Gremlins director Joe Dante suggests that Star Wars “shamelessly” copied Gizmo from Gremlins to create The Mandalorian’s Grogu aka Baby Yoda. Very loosely based on a book by beloved children’s author Roald Dahl, Gremlins is a horror-comedy written by Chris Columbus. It follows mischievous creatures that transform into destructive monsters who terrorize a town on Christmas Eve. The titular creatures owe their origins to the adorable Mogwai known as Gizmo, who is voiced by comedian Howie Mandel. The original 1984 movie would also go on to spawn a sequel, 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch. A new animated series dubbed Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is set to be released later this year on HBO Max.
Meanwhile, The Mandalorian was the first live-action television series set in the Star Wars universe and follows a lone bounty hunter named Din Djarin who is hired to retrieve a mysterious child. While the show officially referred to the character as The Child throughout The Mandalorian season 1, the moniker of Baby Yoda quickly stuck due to him being a younger version of the same species as the great Jedi Master. It was not until season 2 that audiences learned the child’s actual name, Grogu, though the nickname persists in various sections of the fandom regardless. Even Rosario Dawson, who played Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian and was the first to reveal Grogu’s proper name, admits to still using the name Baby Yoda.
Recently, Dante spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle ahead of a planned special screening of both Gremlins films. When asked about the films’ longevity, he suggested the key to their appeal lay primarily in the character of Gizmo, “who is essentially like a baby.” He also went on to suggest that Star Wars had in fact “out-and-out copied” Gizmo to create Baby Yoda. Check out his full comments below:
"I think the longevity of (the films) is really key to this one character (Gizmo), who is essentially like a baby. Which brings me, of course, to the subject of Baby Yoda, who is completely stolen and is just out-and-out copied. Shamelessly, I would think."
While fans of The Mandalorian would be quick to leap to the show’s defence and point out that Grogu’s design is simply that of an infant version of Yoda’s unknown species, it does not take much to see the casual similarities between the Gremlins and Star Wars characters. Both share not only physical attributes, but also an endearing child-like innocence, which is fundamental to their respective portrayals. It is also not the first time that Gremlins has been compared to Star Wars, with even Yoda’s wide-eared visage often being compared to the Gremlins in various memes over the years. That said, the Star Wars universe's Gremlins inspirations have not been confirmed.
Interestingly, Grogu is not the only one set to make his return to screens with The Mandalorian season 3 planned to hit Disney+ in February next year. Gizmo is also returning to endear audiences in the new Gremlins prequel animated show this year. In the interim, no doubt this latest call from Dante will spark much debate amongst both The Mandalorian and Gremlins fans alike, though it is very unlikely that Grogu's Star Wars portrayal was intended to overtly copy Dante's movie given potential copyright issues. However, there will soon be plenty of new opportunities for audiences to compare these two beloved creatures and decide for themselves.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle