Gremlins : definition of Gremlins and synonyms of Gremlins (English)
  Aviation gremlin legend
  Origins
Although their origin is found in myths among airmen, claiming that the gremlins were responsible for sabotaging aircraft, John W. Hazen states that "some people" derive the name from the Old English word gremian, "to vex." [1] Since the Second World War , different fantastical creatures have been referred to as gremlins, bearing varying degrees of resemblance to the originals.
The term "gremlin" denoting a mischievous creature that sabotages aircraft, originates in Royal Air Force (RAF) slang in the 1920s among the British pilots stationed in Malta , the Middle East and India , with the earliest recorded printed use being in a poem published in the journal Aeroplane, in Malta on April 10, 1929. [2] [3] Later sources have sometimes claimed that the concept goes back to World War I , but there is no print evidence of this. [1] [N 1]
An early reference to the Gremlin is in aviator Pauline Gower 's The ATA: Women with Wings (1938) where Scotland is described as "gremlin country", a mystical and rugged territory where scissor-wielding gremlins cut the wires of biplanes when unsuspecting pilots were about. [4] An article by Hubert Griffith in the servicemen's fortnightly Royal Air Force Journal dated April 18, 1942, also chronicles the appearance of gremlins, [5] although the article states the stories had been in existence for several years, with later recollections of it having been told by Battle of Britain Spitfire pilots as early as 1940. [6]
This concept of gremlins was popularized during the Second World War among airmen of the UK 's RAF units, [7] in particular the men of the high-altitude Photographic Reconnaissance Units (PRU) of RAF Benson , RAF Wick and RAF St Eval . The creatures were responsible for otherwise inexplicable accidents which sometimes occurred during their flights. Gremlins were also thought at one point to have enemy sympathies, but investigations revealed that enemy aircraft had similar and equally inexplicable mechanical problems. As such, gremlins were portrayed as being equal opportunity tricksters, taking no sides in the conflict, and acting out their mischief from their own self-interests. [8] In reality, the gremlins were a form of " buck passing " or deflecting blame. [8] This led the folklorist John Hazen to note, "Heretofore, the gremlin has been looked on as new phenomenon, a product of the machine age — the age of air." [1]
  The Disney version
  Original 1943 cover of The Gremlins by Roald Dahl
Author Roald Dahl is credited with getting the gremlins known outside the Royal Air Force. [9] He would have been familiar with the myth, having carried out his military service in 80 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in the Middle East. Dahl had his own experience in an accidental crash-landing in the Libyan Desert . In January, 1942 he was transferred to Washington, D.C. as Assistant Air attaché . There he wrote his first children's novel The Gremlins , in which he described male gremlins as "widgets" and females as " fifinellas ". Dahl showed the finished manuscript to Sidney Bernstein , the head of the British Information Service. Sidney reportedly came up with the idea to send it to Walt Disney . [N 2]
The manuscript arrived in Disney's hands in July 1942, and he considered using it as material for a live action/animated full-length feature film, offering Dahl a contract. [N 3] The film project was changed to an animated feature and entered pre-production, with characters "roughed out" and storyboards created. [10] Disney managed to have the story published in the December 1942 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine . At Dahl's urging, in early 1943, a revised version of the story, The Gremlins was published as a picture book by Random House (later updated and re-published in 2006 by Dark Horse Comics ). [N 4]
The publication of The Gremlins by Random House consisted of a 50,000 run for the U.S. market [N 5] with Dahl ordering 50 copies for himself as promotional material for himself and the upcoming film, handing them out to everyone he knew, including Lord Halifax , and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who read it to her grandchildren. [9] The book was considered an international success with 30,000 more sold in Australia but initial efforts to reprint the book were precluded by a wartime paper shortage. [11] Reviewed in major publications, Dahl was considered a writer-of-note and his appearances in Hollywood to follow up with the film project were met with notices in Hedda Hopper's columns. [12] [N 6]
The film project was reduced to an animated "short" and eventually cancelled in August 1943, when copyright and RAF rights could not be resolved. Thanks mainly to Disney, the story had its share of publicity which helped in introducing the concept to a wider audience. Issues #33-#41 of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories published between June 1943 and February 1944 contained a nine-episode series of short silent stories featuring a Gremlin Gus as their star. The first was drawn by Vivie Risto and the rest of them by Walt Kelly . This served as their introduction to the comic book audience.
  A Disney-style Gremlin, as the mascot of Minnesota Wing Civil Air Patrol
While Roald Dahl was famous for making gremlins known world wide, many returning Air Servicemen swear they saw creatures tinkering with their equipment. One crewman swore he saw one before an engine malfunction that caused his B-25 Mitchell bomber to rapidly lose altitude, forcing the aircraft to return to base. Folklorist Hazen likewise offers his own alleged eyewitness testimony of these creatures, which appeared in an academically praised and peer-reviewed publication, describing an occasion he found "a parted cable which bore obvious tooth marks in spite of the fact that the break occurred in a most inaccessible part of the plane." At this point, Hazen states he heard "a gruff voice" demand, "How many times must you be told to obey orders and not tackle jobs you aren't qualified for? — This is how it should be done." Upon which Hazen heard a "musical twang" and another cable was parted. [13]
Critics of this idea state that the stress of combat and the dizzying heights caused such hallucinations, often believed to be a coping mechanism of the mind to help explain the many problems aircraft faced whilst in combat.
  Aircraft gremlins in film and media
  Falling Hare (1943), in which a gremlin torments Bugs Bunny.
On December 21, 1942, CBS aired "Gremlins," a whimsical story written by Louise Fletcher , on an episode of Orson Welles 's patriotic radio series Ceiling Unlimited . U.S. Air Force officers discuss their experiences with the irritating creatures, and conclude that feeding them transforms them into an asset rather than a hindrance to aviation. [14] [15]
In 1943, Bob Clampett directed Falling Hare , a Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny . With Roald Dahl's book and Walt Disney's proposed film being the inspiration, this short has been one of the early Gremlin stories shown to cinema audiences in which multiple gremlins featured. [16] It features Bugs Bunny in conflict with a gremlin at an airfield. The Bugs Bunny cartoon was followed in 1944 by Russian Rhapsody , another Merrie Melodies short showing Russian gremlins sabotaging an aircraft piloted by Adolf Hitler . The gremlin in "Falling Hare" even has a color scheme that reflects one that was used on U.S. Army Air Forces training aircraft of the time, using dark blue (as on such an aircraft's fuselage ) and a deep orange-yellow color (as used on the wings and tail surfaces ).
In Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls , Jim Carrey 's character, Ace, starts a parody gag of The Twilight Zone 's " Nightmare at 20,000 Feet ", impersonating William Shatner and insisting that 'there is something on the wing.'
The Real Ghostbusters episode Don't Forget The Motor City has the Ghostbusters traveling to Detroit to battle gremlins who are sabotaging a factory run by a fictional analog of General Motors .
In Cast a Deadly Spell , an HBO TV-movie from 1991, gremlins are said to have been 'brought back from the pacific' to the US in the second world war, and are seen causing car and house damage.
In the Extreme Ghostbusters episode Grease the Ghostbusters had to capture a gremlin that was damaging New York's machines, while at the same time the FBI believed them to be the cause of the sabotage, and after arresting them, they accidentally released him while on a plane. Surprisingly, the Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner is referenced.
In the Johnny Bravo episode The Man Who Cried Clown, which is part of The Zone Where Normal Things Don't Happen Very Often, Johnny sees an evil clown on the wing of the aircraft and is having difficulty convincing anyone of its existence. When he gets rid of the evil Jacobs, he is informed that it and a good clown were needed to keep the aircraft in balance during flight.
In the cartoon series Eek the Cat the episode 'The Eex Files' starts out with Eek on an aircraft beside a man claiming to see someone outside on the wing. Of course, when he looks there is no one there. At the end of the episode, Eek is dropped off by an alien on the wing of the aircraft and meets the gremlin, then promptly offers to help him "find his wallet". The final scene shows the half-crazed man looking out the window and "spazzing out" when he sees them both tearing up the wing.
In the cartoon series American Dragon Jake Long one of the episodes features gremlins who mess with any type of mechanical devices and cause a lot of trouble during the episode until they are put to sleep and captured.
In Disney's Epic Mickey Gremlins assist Mickey after he releases them.
  Other gremlins
Gremlin Americanus: A Scrap Book Collection of Gremlins by artist and pilot Eric Sloane may predate the Roald Dahl publication. Published in 1942 by B.F. Jay & Co, the central characters are characterized as "pixies of the air" and are friends of both RAF and USAAC pilots. The gremlins are mischievous and give pilots a great deal of trouble, but they have never been known to cause fatal accidents but can be blamed for any untoward incident or "bonehead play", qualities that endear them to all flyers. [19] [N 7]
See also Ssh! Gremlins by H.W. illustrated by Ronald Niebour ("Neb" of the Daily Maily), published by H. W. John Crowther Publication, England, in 1942. This booklet featured numerous humorous illustrations describing the gremlins as whimsical but essentially friendly folk. According to "H.W.", contrary to some reports, gremlins are a universal phenomenon and by no means only the friends of flying men. [20] [N 8]
Not all depictions of gremlins show them on aircraft. Joe Dante 's 1984 movie Gremlins and its sequel , Gremlins 2: The New Batch portray gremlins as malicious creatures whose only goal is to wreak havoc, whether in a small town or in a New York City skyscraper (although the character Mr. Futterman describes them as the same creatures that attacked aircraft in World War Two).
DC Comics ' Stanley and His Monster depicts a gremlin named Schnitzel, who speaks with a thick German accent and is always trying to avoid an immigration officer, as he is an illegal alien.
American Motors produced a vehicle called the Gremlin between 1970 and 1978. A cartoon styled Gremlin icon was featured in advertisements as well as on the cars' gas caps.
Gremlin Trouble Comics were published between 1995 and 2005 by Anti-Ballistic Pixelations. In the 32 issue independent comic, Gremlins were machine spirits generally ambivalent to humans. They would, however work with and help a human they liked. The protagonist was a Storm Fairy who had lost her wings and was subsequently turned into a Gremlin Princess. Kilroy the famous piece of graffiti was identified in Australia as a gremlin.
Another type of "gremlin" originates from psychology and the professional life coaching fields. In this sense a gremlin is one's self-defeating behavior. [21]
  See also
  References
^ Hazen also claims that, "it was not until 1922 that anyone dared mention their name."
^ Dahl claimed that the gremlins were exclusively a Royal Air Force icon and he originated the term, but the elf-like figures had a very convoluted origin that predated his original writings.
^ Dahl was given permission by the British Air Ministry to work in Hollywood and an arrangement had been made that all proceeds from the eventual film would be split between the RAF Benevolent Fund and Dahl. [10]
^ The book had an autobiographical connection as Dahl had flown as a Hurricane fighter pilot in the RAF, and was temporarily on leave from operational flying after serious injuries sustained in a crash landing in Libya . He later returned to flying.
^ Both paperback and hardcover versions were printed in 1943.
^ In 1950, Collins Publishing (New York) published a limited reprint of The Gremlins.
^ On the front pastedown endpaper, Sloane's book featured a sketch of an aircraft in flight, with the pilot saying, "The Gremlins will get you if you don't watch out!!" and giving a thumbs up. [19]
^ The booklet was published posthumously as Wilson had died in 1940.
Citations
Box office
$153,083,102
Gremlins is a 1984 American horror comedy film directed by Joe Dante , released by Warner Bros. The film is about a young man who receives a strange creature called a Mogwai as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. This story was continued with a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch , released in 1990. Unlike the lighter sequel, the original Gremlins opts for more black comedy , which is balanced against a Christmas-time setting. Both films were the center of large merchandising campaigns.
Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer and the screenplay was written by Chris Columbus . The film stars Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates , with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo. Gremlins was a commercial success and received positive reviews from critics. However, the film was also heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences.
In response to this, and to similar complaints about other films ( Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ), Steven 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.
Contents
9 External links
  Plot
While searching for a Christmas present for his teenage son, inventor Randall Peltzer ( Hoyt Axton ) discovers a small, furry creature called a Mogwai in an antique store in Chinatown . The owner of the store refuses to sell the Mogwai to Randall on the grounds that owning one is too great a responsibility. However, as Randall is leaving the store, the owner's grandson (John Louie) sells Randall the creature stating that the family needs the money. The boy gives Randall three specific instructions in caring for the Mogwai: never expose it to bright light (especially sunlight, which will kill it); never get it wet (which will make it multiply); and, most importantly: never, ever feed it after midnight. Randall takes the Mogwai, which he gives the name "Gizmo", to his family in the town of Kingston Falls.
The following evening, Randall gives Gizmo to his son Billy ( Zach Galligan ). A glass of water is accidentally spilled on Gizmo, causing him to convulse and produce five new Mogwai from his own body. One of the Mogwai, dubbed Stripe for his white quiff of hair, acts as their leader, but is very hostile to Gizmo. Curious to learn more about Mogwai, Billy takes Gizmo to his science teacher, Mr. Hanson ( Glynn Turman ), and produces a sixth new Mogwai. Leaving the new Mogwai with Mr. Hanson, on which he will conduct tests, Billy returns home, and the other five Mogwai trick him into feeding them after midnight by biting the cord of his alarm clock. In the morning, Billy discovers the Mogwai have turned into cocoons. Gizmo, having virtuously refused the food earlier, remains unchanged.
In the meantime, the sixth Mogwai steals Hanson's sandwich and cocoons itself. During a film, it hatches and breaks out of its cage, hiding in the dark corners of the room. Hanson tries to reason with it and bribe it with a candy bar, but the Mogwai eats it and attacks Hanson. Billy arrives and finds the Mogwai has turned into a reptilian monster. Elsewhere, the other Mogwai hatch into "gremlins", mischievous reptilian creatures with sharp teeth and claws. They attack Billy's mother ( Frances Lee McCain ). Mrs. Peltzer is able to escape with Billy's help, and the gremlins are killed. Stripe escapes and leaps into a swimming pool, creating hundreds of new gremlins who go on a rampage through the town. Billy and Gizmo rescue Billy's girlfriend Kate Beringer ( Phoebe Cates ) when the Gremlins overrun the tavern where she works. Billy, Kate, and Gizmo discover that the gremlins have temporarily stopped their rampage and have assembled in the local movie theater to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . The three set off an explosion that kills the gremlins and destroys the theater, but Stripe again escapes.
Billy follows Stripe into a department store nearby, and Stripe leaps into a water fountain, intending to multiply again. Before he can multiply, Gizmo opens a set of window blinds, causing sunlight to pour into the store, killing Stripe. As the Peltzers recover from the rampage, the antique store owner arrives to claim Gizmo, claiming that the Western world is not yet ready for the responsibilities that come with caring for a Mogwai, but that Billy may someday be ready to properly care for Gizmo.
  Cast
Chuck Jones as Billy's drawing mentor
  Production
  Background
Gremlins was produced at a time when combining horror and comedy was becoming increasingly popular. Ghostbusters , released the same weekend as Gremlins, and the comic strip The Far Side also followed this trend. According to Professor Noël Carroll, the new genre emphasized sudden shifts between humorous and horrific scenes; drawing laughs with plot elements that have been traditionally used to scare. The theme was also drawn from older films and television programs, such as Bride of Frankenstein , Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and the 1960s TV series, The Addams Family and The Munsters . [2]
The notion of gremlins was first conceived during World War II , when mechanical failures in aircraft were jokingly blamed on the small monsters. The term "gremlins" also entered popular culture as children's author Roald Dahl published a book called The Gremlins in 1943, based on the mischievous creatures. [3] (Walt Disney considered making a film of it. A Bugs Bunny cartoon of the era 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". [4] [5]
  Initial stages
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". [6] 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. [5] As Spielberg explained, "It's one of the most original things I've come across in many years, which is why I bought it." [4]
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. [5] 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. [5]
A famous urban legend is referenced in the film, [7] 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, the speech proved to be controversial, and 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 stubbornly 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. [5] 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". [5]
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 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. [8] 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. 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 . [5]
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. Ironically, 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. [5]
  Special effects
Some of the performances were shot on the backlot of Universal Studios in California (Mrs Deagles 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, the actors worked alongside some of the puppets. Nevertheless, after the actors finished their work for good, a great deal of work 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. Consequently, to satisfy the crew, a scene was included in which the gremlins hang Gizmo on a wall and throw darts at him. [5]
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. [5]
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". [5] The majority of the other gremlins voices were performed by Mark Dodson. Ironically, Peter Cullen provided vocals effects as he and Welker are both well known for their roles in the television series The Transformers which aired the same year. It was the first live action film both Cullen and Welker starred in together. The next live action film they would star together in would be Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen released 25 years later and also with Steven Spielberg as the excutive producer.
  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". [6] Goldsmith also wrote Gizmo's song, which was hummed by a child actress and acquaintance of Goldsmith's, rather than Mandel himself. [5] Goldsmith also appears in the film (as does 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.
The Gremlin Rag 4:13
  Rating
Along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , also rated PG , Gremlins was one of two films in 1984 to influence the MPAA to create the PG-13 rating, with Red Dawn being the first film given the new rating in August 1984. [9] The scene in which a gremlin explodes in the microwave was particularly influential to the idea that some films too light to be rated R are still too mature to be rated PG. The change to the rating system was not insignificant; the rating PG-13 turned out to be appealing to some film patrons, as it implied some excitement without being too explicit. [9]
  Reception
  Critical reaction
Film critics' reaction to Gremlins was mixed to positive. Roger Ebert approved of the film, 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 the classic horror films. He connected Kate's speech about her father with "the great tradition of 1950s sick jokes". [10] Conversely, 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". [11] 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. [12] Maltin actually made a tongue-in-cheek 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. [13] Kirkpatrick Sale also interpreted Gremlins as an anti-technology film in his book Rebels Against the Future. [14] 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. [15]
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. [16] 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. [10]
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. [17] 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. [18]
Despite the initial mixed criticism, Gremlins has continued to receive critical praise over the years. It currently holds a 78% "Certified Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes , [19] and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1984. [20] [21] [22]
  Box office
Financially, Gremlins was a commercial success. Produced on an $11 million budget, it was more expensive than Spielberg had originally intended, but still relatively cheap for its time. [5] 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. [23] 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). [9]
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 . [24] 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. [25] As 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. [5] 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. This was particularly present in people who had brought their children to see the film, many of whom walked out of the theatre 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". [9]
The film became available to audiences again when it was brought back to theatres on August 30, 1985. This additional release brought its gross up to $153,083,102. [24]
  Awards
Gremlins won numerous awards, including the 1985 Saturn Awards for Best Director , Best Horror Film , Best Music , Best Special Effects , and the award for Best Supporting Actress , given to Holiday's performance as Mrs. Deagle. The film also won Germany's Golden Screen Award and the 1985 Young Artist Award for Best Family Motion Picture (Adventure). Corey Feldman , who played Billy's young friend, was also nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama.
  Home media
Gremlins was released on VHS in 1985, and made $79,500,000 in rental stores . [26] The film was released on DVD in 1997, and again in 1999. On August 20, 2002, a " special edition " DVD was released, which featured cast and filmmakers' commentary and deleted scenes . A Blu-ray edition was released on December 1, 2009.
  Allegations of racism
Since its release, some people have criticized Gremlins as being culturally insensitive. Some observers have commented that the film presents gremlins as African Americans , [15] and in an unflattering manner. At the time of its release, some members of the African-American community protested that the film was racist. In Ceramic Uncles & Celluloid Mammies, Patricia Turner writes that the gremlins "reflect negative African-American stereotypes" in their dress and behavior. They are shown "devouring fried chicken with their hands", listening to black music, breakdancing, and wearing sunglasses after dark and newsboy caps, a style common among African American males in the 1980s. [27]
  Merchandising
Merchandise by neca. With its commercial themes, particularly the perceived cuteness 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 . [5] Manufacturers including LJN produced versions of Gizmo as dolls or stuffed animals . (The latter of which became a popular high demand toy during the holiday season of 1984.) Both Gizmo and the gremlins were mass produced as action figures , and Topps printed trading cards based upon the film. [28] A product placement deal with fast food chain Hardee's 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 produced all-new Gremlins toys and collectibles.
The film was also the basis for a novel of the same name by George Gipe , published by Avon Books 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 that their physiology was unstable, and under "certain circumstances", alluding to the three rules that were given in the film, mogwai would change into creatures that the novel referred to as "mischievous". This origin is unique to the novel but is referred to in the novelization of Gremlins 2 by David Bischoff . No definitive origin for mogwai or gremlins is given in either Gremlins film.
Several video games based on the film have also been produced. At the time of the film's release, an interactive fiction game based on scenes from the film titled Gremlins — The Adventure (1985) was released for various home computers , including the Acorn Electron , the BBC Micro , the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum . The game was written by Brian Howarth for Adventure Soft and was text based, with full colour illustrations on some formats. In addition, the game Gremlins was released for the Atari 2600 , while a far superior version appeared on the Atari 5200 . In the 2000s, more games were released; Gremlins: Unleashed! was released on Game Boy 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. [29] Gremlins: Stripe Versus Gizmo, with both Gizmo and Stripe as playable characters, was released in 2002.
In addition to this, Gremlins brand breakfast cereal was produced by Ralston for a few years concurrent to and 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. [30]
  Legacy
The film not only spawned the sequel , Gremlins 2: The New Batch , and an advertisement for British Telecom , [31] but it is believed to have been the inspiration for, or at least similar to, several later unrelated films about small monsters. These include Critters , [32] Ghoulies , [16] Troll , [33] Hobgoblins , [34] Beasties , [35] Kamillions , [36] Spookies , [37] and Munchies . [38] Many of these films were not critical successes, and Hobgoblins was lampooned on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Both Critters and Ghoulies actually began development before Gremlins. [39] [40] The anime Pet Shop of Horrors has also been compared to Gremlins. [41] The Manga of Petshop of Horrors even makes reference to the movie on the first page of the first volume. While the results of breaking the rules are suggested later on to be met with an unsympathetic response from Count D. The tongue-in-cheek Christmas -themed horror film Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman parodies Gremlins.
There were rumors that the talking doll Furby was so similar to the character Gizmo that Warner Bros. was considering a lawsuit in 1998, but Warner representatives replied that this was not true. [42] (A Gizmo version of Furby was later produced.) In music, the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai are named after the film's creatures, although the guitarist of the band, Stuart Braithwaite, comments 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". [43]
  See also
Warner Bros. Classics & Great Gremlins Adventure (a.k.a. Gremlins Invasion), two defunct amusement rides themed after the film
  References