Gremlins

Released on June 8th 1984 with the collaborative efforts of writer Chris Columbus, executive producer Stephen Spielberg, and director Joe Dante; *Gremlins* is a horror comedy about an aspiring New York inventor named Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) who buys a mysterious creature from a Chinatown antique store despite the pleas and warnings from the owner, Mr. Wing (Keye Luke). He gives it to his son Billy (Zach Galligan) as a Christmas present which is a “mogwai” they name Gizmo (creature effects by Chris Walas and voice provided by Howie Mandel). He is given three rules for taking care of him: Never let him near any source of light (sunlight is fatal), keep him away from water (causes multiplication), and never feed him after midnight. Billy fails each rule one after the other and the result is that the once cuddly creatures transform into malevolent, mischievous monsters out to cause mayhem in the town of Kingston Falls.

## Summary:

The film was a huge commercial and critical success, though some of its graphic content (the kitchen scene being the worst offender) along with *Temple of Doom* (came out a month before) ultimately led to the creation of the MPAA’s PG-13 rating. In 1990, a sequel named *Gremlins 2: The New Batch* was released with Joe Dante returning to the director’s chair and follows Gizmo’s adventures in New York City where he is reunited with Billy in a skycraper owned by multi-billionaire and Trump-expy, Daniel Clamp (John Glover). But just like the first film, the rules are broken, Mogwai’s multiply, they have a midnight snack, and turn into mischievous beasts. Unlike the first film however, this one has a much more cartoonish tone to it with meta-references to Hollywood sequels and pop cultural references all over the place (*The Wizard of Oz*, *Marathon Man*, *Phantom of the Opera*). This led to some division between critics & fans and the film only made half its money back, but it still a celebrated cult classic amongst movie buffs. While a rumoured *Gremlins 3* has been in development hell for a very long time, an animated prequel series named *Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai* is due to premiere on HBO Max around 2021.

## Action Figures:

Like any profitable movie from the 1980's, *Gremlins* made a lot of money through its marketing division with all sorts of video game tie-ins, breakfast cereals,  and even a public service announcement about the dangers of drunk driving & drugs.  LJN did an entire toyline to promote the first movie and even three whole decades after the movies were released,  several other toy companies market on the nostalgia factor of the *Gremlins* series; including LEGO who introduced both Stripe and Gizmo as part of their Year 2 plan of *LEGO Dimensions*.  Though with every *Gremlins* product they've been able to unleash from the crate, there were also a few that were sealed up and have never been opened to this day. These are their stories down below:

* NECA

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlins
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlins:\_Secrets\_of\_the\_Mogwai
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUI891ejeYc
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UmIOCpzUo0
5. ↑ https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=773
6. ↑ https://lego-dimensions.fandom.com/wiki/Gremlins