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Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American black comedy horror film, and the sequel to the 1984 film Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker. Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, and Keye Luke reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include John Glover, Robert Prosky, Haviland Morris, Robert Picardo , and Christopher Lee ; additionally, the film features Tony Randall providing the voice for one of the gremlins. The story continues the adventures of the creature Gizmo (once again voiced by Howie Mandel), who spawns numerous small monsters when wet. In the first film, Gizmo's offspring rampaged through a small fictional town. In Gremlins 2: The New Batch , Gizmo multiplies within a skyscraper in New York City after his owner died. The new creatures thus pose a serious threat to the city should they be able to leave the building, and the story revolves around the human characters' efforts to prevent this disaster.

Like the first film, Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a live-action horror comedy film; however, Dante put effort into taking the sequel in new anarchistic directions. Dante created the film to act almost as a parody of the original Gremlins , and it is meant to be more cartoon-like and less dark than the original. Its violence leans more towards slapstick, so the film received a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). There are also a number of parodies of other films and stories, including the Rambo films, The Wizard of Oz , Marathon Man and The Phantom of the Opera .

Plot

After his owner Mr. Wing dies, the mogwai Gizmo becomes the guinea pig of scientists at a lab in the Clamp Center , a state-of-the-art highrise building in Manhattan, owned by eccentric billionaire Daniel Clamp . At the mercy of the chief researcher Dr. Catheter, Gizmo is rescued by his former owner Billy Peltzer and his fiancée Kate, both of whom work elsewhere in the building. Clamp befriends Billy upon being impressed by his skills in concept design, sparking the interest of Billy's superior Marla Bloodstone. Gizmo is left in the office, where water spills on his head from a broken drinking fountain and spawns four new mogwai , one of them being Mohawk, a reincarnation of Stripe. They cage Gizmo in the air vents and later eat at the building's food court after midnight, becoming gremlins.

After Gizmo escapes from the vent, Mohawk captures and tortures him. The other gremlins set off the fire sprinklers and spawn a gremlin army that throws the building into chaos. Billy attempts to lure the gremlins into the lobby, where sunlight will kill them; after Billy briefs Clamp on gremlin knowledge, Clamp exits through a secret tunnel to cover the front of the building in a giant sheet to trick the creatures. The gremlins drink genetic serums in the lab; one becomes the intelligent Brain Gremlin, another gremlin becomes female, and a third becomes a being of pure electricity and kills Dr. Catheter before Billy traps it in the building's telephone system. All the while, television host "Grandpa Fred" films the chaos, aided by a Japanese tourist named Mr. Katsuji.

Murray Futterman, Billy's neighbor from Kingston Falls who is visiting New York City with his wife Sheila, is attacked by a bat-gremlin hybrid immunized to sunlight by the Brain Gremlin with "genetic sunblock". After fending it off, Murray realizes that he is not crazy and has to help; when Clamp escapes the building using his secret route, Murray uses it to sneak inside to aid Billy. Billy and chief of security Forster team up, but the enamored female gremlin chases Forster off. Mohawk drinks a spider serum and transforms into a monstrous gremlin-spider hybrid. He attacks Kate and Marla, but Gizmo saves them by killing Mohawk with an ignited bottle of white-out.

Billy's plan to kill the gremlins by flooding the lobby with sunlight fails when rain clouds block the sun. He instead directs Murray to spray the gremlins with a fire hose, then releases the electric one from the telephone to electrocute and melt them all. Clamp charges in with the police and press, but sees the conflict is resolved; thrilled by the result, he promotes Billy, Kate, Fred, and Marla and hires Mr. Katsuji as a cameraman. Billy and Kate then return home with Gizmo. Forster calls Clamp to notify him that he is trapped at the highest floor of the building. The female gremlin, the sole survivor of the horde, corners him and entices him to marry her.

Cast
  • Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer

  • Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer

  • John Glover as Daniel Clamp

  • Robert Prosky as Grandpa Fred

  • Robert Picardo as Forster, Chief of Security

  • Christopher Lee as Dr. Cushing Catheter

  • Haviland Morris as Marla Bloodstone

  • Dick Miller as Murray Futterman

  • Jackie Joseph as Sheila Futterman

  • Gedde Watanabe as Mr. Katsuji, A Japanese Tourist

  • Keye Luke as Mr. Wing, Gizmo's Elderly Owner

  • Kathleen Freeman as Marge "Microwave Marge", Hostess of A Cooking Program.

  • Don and Dan Stanton as Martin and Lewis, Dr. Catheter's Assistants

  • Jason Presson as Alex, The Yogurt Jerk

  • Belinda Balaski as The Mother In The Movie Theater. Balanski played Mrs. Harris in the first film.

  • Paul Bartel as The Theater Manager

  • Kenneth Tobey as The Theater Projectionist

  • Hulk Hogan as Himself

  • Julia Sweeney as Peggy, The Lab Receptionist

  • Henry Gibson as Employee Fired For Smoking

  • Charles S. Haas as Casper, Dr. Catheter's Assistant

  • Leonard Maltin as Himself

The film has various crew and guest cameos: Jerry Goldsmith as a yogurt customer, John Astin as a janitor, and Henry Gibson as an employee fired for smoking. Rick Ducommun cameos as a security guard, and Joe Dante as the director of Grandpa Fred's show. Dick Butkus and Bubba Smith cameo as themselves getting attacked at the salad bar. The cast of the PBS children's show Square One TV appear as themselves filming an episode in the lobby of the Clamp building. Dean Norris and Raymond Cruz , who both would later gain prominence on the acclaimed television series Breaking Bad as well as its spin-off Better Call Saul , appear in the film as a SWAT team member and delivery man respectively.

Voices
  • Howie Mandel as Gizmo

  • Tony Randall as Brain Gremlin

  • Frank Welker as Mohawk

  • Kirk Thatcher as Gremlins

  • Mark Dodson as Gremlins

  • Jeff Bergman as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (uncredited)

  • Neil Ross as Announcer

  • Michael Sheehan as Special Vocal Effects (uncredited)

Looney Tunes segments

The film includes animated segments written and directed by Chuck Jones and featuring the Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. Jones had retired from animation before returning to work on Gremlins 2: The New Batch . Dante explained the animation at the beginning of the film was meant to "set the anarchic tone."

The first scene initiates the film, and features the classic Looney Tunes opening card, causing people to assume it is the short cartoon that usually plays before a movie begins; however, when Bugs appears through the rings on top of the Warner Bros. shield, Daffy interrupts the intro, and steals the shield from Bugs. Daffy attempts to recreate the opening with himself in Bugs' place, but the shield overshoots, causing the entire title card to fall apart. Daffy surrenders the stardom, claiming that since he will not star in the cartoon, they might as well just skip straight to the movie. Bugs is willing to do so, and spins Daffy off screen like a spinning top for the movie title to appear.

The DVD and Blu-ray include a longer version of the cartoon short. In it, Daffy is informed by Bugs that he has been promoted to executive and is subsequently put in charge writing the title of the movie. When Daffy mistakenly writes the title Gremlins 2 as "Gremlin Stew", Bugs corrects the error. Daffy then attempts to rename the film The Return of Super-Daffy Meets Gremlins 2 Part 6: The Movie , but Bugs rejects this for being too long, changing it back to Gremlins 2 (rendered in the font of the official logo). Daffy then quits his new job and Bugs decides to add in the subtitle, saying it looks "a little skimpy". This material was removed from the film because early audiences expected a live-action film and were bewildered by the lengthy animated sequence.

Throughout the film's closing credits, Daffy pops into frame sporadically and spouts off sarcastic comments. The last scene appears after the credits, and again features the Looney Tunes rings. This time, Porky comes out of the rings and tries to say his usual "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!" However, Daffy interrupts again and takes over. After Daffy says the slogan, the back of the Warner Bros. shield, with the words, "Title Animation Written & Directed by Chuck Jones (with Chuck Jones' signature)", smashes him. He peeks his head out to the left side and says, "Fade out," and the segment ends.

Production

The original Gremlins was a financial success, and Warner Bros. asked its director Joe Dante to make a sequel straight away. Dante declined, because he saw Gremlins as having a proper ending, and thus a sequel would only be meant to be profitable. Moreover, the original film was a taxing experience for Dante, and he wanted to move on. Work on Gremlins 2: The New Batch continued without him, as the studio approached various directors and writers. Storylines considered included sending the gremlins to cities like Las Vegas or even the planet Mars. After these ideas fell through, the studio returned to Dante, who agreed to make the sequel after receiving the rare promise of having complete creative control over the movie; he also received a budget triple that of the original film. Dante later acknowledged that by this point too much time had passed between the films, thus possibly reducing public interest in a Gremlins sequel.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch was shot in New York City in June 1989 and released in 1990. As the filmmakers noted, this was a time when cable television, genetics, and frozen yogurt were becoming more common in popular culture, hence are all parodied in the movie.

Plotting

With more control over the film, Dante engineered a project that he later referred to as "one of the more unconventional studio pictures, ever." Dante included some material that he believed Warner Bros. would not have allowed had they not wanted a sequel to Gremlins . Allowed to break a number of rules in filmmaking, he also later claimed it was the film into which he had put the most of his personal influence. Dante imagined Gremlins 2: The New Batch as a satire of Gremlins and sequels in general.

Screenwriter Charlie Haas introduced the concept of moving the gremlins to New York City and a corporate head (Daniel Clamp) as Billy's boss. When the Warner Bros. executives grew concerned about the expense of portraying the gremlins attacking an entire city, Haas came up with the idea of confining the action within Clamp's "smart building". Haas also included a great deal of material in his screenplay that proved too elaborate to produce, including having a cow–hamster hybrid running on a treadmill in the laboratory.

In keeping with Dante's desires to satirize the original film, the sequel has some meta-references and self-referential humor. These include a cameo appearance by film critic Leonard Maltin. He holds up a copy of the original Gremlins home video and denounces it, just as he had in reality; however, his rant is cut short when gremlins pounce on him. Partly for this scene, one academic called Dante "one of contemporary cinema's great pranksters."

Additionally, when Billy is trying to explain the rules regarding the mogwai to staff in the building, the staff finds them quite absurd and derisively interrogates Billy on their precise meaning; at one point considering the thought experiment of a mogwai in a plane which crosses a time zone. This scene originates from the fact that the filmmakers themselves saw the rules as irrational, and some questions in the scene were based upon those raised by fans of the original film.

At one point in the film, Dante attempted to involve his audience in the story by making it seem as if the gremlins had taken control of the theatre where Gremlins 2: The New Batch was showing. The filmstrip appears to be broken by the gremlins, who then engage in shadow puppetry over a white screen before replacing the reel with the vintage nudie film Volleyball Holiday . Hulk Hogan then makes a cameo appearance as an audience member and intimidates the gremlins into running the rest of Gremlins 2: The New Batch . This joke was inspired by a similar stunt in William Castle's film The Tingler (1959). The studio feared that people might leave the theatre if they thought the film had broken; Dante therefore secured the inclusion of the sequence by assembling some people for a preview of the film. When the scene was shown, the real-life audience found it enjoyable and stayed in the theatre. Dante later described this scene as one of the most widely enjoyed jokes in Gremlins 2 .

When the film made its debut on home video, the filmmakers replaced the scene to make it seem as if the viewer's VCR had been broken by the gremlins. In this version, the gremlins do their shadow puppetry over white noise before changing the VCR's channels. Their antics stop at a broadcast of Chisum , where John Wayne forces the gremlins into continuing the film, although voice impersonation was needed since Wayne had been dead since 1979; actor Chad Everett was recommended by Wayne's son Patrick Wayne. Notably, a clip from Falling Hare , a film released in 1943 featuring Bugs Bunny and a gremlin, appears in this version. Also featured is a clip of the opening titles of the KTHV local newscast at the time in Little Rock, Arkansas. These sequences occur in lieu of the Hulk Hogan sequence which also featured Paul Bartel; home video audiences would not see these sequences until the DVD and Blu-ray releases (which includes the reworked VHS scene as a bonus feature).

The original version of the film was longer, but executive producer Steven Spielberg claimed that there were too many gremlins, and several scenes were cut as a result. One deleted scene portrayed three of the main gremlins, Daffy, Lenny, and George, sneaking into television host Grandpa Fred's studio and "helping" him host, acting on the premise that Grandpa Fred's show was intended to be scary (though this scene was later included in the tie-in novel).

Casting

Several actors from the original film returned to make Gremlins 2: The New Batch , including Galligan, Cates, and Dick Miller. Miller reprised his role as Billy's neighbor Mr. Futterman, who the gremlins severely injured (both physically and mostly mentally) in the first film, in an expanded role in this film. In the second, he plays a part in wiping out the creatures by dousing one in cement and using the building's fire hose against the others. Character actress Jackie Joseph returned to play Mr. Futterman's wife, and there were also brief reappearances in the movie theatre sequence from Belinda Balaski as a complaining mother and Kenneth Tobey as the projectionist. Keye Luke also returned to play Mr. Wing, Gizmo's original owner. When Luke heard his character would die in Gremlins 2: The New Batch , he quipped, "Remember, when you make Gremlins 3 , I'm a flashback!". Hoyt Axton was meant to return as Billy's father, the inventor. He would have appeared at the end of the film, having designed special clothing for Gizmo that would ensure Gizmo would never come into contact with water again. At the last moment, the filmmakers decided not to shoot the scene to reduce time.

New performers included Robert Picardo, who had previously worked with Dante and producer Michael Finnell in films such as The Howling (1981) and Innerspace (1987). He plays Forster, one of Billy's crueler bosses. Robert Prosky played Grandpa Fred, a television host, and his character was based upon Al Lewis's character Grandpa Munster. Joe Dante has a brief cameo as the director of Grandpa Fred's show. John Glover played Clamp (character based upon Donald Trump and Ted Turner) and brought to the role an enthusiastic innocence that overrode the fact that his character had been written as a villain, which Dante thought lightened the film in general.

Christopher Lee (who previously worked with Spielberg in 1941 ) played the mad scientist Dr. Catheter. Lee imagined his role as light-hearted; but Dante encouraged him to portray the scientist as evil to better match the atmosphere of the laboratory set. Lee was revered on the set for his experience. In a deleted scene, Dr. Catheter examines a bat injected with "genetic sun-block". He then says to his colleague, "I'm told they sometimes feed on blood"; this is a reference to Lee's performances as Count Dracula in the Hammer Horror films. Later, as the Bat Gremlin is transforming, Dr. Catheter experiences Deja-vu (the audience hears Dracula music). The doctor's first name, Cushing, is a reference to Lee's frequent Hammer co-star, and best friend, Peter Cushing.

Leonard Maltin, movie critic for Entertainment Tonight , had given a negative review to the first Gremlins film. While Dante was initially hurt by the review, he invited Maltin to film a cameo as the movie critic of a fictional Clamp Cable Network show, The Movie Police. Maltin gives a snide review for the video re-release of the first film along the lines of his original review before being assaulted by gremlins, pleading, "I was just kidding! It's a ten! A ten!"

Special effects

For special effects, the original film relied on Chris Walas, who moved on to pursue a directing career. Dante turned to Academy Award-winner Rick Baker to create the effects for Gremlins 2: The New Batch . Baker was not interested, as he saw Gremlins 2: The New Batch as too much work for a project in which he would not be the creator but rather a successor to Walas. He was eventually persuaded to accept the job when it was suggested he could make the gremlins and mogwai more diverse.

In the first film, when Gizmo multiplied, his off-spring closely resembled himself, except for the leader, Stripe. Here, the four mogwai Gizmo produces each possess their own distinct personalities and physical features. Additionally, each mogwai has a name, although the names were used in the script and never spoken aloud in the film. Two of the mogwais were George, black without a stripe and a caricature of Edward G. Robinson, and Lenny, buck-toothed, named for the principal characters in Of Mice and Men , whom they resemble in both appearance and demeanor. Daffy was named for his manic behaviour, and the leader, Mohawk, for his mohawk hairstyle. Based on the original film's character, Stripe, Frank Welker also voices Mohawk. While both the mogwai and gremlin versions of Stripe had fur stripes, Baker hit upon the idea of giving the Mohawk mogwai a fur stripe and giving the Mohawk gremlin something scalier. Gizmo was also redesigned; the puppet was generally larger and its design was simplified. Dante commented Gizmo may look less real in Gremlins 2: The New Batch , but the result was that Gizmo could convey more emotion.

Later on, when the mogwai metamorphose into gremlins and multiply, they further diversify by running amok in the bio-lab and ingesting various drugs. One turns into a sunlight-resistant hybrid with a bat, thus becoming the Bat Gremlin. Mohawk becomes part-spider. One becomes part-vegetable (Vegetable Gremlin, as Dante named it), and another consumes a drug and turns into a female gremlin, referred to in at least one script as the "Girl Gremlin" and in the official trading card series and other promotional materials as "Lady Gremlina" with shiny red lips and mascara. Yet another has acid thrown onto his face, quickly presenting a mask of the Phantom of the Opera.

As with the first, puppetry was involved, and some of the puppets were mechanical. An actor holding a puppet would have to have wires strapped to him. Gremlins 2 also includes more stop motion animation than the first film; the Bat Gremlin was portrayed through some stop motion animation. Film technology since the original had improved, and as a result the creatures can be seen walking more. Gizmo is able to dance, although this scene took the longest to make. Because there are more gremlins in Gremlins 2 than the original, additional filming lasted five months. Many of the effects had to be completed after the actors had finished their work.

For the gremlins' voices, Howie Mandel returned as the voice of Gizmo, while Tony Randall provided the voice of the Brain Gremlin, Frank Welker provided the voice for Mohawk, Mark Dodson provided voices for George, Lenny, and Daffy, Joe Dante provided voices for the Beanie Gremlin and the Witch Gremlin, Nancy McConnor provided the voice for the Bat Gremlin, while Kirk Thatcher provided voices for most of the gremlins, alongside Welker.

Music

As with the first film, the music in Gremlins 2: The New Batch was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith, who also has a cameo in the film alongside his wife. The song "I'm Ready" by Fats Domino was put into the film after singer Billy Idol denied the filmmakers the right to use the song "Dancing with Myself", so Joe Dante had to find a song that fit the beat that Gizmo was dancing to. In the latter half of the film, Gizmo, inspired by the Rambo films and tired of the abuse he has suffered at the hands of the gremlins, takes revenge on Mohawk. Gizmo shoots the Mohawk spider-gremlin with a makeshift bow and flaming arrow. For the scene in which Gizmo prepares for this move, Goldsmith – who had also authored the music in the Rambo films – employed a variant of Gizmo's theme in the style of the Rambo theme. The soundtrack was released August 31, 1990 through Varèse Sarabande and features twelve tracks of score at a running time just under forty minutes. On June 22, 2015, an expanded release came from the same label.

The scene featuring Mohawk transforming into a spider-like monster features a portion of the song "Angel of Death" by thrash metal band Slayer. In another scene, the Brain Gremlin leads hundreds of gremlins to sing "New York, New York". Dante claimed that "The musical number is a shameless steal" from the film Dames (1934).

Song list
  • Fats Domino – "I'm Ready"

  • Jeff Beck – "Sling Shot"

  • Jeff Beck – "Situation"

  • Slayer – "Angel of Death"

  • Johann Sebastian Bach – "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor"

  • Tony Randall – "New York, New York"

  • Bach – Air on the G String

  • Thompson Twins – "Bombers in the Sky"

  • Damn Yankees – "Damn Yankees"

  • Jasmine Guy – "Tuff Boy"

  • Private Life – "Touch Me"

  • Gordon Lightfoot – "If You Could Read My Mind"

  • Faith No More – "Surprise! You're Dead!"

  • George Gershwin – "Rhapsody in Blue"

Reception

Film critics varied in their reviews of Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus states; "Gremlins 2 trades the spiky thrills of its predecessor for looney satire, yielding a succession of sporadically clever gags that add some flavor to a recycled plot." Roger Ebert, who had approved of the first film, observed that Gremlins 2 was meant to satirize sequels. Nevertheless, he felt it did not manage to differentiate itself from the original enough and was not as good. He went on to claim that the film lacks a well-constructed plot, and once the gremlins arrived the film simply becomes a "series of gags." He thus gave the film two and a half stars, out of a possible four. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post caught on to how the Looney Tunes animation is meant to imply "anarchic wit," but nevertheless felt both the cartoon short and the film itself are failures. He saw the beginning as too slow and, like Ebert, thought the film is too similar to the first. Hinson did, however, approve of the characterization of the gremlins and their version of "New York, New York." He also noted that turning the gremlins against Clamp resembles anti-corporate "poetic justice."

In contrast, while one reviewer for Films in Review , like Ebert, argued the film resembles the original and abandons its plot when the gremlins arrive, he also felt the film's appeal could be found partly in its self-consciousness of these facts and its in-jokes and satire. He also complimented Cates as "wholesomely bewitching," and Galligan as "a suitably naive foil for the scaly fiends." Desson Howe of The Washington Post also approved of the film, including its special effects and the parodies of Trump, Turner, genetics labs, cable television, and the film Marathon Man . Some critics thought the film has qualities the original lacked, such as wit. A critic for National Review called the film "much freer and wittier than the first one," though he felt the sequel shies away from becoming an important piece of satire.

The cover of an issue of Entertainment Weekly in July 1990 also exclaimed that "actor John Glover... and director Joe Dante made Gremlins 2: The New Batch wittier, better, and more subversive than the original." Some critics who found the first film too dark also gave Gremlins 2: The New Batch more positive reviews. Leonard Maltin, who appears in the film, gave it three out of four stars for its references to other films, Glover's imitation of Turner and Trump, and Lee's performance. VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever gave the film three-and-a-half bones out of four as opposed to the three bones given to the original, stating:

The sequel to "Gremlins" is superior to the original, which was quite good. ... director Dante presents a less violent but far more campy vision, paying myriad surreal tributes to scores of movies, including "The Wizard of Oz" and musical extravaganzas of the past. Also incorporates a Donald Trump parody, takes on TV news, and body-slams modern urban living. Great fun.[nb 1]

An Allmovie critic complimented the sequel by saying the "original's violence and mean-spiritedness are gone, making this follow-up somewhat more kid-friendly." The film was nominated for several Saturn Awards, namely for Best Director, Best Fantasy Film, Best Music, and Best Special Effects. Glover and Picardo were both nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award.

Still, the film did not perform as well at the box office as the original. Gremlins 2: The New Batch was released into US theatres on June 15, 1990, the same day as Dick Tracy . In its first weekend it made $9,702,804, and it ultimately made $41,482,207. It was thus only the thirty-first highest-grossing film of the year, behind a few other films in the comedy, horror or fantasy genre, such as Back to the Future Part III ($87,727,583), Edward Scissorhands ($56,362,352), and Arachnophobia ($53,208,180). It did, however, outperform Predator 2 ($30,669,413), Child's Play 2 ($28,501,605) and The Exorcist III ($26,098,824).

Gremlins 2: The New Batch also played in other countries. Canadian audiences reportedly enjoyed one scene where Billy and his boss meet at a Canadian-themed restaurant, where the waiters are dressed like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The film was released in Norway on July 5, Finland on July 6, Colombia on July 12, and much of Europe in the rest of July, including in the United Kingdom and Spain on July 27. It opened in France and Argentina in August and reached Australia on September 20. It earned £7,400,000 in the United Kingdom.

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Merchandising

As with the first film, merchandising accompanied Gremlins 2: The New Batch . This may have been integral to the film's purpose. As one critic wrote, "it's a savvy, off-the-wall comedy that acknowledges, yes, it is just one more silly rip-off sequel, produced to sell off the merchandise inspired by the first film." One reference the film makes to the original, an allusion to the merchandising surrounding Gizmo, drew criticism. Some critics saw the mention of merchandise as tasteless. This type of product placement has since become more common.

The new merchandise released alongside the film included PVC figures, plush, and other collectibles by the now-defunct Applause company in 1990. Much later, action figures by the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA Toys) based on characters such as the Brain and Mohawk gremlins were released. NECA also planned to release mogwais and gremlins from the film in late 2011 and 2012; with mogwai and gremlin versions of Daffy, Lenny and George, as well as a mogwai version of Mohawk. The Electric gremlin, flasher gremlin and the Phantom of the Opera gremlin were also planned to be released in action figure form by NECA. There were also newer versions of Gizmo released, including his Rambo look. Greta, a newer version of Mohawk and Mohawk in Spider form were also being planned.

There were also children's books like Gremlins 2: The New Batch: Movie Storybook , by Michael Teitelbaum, published by Goldencraft in December 1990. Little Golden Books published Gremlins 2: The New Batch: Gizmo to the Rescue in July 1990. In the United Kingdom, William Heinemann Ltd. had published two tie-in picture books from Buzz Books in August 1990 which contains photographs and scenes taken from the film. They were titled Don't Get Wet and Midnight Feast . Buzz Books had also released other picture books that are particularly suitable for children such as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends , Fireman Sam , TUGS , The Flintstones , The Animals of Farthing Wood , Looney Tunes , Bugs Bunny , Joshua Jones and Rupert . David Bischoff wrote a novel based on the film published by Avon Books in June 1990. A unique aspect of the novel is how Bischoff adapts the sequence where the film breaks. In the novel, the Brain Gremlin subdues and locks Bischoff in his bathroom before taking the reins for a little bit to explain that the gremlins take over at this point in the film, his displeasure at Bischoff using the nickname "Mr. Glasses" instead of his official name, and begins a treatise on politics before Bischoff breaks his way out of the bathroom with an axe and subdues the Brain Gremlin. The novel then continues where the film picked up after the film break.

The Spanish company Topo Soft developed a side-scrolling Gremlins 2: The New Batch video game for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, MSX, Amstrad CPC and the ZX Spectrum, distributed by Erbe Software in Spain and by Elite abroad, being the first time a Spanish video game company got an exclusive license from a Hollywood movie to make a videogame. Hi Tech Expressions also released a DOS game at around the same time, but it was poorly received. Sunsoft released versions for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy in 1990.

Potential sequel

In January 2013, Vulture reported that Warner Bros. was negotiating with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment to reboot the Gremlins franchise. Seth Grahame-Smith was tapped to produce, alongside David Katzenberg. However, Grahame-Smith has since stated that the project has been put on hold. In November 2015 Zach Galligan confirmed that the third film will be a sequel and not a reboot.

In a December 2016 interview with Bleeding Cool , Galligan said that Columbus had been "aggressively working on a Gremlins 3 ", which had writer Carl Ellsworth on board. A 2017 interview with Chris Columbus discussed his "twisted and dark" script which explored the idea that has been on the fans' minds for a long time: "If all the gremlins come from getting Gizmo wet and feeding his mogwai offspring after midnight, should Gizmo be eliminated?" 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.

Gremlins is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"gremlins"—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows a young man who receives a strange creature as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, aggressive monsters that all wreak havoc on a whole town on Christmas Eve.

The film was the center of large merchandising campaigns and opts for black comedy, balanced against a Christmastime setting. Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer, with the film being produced by Michael Finnell.

Gremlins was theatrically released on June 8, 1984 by Warner Bros. to a 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 , Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) alter its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating. It was followed by a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch , in 1990, which has a more satirical tone and parodies Hollywood sequels, to generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Struggling inventor Randall Peltzer visits a Chinatown antique store, hoping to find a Christmas present for his son Billy. Inside, Randall encounters a small, furry creature called a mogwai (Cantonese: 魔怪 , 'devil'). The owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell Randall the creature, but his grandson secretly does, warning Randall to remember three important rules: do not expose the mogwai to light, especially sunlight, which will kill it; do not let it come in contact with water; and above all, never feed it after midnight.

Randall returns home to Kingston Falls where he gives the mogwai to Billy as a pet. Billy works in the local bank, but fears that his dog Barney will be put down by the widowed, miser Mrs. Deagle. Randall names the mogwai "Gizmo" and explains the three rules. When Billy's young friend Pete accidentally spills water over Gizmo, five more mogwai spawn from his back, a more troublemaking sort led by the aggressive Stripe, named for the tuft of fur on his head. Billy shows one of the mogwai to his former elementary school science teacher, Mr. Hanson, spawning another mogwai , on whom Hanson experiments. Back at home, Stripe and his fellow mogwai trick Billy into feeding them after midnight by severing the power cord on his alarm clock. They form cocoons, as does Hanson's mogwai , which soon hatch, emerging as mischievous, dark green, reptilian monsters, who then torture Gizmo and attack Billy's mother, Lynn. Hanson is killed by his gremlin.

Lynn and Billy are able to kill off the gremlins, except for Stripe, who escapes to a local YMCA. There, Stripe jumps into the swimming pool, spawning an army of gremlins who wreak havoc in Kingston Falls. Many people are injured or outright killed by the gremlins' rampage, including Mrs. Deagle.

As Billy rescues his girlfriend, Kate Beringer, they hide in the now-abandoned bank where Kate reveals to Billy and Gizmo why she hates Christmas: when she was nine years old, her father went missing on Christmas Eve and did not come home on Christmas Day either; several days later, he was found dead in their chimney while dressed as Santa Claus. Planning to surprise her and her mother, he had accidentally slipped and broken his neck while climbing down the chimney. Still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the event, Kate confesses this is how she discovered the truth about Santa Claus.

Billy and Kate discover that the town has fallen silent and the gremlins are watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the local theater. They set off a natural gas explosion, incinerating all the gremlins except for Stripe, who left to commandeer more candy at a Montgomery Ward store across the street. As morning approaches, they follow Stripe into the department store, where Stripe attempts to use a water fountain to spawn more gremlins. Gizmo opens a skylight, exposing Stripe to sunlight, killing him.

As the local news reports on the day's mysterious tragedies, Mr. Wing reclaims Gizmo at the Peltzer home. He criticizes both the Peltzers' and Western society for their carelessness with Nature. However, as he turns to leave, Gizmo, having bonded with Billy, bids the young man goodbye. A touched Mr. Wing then concedes that Billy may be ready one day, and until then, Gizmo will be waiting.

Cast
  • Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer

  • Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer

  • Hoyt Axton as Randall "Rand" Peltzer

  • Polly Holliday as Ruby Deagle

  • Frances Lee McCain as Lynn Peltzer

  • Judge Reinhold as Gerald Hopkins

  • Dick Miller as Murray Futterman

  • Glynn Turman as Roy Hanson

  • Keye Luke as Mr. Wing

  • Scott Brady as Sheriff Frank Reilly

  • Corey Feldman as Pete Fountaine

  • Jonathan Banks as Deputy Brent Frye

  • Edward Andrews as Roland Corben

  • Jackie Joseph as Sheila Futterman

  • Belinda Balaski as Mrs. Joe Harris

  • Harry Carey Jr. as Mr. Anderson

  • Nicky Katt and Tracy Wells as Schoolchildren

  • John Louie as Mr. Wing's Grandson

  • Kenny Davis as Dorry

  • Mushroom as Barney

  • John C. Becher as Dr. Molinar

Voices
  • Howie Mandel as Gizmo

  • Frank Welker as Stripe

  • Don Steele as Rockin' Ricky Rialto

  • Marvin Miller as Robby The Robot (uncredited )

Mogwai and Gremlin vocal effects provided by Brad Kesten (uncredited), Michael Winslow, Bob Bergen, Fred Newman, Peter Cullen, Jim Cummings (uncredited), Sonny Melendrez (uncredited), Mark Dodson, Bob Holt, and Michael Sheehan.

Cameos
  • Steven Spielberg as Man Riding recumbent bicycle

  • Jim McKrell as Lew Landers

  • Jerry Goldsmith as man in phone booth

  • William Schallert as Father Bartlett

  • Chuck Jones as Mr. Jones, Billy's Drawing Mentor

  • Kenneth Tobey as Smoking Gas Station Attendant

Production

Background

Gremlins was produced at a time when combining horror and comedy was becoming increasingly popular. According to Professor Noël Carroll, Ghostbusters , released the same weekend as Gremlins , and the comic strip The Far Side 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 published a book called The Gremlins in 1943, based on the mischievous creatures. Walt Disney considered making a film of it. A Bugs Bunny cartoon of the era, Falling Hare , has him 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 to show potential employers that he had writing abilities. The story was not actually intended to be filmed until Steven Spielberg 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."

After deciding to executive produce the film, Spielberg chose Dante as his director because of his experience with horror-comedy; Dante had previously directed The Howling (1981) ; 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 which Spielberg also served as a director on. The film's producer was Michael Finnell, 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.

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 dying in 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, 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 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 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 (1982). Spielberg urged the casting of the relatively unknown Zach Galligan 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.

In contrast to Galligan, many of the supporting actors and actresses were better known. Veteran actor Glynn Turman 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, who was a regular in Dante's films, was another experienced actor on the set, playing a World War II veteran who first refers to the creatures as gremlins. Rand was played by Hoyt Axton, 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 (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, 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, who up to that time had primarily been in commercials, played Pete Fountaine, establishing his early credentials as a child actor. Polly Holliday, an actress best known for her role in Alice , 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 and character actor Edward Andrews, received roles that were significantly reduced after the film was edited; they played Billy's superiors at the bank.

Special effects

Some of the performances were shot on the Courthouse Square and Colonial Street sets of the Universal Studios Lot 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 backlot). This required fake snow; Dante also felt it was an atmosphere that would make the special effects more convincing. As the special effects relied mainly on puppetry (an earlier attempt to use monkeys was abandoned because the test monkey panicked when made to wear a gremlin head), the actors worked alongside some of the puppets. Nevertheless, after the actors finished their work for good, a great deal of effort was spent finishing the effects. Numerous small rubber puppets, some of which were mechanical, were used to portray Gizmo and the gremlins. They were designed by Chris Walas. 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 mogwais 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.

A few marionettes were also used. 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 provided the voice for Gizmo, and prolific voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice for 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, "[Gizmo was] cute 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 and Peter Cullen, while the remaining voices were done by Bob Bergen, Fred Newman, Mark Dodson, Bob Holt, and Michael Sheehan.

Music

The film's score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who won a Saturn Award for Best Music for his efforts. 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 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 as a specially priced mini-album on LP and cassette (Goldsmith's music comprised all of side two) and reissued on compact disc in 1993 only in Germany.

  1. Gremlins...Mega Madness – Michael Sembello (3:50)

  2. Make It Shine – Quarterflash (4:10)

  3. Out/Out – Peter Gabriel (7:00)

  4. The Gift (4:51)

  5. Gizmo (4:09)

  6. Mrs. Deagle (2:50)

  7. The Gremlin Rag (4:03)

"Gremlins...Mega Madness" was also released as a single, with "The Gremlin Rag" as its B-side.

In 2011, Film Score Monthly 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.

DISC ONE: The Film Score

  1. Fanfare in C (Max Steiner) / The Shop / The Little One 4:30

  2. Late for Work 1:46

  3. Mrs. Deagle / That Dog 2:22

  4. The Gift 1:45

  5. First Aid 2:17

  6. Spilt Water 3:02

  7. A New One 1:10

  8. The Lab / Old Times 2:35

  9. The Injection 2:56

  10. Snack Time / The Wrong Time 1:49

  11. The Box 1:24

  12. First Aid 1:39

  13. Disconnected / Hurry Home 1:03

  14. Kitchen Fight 4:06

  15. Dirty Linen 0:43

  16. The Pool 1:07

  17. The Plow / Special Delivery 1:16

  18. High Flyer 2:22

  19. Too Many Gremlins 2:06

  20. No Santa Claus 3:27

  21. After Theatre 1:39

  22. Theatre Escape / Stripe Is Loose / Toy Dept. / No Gizmo 4:36

  23. The Fountain / Stripe's Death 5:42

  24. Goodbye, Billy 2:56

  25. End Title / The Gremlin Rag 4:10

  26. Blues 2:17

  27. Mrs. Deagle [film version] 1:27

  28. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen [traditional, arr. Alexander Courage] 1:12

  29. After Theatre [with "Silent Night"] 1:36

  30. After Theatre [without "Silent Night"] 1:36

  31. Rabbit Rampage [Milt Franklyn] 0:47

  32. The Gremlin Rag [full version] 3:35

  33. Gizmo's New Song 0:35

  34. Gizmo's Trumpet 0:30

Tracks 26–34 are listed as bonus tracks.

DISC TWO: 1984 Soundtrack Album

  1. Gremlins...Mega Madness – Michael Sembello 3:52

  2. Make It Shine – Quarterflash 4:11

  3. Out/Out – Peter Gabriel 7:02

  4. The Gift 4:58

  5. Gizmo 4:14

  6. Mrs. Deagle 2:54

  7. 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 (1982).

Gremlins was released into North American theaters on June 8, 1984, the same day as Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters . 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 , Ghostbusters , and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . In August 1984, it opened in Argentina and Spain, and in October it premiered in West Germany. 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.

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 approved of the film, awarding three out of four stars and declaring it to not only be "fun", but also a "sly series of send-ups", effectively parodying 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 tales, 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 gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, 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 of The New York Times 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 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 disapproved of the film, and his view was made clear in remarks he made on the television show Entertainment Tonight . He called the film "icky" and "gross". He later wrote that despite being set in a "picture-postcard town" and blending the feel of It's a Wonderful Life (a clip of which appears in Gremlins ) with that of The Blob , the film is "negated by too-vivid violence and mayhem"; giving the film two out of four stars. Maltin later made a cameo appearance in Gremlins 2 , repeating his criticisms of the original on film, as an in-joke, before being throttled by the creatures; he later gave the second film a more positive rating, three out of four stars.

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 of "some characteristics of Western civilization", 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 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 teenagers, the wealthy establishment, or fans of Disney 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.

Colin Greenland reviewed Gremlins for Imagine 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 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 critical praise over the years and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1984. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 86% based on 76 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. 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, the film received a score of 70 based on 13 reviews, indicatng "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

Award

Date of ceremony

Category

Recipient(s)

Result

Ref(s)

Goldene Leinwand

March 27, 1985

Goldene Leinwand

Joe Dante

Won

Saturn Awards

June 9, 1985

Best Horror Film

Won

Best Director

Joe Dante

Won

Best Supporting Actor

Dick Miller

Nominated

Best Supporting Actress

Polly Holliday

Won

Best Younger Actor

Corey Feldman

Nominated

Best Writing

Chris Columbus

Nominated

Best Music

Jerry Goldsmith

Won

Best Special Effects

Chris Walas

Won

Best Make-Up

Greg LaCava

Nominated

Young Artist Awards

December 2, 1984

Best Family Motion Picture – Adventure

Won

Best Young Supporting Actor

Corey Feldman

Nominated

Home media

Warner Home Video released Gremlins on VHS, CED Videodisc, and Beta in 1985. Gremlins made $79,500,000 in video rental stores. The film was released on DVD in 1997 in a bare bones presentation. It included both full screen and widescreen versions and the film's trailer. It was repackaged in 1999 with the same disc, but a different cover. On August 20, 2002, a "special edition" DVD was released, which featured cast and filmmakers' commentary and deleted scenes. A 25th anniversary Blu-ray edition was released on December 1, 2009. The film was again released on home video in 4K Ultra HD on October 1, 2019.

  • Condition: Neu
  • Subject Type: TV & Movies
  • Card Size: Standard
  • Autographed: No
  • Set: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
  • Character: Daniel Clump, Dr Catheter
  • Film: Gremlins 2
  • Number of Cards: 88
  • Custom Bundle: No
  • Material: Card Stock
  • Size of Cards: 89 mm by 64 mm
  • Year Manufactured: 1990
  • Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
  • Franchise: Gremlins
  • Modified Item: No
  • Imperial Dimensions of Cards: 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches
  • Vintage: Yes
  • Type: Non-Sport Trading Card
  • Language: English
  • Manufacturer: Topps
  • Features: Base Set
  • Featured Person/Artist: Christopher Lee, Robert Picardo, John Glover
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Parody, Satire, Sci-Fi, TV & Movies, Blockbuster Movie
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

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