Five Fun Facts About Gremlins
1984’s Gremlins is an offbeat Christmas classic that famously contrasts the cheery lightness of the holiday season with devilish monsters and family-friendly horror. The film remains as one of director Joe Dante’s most beloved films — although Dante himself prefers Gremlins 2: The New Batch over the original — which features an array of talent, both on-screen and off, in addition to its infamously cute and cuddly Mogwai (which translates to devil, demon, or gremlin, in Cantonese), Gizmo.
The film was Home Alone director Chris Columbus’ big break into the industry; he penned the script for the film as merely a writing sample, but struck gold when it caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, who produced the film. The film also features the vocal talent of Howie Mandel (who voiced Gizmo), Frank Welker of Scooby-Doo fame (who voiced Stripe), and Michael Winslow (yes, that guy who makes wonderful sound effects in Police Academy), who provided voices for the unnamed gremlins; all of whom ad libbed their dialogue — and these facts are just us warming up!
At 36-years old, Gremlins’ perfect blend of black comedy, horror, and family-friendly fun continues to stand the test of time. To honor one of our holiday favorites, we’re shelling out some fun facts about the film and its production!
The film is partially responsible for the PG-13 rating — but the film could have been much darker.
When you really boil things down, technically, it’s Steven Spielberg who’s responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating, but Gremlins gets credit through association. The new rating was ultimately created with the release of the Spielberg-directed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Spielberg-produced Gremlins, which were released about a month apart in 1984. Both films received a PG rating, which let to criticism about the film not exactly being appropriate for most children. To prevent a future R-rating, which would be much too harsh for either picture, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association add a new rating that splits the difference between PG and R — which was first implemented on August 10th of 1984 with the release of Red Dawn.
But if Gremlins would have been slapped with an R-rating, Chris Columbus’ original script would have risen to the call. In fact, the original draft of the screenplay was much darker than the family-friendly version we know and love. There’s one scene in particular would have quite literally made parents’ heads roll. In the initial draft, the scene where Billy’s mom goes to investigate the noises from the loft would have led to her decapitation by the gremlins, who would have then sent her head tumbling down the stairs. There was also a scene where the gremlins ate Billy’s dog, Barney. Spielberg, Dante, and the executives at Warner Brothers collectively agreed to tone down the gore and violence in order to make the movie a bit more wholesome and accessible.
Speaking of dark, Phoebe Cates’ monologue was almost cut from the film, but Joe Dante demanded it stay in.
Without a doubt, one of the darkest aspects to Gremlins is the horrific monologue that Phoebe Cates’ Kate delivers. In a nod to urban legend, Columbus penned a monologue about Kate’s father dying when she was very young while climbing through the chimney dressed as Santa.
This was another aspect of the original script that Spielberg and the Warner Bros. executives wanted to nix, since they weren’t sure if it was intended to be sad or funny. However, this was one thing Dante stood against in firm opposition. In the scene’s defense, Dante argued that that the monologue was a perfect metaphor for the film for that very reason, as it blends the comedic with the horrific. Viewing the film as Dante’s project, as opposed to one of his own, Spielberg relinquished his creative control and stood by Dante, allowing the film to make the final cut.
Bonus fun fact: One of the studio notes Dante and Spielberg received after the first cut of the film was that there were “too many gremlins.” Spielberg humorously retorted that they should cut out all the gremlins and change the film’s title to “People.”
There’s a nod to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
The scene where Stripe, the OG gremlin, attacks Billy with a chain saw in the department store was designed as homage to Tobe Hooper’s monumental slasher, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. That scene never appeared in the original script. It was an addition made by Joe Dante and actor Zach Galligan (who plays Billy) to showcase their love for the film and nod to the film’s horror roots.
There’s also a hidden Steven Spielberg cameo and several homages to his work throughout the film.
In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, Steven Spielberg plants himself into the film’s opening! While Mr. Peltzer is shown on the phone at the convention, you’ll find Spielberg wheeling around in a big go-kart adorned with a computer and American flags. He drives a circle around Mr. Peltzer before disappearing.
The cameo isn’t the only Spielberg nod, either; there are many connections between Gremlins and the director’s other popular works. References to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial appear a lot; one of the gremlins says “phone home,” there’s a stuffed E.T doll, as well as a reference to the film’s working title, “A Boy’s Life,” which appears on the marquee of the movie theater. Also appearing the movie house’s marquee is Spielberg’s working title for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, “Watch the Skies.”
Although, it’s recognized as a holiday film, it was originally released as summertime blockbuster.
We don’t know about you, but we wholeheartedly consider Gremlins essential viewing on the holidays. With its snow-covered holiday backdrop, it was initially slated to release during the Christmas season; however, upon realizing they didn’t have a summer feature to contend with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or Ghostbusters, Warner Bros. bumped up its release. Despite having some seriously stiff competition, the film performed exceptionally well at the box office. It wound up being the fourth highest-grossing film of 1984, behind Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Bonus fun fact: Gremlins was the first on-screen appearance of Spielberg’s E.T.-themed logo for Amblin Entertainment.
Hungry for more?! Check out our Gremlins drinking game here!
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!