In the wake of the success of Gremlins in 1984, some filmmakers got it in their heads that like genre pioneers before them they would just do the same thing only a little cheaper. Just like Halloween gave way for Friday the 13th, a host of “tiny monsters that terrorize people” subgenre was born. After Gremlins was released a slew of rip-offs and similarly themed ideas came about including Troll, Critters, Hobgoblins, Munchies, and Ghoulies (which was actually being filmed at the same time as Gremlins). Speaking with ComicBook.com about the upcoming animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, we asked Gremlins director Joe Dante which of these he felt really failed to live up to their potential.
“Hobgoblins is pretty bad,” Dante said without missing a beat. “To be fair. Everybody was trying to do what we were doing on less money. And I think Critters is probably the best one because it’s got the CHiodo Brothers and they have, they’re very talented guys. But the editor of Gremlins was Tina Hirsch and she directed Munchies, the first Munchies movie and, uh talk about a low budget movie. I mean, they couldn’t afford really any monsters. So the monsters are like clothing remnants. They, they don’t, they don’t seem to have any heads or tails or anything. It’s just a bunch of clothing wrapped up and thrown at people. It was just not good.”
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Despite the overwhelming popularity of Gremlins, it was kind of beaten by another one of these franchises in terms of longevity. Critters, which debuted its first in 1986, has released five movies in full, including a 2019 reboot with Critters Attack! Talk of a Gremlins 3 has been ongoing for decades at this point, with the upcoming animated prequel Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai serving as the first real entry in the series since 1990.
Max describes the series as follows: “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai takes viewers back to 1920s Shanghai where the Wing family first meets the young Mogwai called Gizmo (AJ LoCascio). Voiced by Izaac Wang, Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 “Gremlins” film) accepts the dangerous task to take Gizmo home and embarks on a journey through the Chinese countryside. Sam and Gizmo are joined by a teenage street thief named Elle (Gabrielle Nevaeh), and together, they encounter-and sometimes battle-colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. Along their quest, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist named Riley Greene (Matthew Rhys) and his growing army of evil Gremlins.”
Set to premiere on Tuesday, May 23 on Max (one of the launch titles for the new streaming service) Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will debut two new episodes of the series every week.
