible Things to do to Gizmo" list.
Rob Bottin Robin R. Bottin (born April 1, 1959) is an American special make-up effects creator. Known for his collaborations with directors John Carpenter, Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher, Bottin worked with Carpenter on both ''The Fog'' and '' The Thin ...
and
John Dykstra John Charles Dykstra, A.S.C. (; born June 3, 1947) is an American special effects artist, pioneer in the development of the use of computers in filmmaking and recipient of three Academy Awards, among many other awards and prizes. He was one of ...
were originally considered to do the special effects, Bottin was Dante's first choice; but he was busy working on ''
Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
'' (1985). Other effects required large ''mogwai'' faces and ears to be produced for close-ups, as the puppets were less capable of conveying emotion. Consequently, large props simulating food were needed for the close-ups in the scene in which the ''mogwai'' feast after midnight. An enlarged Gizmo puppet was also needed for the scene in which he multiplies. The new ''mogwai'', who popped out of Gizmo's body as small, furry balls which then started to grow, were balloons and expanded as such. Walas had also created the exploding gremlin in the microwave by means of a balloon that was allowed to burst.
Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', playing rowd ...
provided the voice of Gizmo and prolific voice actor
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...
provided the voice of the gremlins' leader, Stripe. It was Welker who suggested Mandel perform in ''Gremlins''. The puppets' lines were mostly invented by the voice actors, based on cues from the physical actions of the puppets, which were filmed before the voice work. When developing the voice for Gizmo, Mandel explained, " izmo wascute and naive, so, you know, I got in touch with that... I couldn't envision going any other way or do something different with it". The majority of the other gremlins' voices were performed by
Michael Winslow Michael Leslie Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and beatboxer billed as The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven ' ...
and
Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''The Transformers (TV series), Transformers'' animated series, later returning to the role in ''Transformers'' media in 2007, sta ...
, while the remaining voices were done by Mandel, Welker,
Bob Bergen Robert Berger (born March 8, 1964), known professionally as Bob Bergen, is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted ...
, Fred Newman,
Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...
,
Sonny Melendrez Sonny Melendrez (born 1946) is an American radio and TV personality, motivational speaker and author. Biography Melendrez was born in Silver City, New Mexico. Twice named ''Billboard'' magazine's "Radio Personality of the Year", he is includ ...
,
Mark Dodson Mark Dodson may refer to: * Mark Dodson (record producer) * Mark Dodson (actor) Mark Dodson (February 1, 1960 – March 2, 2024) was an American voice actor. Career Dodson began his career in 1983. He voiced Salacious Crumb in ''Return of th ...
, Bob Holt, Michael Sheehan and even Dante himself.


Music

The film's score was composed and conducted by
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...
, who won a
Saturn Award for Best Music The Saturn Award for Best Music is one of the annual awards given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The Saturn Awards, which are the oldest film-specialized awards to reward science fiction, fantasy, and horror achieve ...
for his efforts, and performed by the
Hollywood Studio Symphony The Hollywood Studio Symphony (sometimes the Hollywood Freelance Studio Symphony) is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', ''Suc ...
. The main score was composed with the objective of conveying "the mischievous humor and mounting suspense of Gremlins". Goldsmith also wrote Gizmo's song, which was hummed by Ilene Keys, a child actress and acquaintance of Goldsmith, rather than Mandel himself. Goldsmith also appears in the film, alongside Steven Spielberg, in the scene where Rand calls home from the salesman's convention. The soundtrack album was released by
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
as a specially priced 7 cut mini-album on LP and cassette (Goldsmith's music comprised all of side two) and reissued on compact disc in 1993 only in Germany. # Gremlins...Mega Madness –
Michael Sembello Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song " ...
(3:50) # Make It Shine –
Quarterflash Quarterflash (previously stylized as QuarterFlash) was an American rock group formed in 1980 in Portland, Oregon. The band was originally made up of lead vocalist and saxophonist Orinda Sue "Rindy" Ross (born June 26, 1951) and her husband, gu ...
(4:10) # Out Out –
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
(7:00) # The Gift (4:51) # Gizmo (4:09) # Mrs. Deagle (2:50) # The Gremlin Rag (4:03) "Gremlins...Mega Madness" was also released as a single, with "The Gremlin Rag" as its B-side (The USA release has Late For Work). In 2011, ''
Film Score Monthly ''Film Score Monthly'' is an online magazine (and former print magazine) founded by editor-in-chief and executive producer Lukas Kendall in June 1990 as ''The Soundtrack Correspondence List''. It is dedicated to the art of film and television sc ...
'' issued a two-disc release of the soundtrack, with the complete score on disc one and the original soundtrack album on disc two (representing the latter's first North American CD issue); this was the label's final Jerry Goldsmith album. A CD release by
Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...
was released through
WaterTower Music WaterTower Music Inc. (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based ...
on October 10, 2015. ''DISC ONE: The Film Score'' # Fanfare in C (
Max Steiner Maximilian Raoul Steiner (10 May 1888 – 28 December 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and became one of cinema of the United States, Hollywood's greatest musical composers. Steiner was a child prodi ...
) / The Shop / The Little One 4:30 # Late for Work 1:46 # Mrs. Deagle / That Dog 2:22 # The Gift 1:45 # First Aid 2:17 # Spilt Water 3:02 # A New One 1:10 # The Lab / Old Times 2:35 # The Injection 2:56 # Snack Time / The Wrong Time 1:49 # The Box 1:24 # First Aid 1:39 # Disconnected / Hurry Home 1:03 # Kitchen Fight 4:06 # Dirty Linen 0:43 # The Pool 1:07 # The Plow / Special Delivery 1:16 # High Flyer 2:22 # Too Many Gremlins 2:06 # No Santa Claus 3:27 # After Theatre 1:39 # Theatre Escape / Stripe Is Loose / Toy Dept. / No Gizmo 4:36 # The Fountain / Stripe's Death 5:42 # Goodbye, Billy 2:56 # End Title / The Gremlin Rag 4:10 # Blues 2:17 # Mrs. Deagle ilm version1:27 # God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen raditional, arr. Alexander Courage1:12 # After Theatre ith "Silent Night"1:36 # After Theatre ithout "Silent Night"1:36 # Rabbit Rampage ilt Franklyn0:47 # The Gremlin Rag ull version3:35 # Gizmo's New Song 0:35 # Gizmo's Trumpet 0:30 Tracks 26–34 are listed as bonus tracks. ''DISC TWO: 1984 Soundtrack Album'' # Gremlins...Mega Madness – Michael Sembello 3:52 # Make It Shine – Quarterflash 4:11 # Out Out – Peter Gabriel 7:02 # The Gift 4:58 # Gizmo 4:14 # Mrs. Deagle 2:54 # The Gremlin Rag 4:13


Reception


Box office

Financially, ''Gremlins'' was a success. Produced on an $11 million budget, it was more expensive than Spielberg had originally intended but still relatively cheap for its time. The trailer introduced the film to audiences by briefly explaining that Billy receives a strange creature as a Christmas present, by going over the three rules, and then coming out with the fact that the creatures transform into terrible monsters. This trailer showed little of either the ''mogwai'' or the gremlins. In contrast to this, other advertisements concentrated on Gizmo, overlooked the gremlins, and made the film look similar to Spielberg's earlier family film ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...
'' (1982). ''Gremlins'' was released into North American theaters on June 8, 1984, the same day as Ivan Reitman's ''
Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...
''. ''Gremlins'' ranked second, with $12.5 million in its first weekend, $1.1 million less than ''Ghostbusters''. By the end of its American screenings on November 29, it had grossed $148,168,459 domestically. This made it the fourth highest-grossing film of the year, behind ''
Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., and story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Det ...
'', ''
Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...
'', and ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...
''. In August 1984, it opened in Argentina and Spain, and in October it premiered in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. Screenings began in Mexico, Australia, and much of the rest of Europe in December. Since ''Gremlins'' had an international audience, different versions of the film were made to overcome cultural barriers. Mandel learned to speak his few intelligible lines, such as "Bright light!", in various languages, including German. Regional music and humor were also incorporated into foreign-language versions. Dante credited this work as being one of the factors which helped to make ''Gremlins'' a worldwide success. However, many critics questioned the summer release date of the film in America, as the film takes place during the Christmas holiday season, causing them to comment that it should have had a Christmas release date instead. In addition to this, there were also complaints from audiences about the violence depicted in the film. These complaints were particularly present in people who had brought their children to see the film, many of whom walked out of the theater before the film had ended. Dante admitted to reporters later that "the idea of taking a 4-year-old to see ''Gremlins'', thinking it's going to be a cuddly, funny animal movie and then seeing that it turns into a horror picture, I think people were upset... They felt like they had been sold something family friendly and it wasn't entirely family friendly". The film became available to audiences again when it was brought back to theaters on August 30, 1985. This additional release brought its gross up to $153,083,102, making it
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
’ most successful film at the time, a record that stood until ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' surpassed it in 1989. By February 1985, the film had grossed $59.6 million internationally, including $17 million in Japan. It grossed a further $0.2 million in 2019, taking its worldwide gross to over $212.9 million.


Critical response

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
approved of the film, awarding it three out of four and declaring it to not only be "fun", but also a "sly series of send-ups", effectively
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
ing many elemental film storylines. In his opinion, ''Gremlins'' did this partly through depictions of mysterious worlds (the shop in Chinatown) and tyrannical elderly women (Mrs. Deagle). Ebert also believed the rule in which a ''mogwai'' cannot eat after midnight was inspired by
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s, and that the final scenes parody classic horror films. He connected Kate's speech about her father with "the great tradition of 1950s sick jokes".
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
gave the film three-and-a-half out of four, describing it as "a wickedly funny and slightly sick ride", and "a most original work. We're aware at every moment that someone is trying to entertain us. Playfulness abounds."
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' was mixed, writing that the film "is far more interested in showing off its knowledge of movie lore and making random jokes than in providing consistent entertainment. Unfortunately, it's funniest when being most nasty." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' declared, "Make room for adorable 'Gremlins' dolls on the shelves and start counting the take for another calculated audience pleaser from the Steven Spielberg-Frank Marshall-Kathleen Kennedy team. But that's all that's here in this showy display of technical talent, otherwise nearly heedless of dramatic concerns."
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
disapproved of the film, and his view was made clear in remarks he made on the television show ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...
''. He called the film "icky" and "gross". He later wrote that despite being set in a "picture-
postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...
town" and blending the feel of '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (a clip of which appears in ''Gremlins'') with that of ''
The Blob ''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. from a screenplay by Theodore Simonson and Kate Phillips, based on an idea by Irving H. Millgate. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first leading role ...
'', the film is "negated by too-vivid violence and mayhem"; giving the film two out of four. Maltin later made a cameo appearance in ''Gremlins 2'', repeating his criticisms of the original on film, as an
in-joke An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke with humour that is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest ...
, before being throttled by the creatures; he later gave the second film a more positive rating, three out of four. While some critics criticized the film's depictions of violence and greed—such as death scenes, Kate's speech, and the gremlins' gluttony—for lacking comic value, scholar Charlotte Miller instead interpreted these as a
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
of "some characteristics of
Western civilization Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...
", suggesting that Westerners may take too much satisfaction from violence. ''Gremlins'' can also be interpreted as a statement against technology, in that some characters, such as Billy's father, are overly dependent on it. In contrast, Mr. Wing is shown to have a strong distaste for television.
Kirkpatrick Sale Kirkpatrick Sale (born June 27, 1937) is an American author who has written prolifically about political decentralism, environmentalism, luddism and technology. He has been described as having a "philosophy unified by decentralism" and as bei ...
also interpreted ''Gremlins'' as an anti-technology film in his book ''Rebels Against the Future''. Another scholar suggested that the film is meant to express a number of observations of society by having the gremlin characters shift in what they are meant to represent. At different times, they are depicted as
teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...
s, the wealthy establishment, and fans of
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
films. Another scholar drew a connection between the microwave scene and urban legends about pets dying in microwave ovens. He described the portrayal of this urban legend in the film as successful, but that meant it seemed terrible. This is indeed a scene that is thought of as being one of the film's most violent depictions; with even Roger Ebert expressing some fear in his review that the film might encourage children to try similar things with their pets. Catherine Lester casts doubt on whether any children actually did attempt this as a result of seeing the film. Situating ''Gremlins'' in the children's horror genre, she argues that child viewers are invited to identify with the gremlins themselves, whose rebellious behaviour may function as a source of subversive pleasure. John Nubbin reviewed ''Gremlins'' for ''
Different Worlds ''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987. Scope ''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Rune ...
'' magazine and stated that "All in all, it is just another exploitation film. Trading on Spielberg's name and reputation, it is merely a money-maker - just another summer film which in the end has nothing to keep it in our memories past Thanksgiving."
Colin Greenland Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is '' Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both major British science ficti ...
reviewed ''Gremlins'' for ''
Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'' magazine, and stated that "Two or three good jokes, three or four neat scenes, lots of detail, but overall, a manic melee of pyrotechnics that made random grabs for my sympathy and failed to hold my attention, A bit more coherent thought, and who knows, it might have been something good." ''Gremlins'' has been criticized for more than its depictions of violence. One
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
critic wrote in 2000 that "The plot is thin and the pacing is askew". However, that critic also complimented the dark humour contrasted against the ideal Christmas setting. In 2002, another critic wrote that in hindsight, ''Gremlins'' has "corny special effects" and that the film will tend to appeal to children more so than to adults; he also said the acting was dull. Despite the initial mixed criticism, ''Gremlins'' has continued to receive praise over the years and is considered by many critics to be one of the best films of 1984. On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Whether you choose to see it as a statement on consumer culture or simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick, ''Gremlins'' is a minor classic." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film received a score of 70 based on 13 reviews.


Accolades


Home media

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
released ''Gremlins'' on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
,
CED Videodisc The Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) is an analog video disc playback system developed by Radio Corporation of America (RCA), in which video and audio could be played back on a TV set using a special stylus and high-density groove system sim ...
, and
Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...
on November 25, 1985. The film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in 1997 in a bare bones presentation. It included both full screen and widescreen versions and the film's trailer. It was repackaged in August, 1999 with the same disc, but a different cover. On August 20, 2002, a "
special edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...
" DVD was released, which featured cast and filmmakers' commentary and
deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread, and can al ...
s. A 25th anniversary
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
edition was released on December 1, 2009. The film was again released on home video in 4K Ultra HD on October 1, 2019. The film grossed $15.2 million in home sales on DVD and Blu-Ray.


Merchandising


Toys and collectibles

With its commercial themes, particularly the
cuteness Cuteness is a type of Physical attractiveness, attractiveness commonly associated with youth and Human physical appearance, appearance, as well as a scientific concept and analytical model in ethology, first introduced by Austrian Ethology, etho ...
of the character Gizmo, ''Gremlins'' became the center of considerable merchandising. Due to this, it became part of a rising trend in film, which had received a boost from Spielberg's ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...
''. Manufacturers including
LJN LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher founded by Jack Friedman in 1967. MCA Inc. acquired the company in 1985, and sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and a m ...
produced versions of Gizmo as
doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...
s or
stuffed animal A stuffed toy is a toy with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, lovies and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys ...
s, the latter of which became a popular high-demand toy during the
holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...
of 1984. Both Gizmo and the gremlins were mass-produced as
action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...
s, and
Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...
printed
trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...
s based upon the film. An interactive Gizmo Furby Friends toy was released in 1999. A product placement deal with fast food chain
Hardee's Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American Fast food restaurant, fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has ...
also led to a series of five book-and-cassette/45 records adaptations of the film's story. Starting in the early 2000s, companies such as Jun Planning and the
National Entertainment Collectibles Association National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc. (mostly known by its acronym NECA) is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey. The company was fou ...
produced all-new Gremlins toys and collectibles. In 2017 Trick or Treat Studios began producing official Gremlins life-size puppets of Stripe and Gizmo. In May 2019, NECA unveiled their Christmas 2019 collectible, which features two Gremlins singing carols.


Books

The screenplay was adapted into a
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...
by
George Gipe George Gipe (February 3, 1933, Baltimore, Maryland – September 6, 1986, Glendale, California) was an American magazine writer, author and screenwriter. Gipe died at the age of 53 from an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Life A native of ...
, published by
Avon Books Avon Publications is a leading publisher of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reaching and ma ...
in June 1984. The novel offered an origin for ''mogwai'' and gremlins as a prologue. Supposedly, ''mogwai'' were created as gentle, contemplative creatures by a scientist on an alien world. However, it was discovered their
physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
was unstable. The end result was only 1 in 10,000 ''mogwai'' would retain their sweet, loving demeanor. The rest would change into creatures the novel referred to as "mischievous". The minority ''mogwai'' (the 1 in 10,000) are immortal by human standards, though Gizmo explains to Stripe if he were to undergo the transformation himself, he would become like the others, "short lived and violent". This origin is unique to the novel but is referred to in the novelization of ''Gremlins 2'' by
David Bischoff David F. Bischoff (December 15, 1951 – March 19, 2018) was an American science fiction and television writer. General background Born in Washington, D.C., Bischoff wrote science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. He be ...
. No definitive origin for ''mogwai'' or gremlins is given in either ''Gremlins'' film. The novelization contains a subplot that was cut from the original film, where the
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
plans to neutralize the gremlins with fire hoses. A comic book adaptation was published by
Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...
in 1984.


Video games


Action-oriented video games

Several officially licensed
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s based on the film have been produced. One of the first was ''
Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voic ...
'', released by Atari, Inc. for their 2600 console. Atari, Inc. released a completely different (and more technically advanced) game—also called ''Gremlins''—for the
Atari 5200 The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200' ...
console and the
Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...
,
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
, and IBM PC compatible computers. Although the Atari 5200 version went to manufacturing in 1984, the turmoil surrounding Jack Tramiel's takeover of Atari's consumer business resulted in it not being released until 1986. In the 2000s, more games were released; ''Gremlins: Unleashed!'' was released on
Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
in 2001. The game was about Gizmo trying to catch Stripe and thirty other gremlins, while the gremlins also try to turn Gizmo into a gremlin. Both Gizmo and Stripe are playable characters in the game. In 2011 NECA, published a Gremlins game for the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
and
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
called ''Gremlins Gizmo''. This was developed by
Pipeworks Software Pipeworks Studios is an American video game developer based in Eugene, Oregon. The company was founded in November 1999 by Dan White and Dan Duncalf and works to provide full development, co-development, and live operations to video game publis ...
and was released on November 18, 2011. A Gremlins Team Pack was released for ''
Lego Dimensions ''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Wii U. ...
'' on November 18, 2016. The pack includes minifigures of Gizmo and Stripe, a constructible Polaroid
camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
and
radio-controlled car Radio-controlled cars, or RC cars for short, are miniature vehicles (cars, vans, buses, buggies, etc.) controlled via radio. Nitro powered models use glow plug engines, small internal combustion engines fuelled by a special mixture of n ...
and grants access to an Adventure World and Battle Arena based on the films. Howie Mandel and Frank Welker reprise their respective roles as Gizmo and Stripe. In the
platform fighter A platform fighter is a video game genre, sub-genre of fighting games that emphasizes free 2D movement, often with floating platforms that can be traversed on, similar to a platform game, platformer game. The central gameplay involves combat bet ...
''
MultiVersus ''MultiVersus'' (''MVS'') is a 2024 free-to-play platform fighting game developed by Player First Games and published by Warner Bros. Games. In the game, players battle on different stages as characters from Warner Bros. franchises, including ...
'', Gizmo and Stripe are playable characters, along with a map based on the theater shown in the film.


''Gremlins: The Adventure''

At the time of the film's release, an
interactive fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...
game based on scenes from the film, entitled ''Gremlins: The Adventure'' (1985), was released for various
home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...
s, including the
Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...
, the
BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...
, the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
and the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
. The game was written by Brian Howarth for
Adventure Soft Adventure Soft is a British video game developer and publisher established by Mike Woodroffe, initially as an importer and reseller of Adventure International games as Adventure International (UK), and later using the names Horror Soft, Advent ...
and was text-based, with full-color illustrations on some formats.


Miscellaneous

In addition to this, ''Gremlins'' brand breakfast cereal was produced by Ralston concurrent to and for a few years after the first film was released in 1984. The front of the cereal box featured Gizmo, and inside were decals of the malevolent gremlins, including Stripe.


Sequels and prequel

After the commercial success it was followed by a sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' in 1990. The film was not as successful as the first, and further films were not planned. In January 2013, Vulture reported that Warner Bros. was negotiating with Amblin Entertainment to reboot the ''Gremlins'' franchise.
Seth Grahame-Smith Seth Grahame-Smith (born Seth Jared Greenberg; January 4, 1976) is an American writer and film producer, best known as the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling novels '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' and '' Abraham Lincoln, Vampire ...
was selected to produce, alongside David Katzenberg. In January 2015, Grahame-Smith stated that the project has been put on hold. In November 2015,
Zach Galligan Zachary Wolfe Galligan (born February 14, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Billy Peltzer in the comedy-horror films ''Gremlins'' (1984) and '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990). Early life and education Galligan was ...
confirmed that the third film will be a sequel and not a reboot. In a December 2016 interview with ''Bleeding Cool'', Galligan again spoke about a third film saying that "Warner Bros. definitely wants it, Chris Columbus wants to do it because he'd like to undo the ''Gremlins 2'' thing as he wasn't thrilled with it, and Spielberg wants to." He claimed ''Gremlins 3'' is being written by Carl Ellsworth. In an interview with ''
/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''SlashFilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. The site's reviews appear on Rotten Tomatoes, and as of 2024, two of its leading film cr ...
'' in 2017, a script was written by Chris Columbus. His script explored the idea that has been on the fan's mind for a long time: "if all the gremlins come from getting Gizmo wet and feeding his mogwai offspring after midnight, should Gizmo be eliminated?" He described his script as "twisted and dark". In November 2020, Columbus stated that CGI would not be used for the gremlins and that traditional puppets and animatronics would continue to be used. In 2019, Warner Bros. successfully gained registered trademark of the name and the franchise. That same year, the studio's parent company
WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC (Trade name, doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational corporation, multinational mass media and show business, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 ...
greenlit an animated prequel series based on the property for its streaming service,
Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...
. The first season, subtitled ''Secrets of the Mogwai'', premiered on May 23, 2023. The series was renewed for a second season, subtitled ''The Wild Batch'', which was released on October 3, 2024. In January 2025, it was reported by
Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...
that Warner Bros. was developing a third ''Gremlins'' movie written by Chris Columbus who also was writing a sequel to ''
The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin (in his film debut), Jeff Cohen ...
''. Nothing official has been confirmed by Warner Bros. about a sequel for either film being planned.


Legacy

The film not only spawned the sequel and an advertisement for
British Telecom BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-li ...
, but is believed to have been the inspiration for several unrelated films about small monsters. These include ''
Ghoulies ''Ghoulies'' is a 1985 American horror film, directed by Luca Bercovici in his directorial debut. The film was co-written with producer Jefery Levy. It stars Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, Scott Thomson, and Maris ...
'', ''
Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
'', ''
Hobgoblins A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Night' ...
'' and '' Munchies''. In music, the Scottish post-rock band
Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...
is named after the film's creatures: as for the reason why the band chose this as their name, their guitarist, Stuart Braithwaite, has stated that "it has no significant meaning and we always intended on getting a better one, but like a lot of other things we never got round to it". Welsh singer and songwriter Rod Thomas performs under the name
Bright Light Bright Light Rod Thomas (born 30 October 1982), known professionally as Bright Light Bright Light, is a Welsh electro-pop singer, DJ, composer and producer based in New York City. Bright Light Bright Light incorporates many elements of nu-disco into his mus ...
, which is a direct quote from the film. In November 18, 2016, both Gizmo and Stripe made appearances in ''
Lego Dimensions ''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Wii U. ...
'' as playable characters in their own Team Pack. Many of the other in-game playable characters, such as
Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
, acknowledge the duo's rules and they each have their own unique abilities and weaponry; Gizmo having a radio-controlled car inspired by the toy car he piloted in the film's climax and Stripe having a camera-like gadget inspired by the ones manufactured by Polaroid Corporation, one of which Kate Beringer armed herself with during the gremlins' attack on Dorry's Tavern. Both Mandel and Welker returned to reprise their respective roles. In 2017, some gremlins were featured in the animated film ''
The Lego Batman Movie ''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 animated superhero comedy film, based on characters created by DC Comics and the Lego Batman toy line. It was directed by Chris McKay (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay that is based on a ...
'', with its director,
Chris McKay Christopher McKay (born November 11, 1973) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is best known for directing and editing three seasons of ''Robot Chicken'' and two seasons of '' Moral Orel''. He made his feature directorial debut with '' T ...
, explaining his love for the characters. These gremlins were among numerous villains from outside of the ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' franchise playing a role in the film, with many of the added antagonists owned by Warner Bros. In February 2021, a
Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries and colloquially known as Dew in some areas, is a soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage Bottler (company), bottlers Barney and A ...
Zero Sugar ad featuring Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer and Gizmo was released, which also revealed that Billy has a daughter. Also in 2021, a trio of Gremlins including Stripe appear in '' Space Jam: A New Legacy''. They were shown running towards the site of the basketball game between the Tune Squad and the Goon Squad and can be seen cheering from on top of the blue Bronto-Crane from ''
The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...
''. Both Gizmo and Stripe appear as playable characters in the 2022 fighting game ''
MultiVersus ''MultiVersus'' (''MVS'') is a 2024 free-to-play platform fighting game developed by Player First Games and published by Warner Bros. Games. In the game, players battle on different stages as characters from Warner Bros. franchises, including ...
'', voiced by Daniel Ross. Both Gizmo and the sequel's Brain Gremlin appear in the ''
Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...
'' episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary" as supporting characters.


See also

* Warner Bros. Classics & Great Gremlins Adventure (a.k.a. Gremlins Invasion), two defunct amusement rides themed after the film *
List of holiday horror films Holiday-themed horror films or holiday horror are a subgenre of horror films set during holidays. Holiday horror films can be presented in short or long formats, and typically utilize common themes, images, and motifs from the holidays during which ...
*
List of Christmas films Many Christmas stories have been Christmas film, adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, these films are sold and re-sold every ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * *


Further reading

*


External links

* * * * * * {{Saturn Award for Best Horror Film 1972–1990 1984 black comedy films 1984 comedy horror films 1984 fantasy films 1980s American films 1980s Christmas comedy films 1980s Christmas horror films 1980s dark fantasy films 1980s English-language films 1980s fantasy comedy films 1980s monster movies Amblin Entertainment films American Christmas comedy films American Christmas horror films American comedy horror films American dark fantasy films American fantasy comedy films American monster movies English-language Christmas comedy films English-language comedy horror films English-language fantasy comedy films Films about gremlins Films adapted into television shows Films based on European myths and legends Films directed by Joe Dante Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith Films set in a movie theatre Films set in New York (state) Films shot in Los Angeles Films using stop-motion animation Films with screenplays by Chris Columbus (filmmaker) Gremlins (franchise) Puppet films Rating controversies in film Saturn Award–winning films Warner Bros. films