We all know the three rules of Gremlins…but we’re putting one of those to the test. Hopefully we don’t end up on the wrong side of it.

Ah, the holiday season is finally upon us. The warmth of the fire. The family togetherness. The gently falling snow. The sound of carols being…dissonantly chanted by hideous gremlins outside our window?!?

In what is now the third part of our unintentional trilogy of episodes about the three biggest blockbusters of 1984 (the others being Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Ghostbusters), we turn our attention to a true Christmas movie classic: Joe Dante’s Gremlins.

While the gremlin life cycle begins as the almost Baby Yoda-esque mogwai form, if you don’t follow the three cardinal rules of mogwai care, you’re in trouble. For those who don’t know…

Rule #1 - Don’t expose them to bright light (they’ll die)
Rule #2 - Don’t get them wet (they’ll multiply)
Rule #3 - Never, ever feed them after midnight (they’ll turn into mischievous murder demons who will destroy your entire town given the opportunity)

We’re primarily focusing on Rule #2 for this episode, though. Just how does this peculiar piece of asexual reproduction work? Does it have parallels in nature? Does it make sense within the story of the film? HOW WORRIED SHOULD WE BE?!?

You’ll just have to watch the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here or check it out on our YouTube page to see what we found!

SUGGESTED VIEWING

Obviously, 1984’s Gremlins is a must, not just for this episode, but for the holiday season in general. But there are those of us who feel that 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch is an even tighter, funnier, and more subversive film. Watch ‘em both and decide for yourself! Similarly the Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai animated series on MAX is well-regarded, although not essential for your understanding of what we talked about this week.

But while you’re at it, we’d like to also suggest a classic episode of The Twilight Zone, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (starring William Shatner, no less!) which features a different look at gremlin lore, in their more traditional roles as saboteurs of technology.

FURTHER READING

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do!

Gremlins and Ghostbusters at the Box Office

We weren’t kidding when we said we covered all three of the biggest movies of 1984. The evidence is here…and you can also see how Ghostbusters and Gremlins stacked up against each other on their opening weekends.

The Resurrection Plant

Yes, that sounds like the title of a classic Star Trek episode, but really, this might just be the most pronounced example of a plant that appears dead until you add water!

Metamorphosis

The basic Mogwai to Gremlin lifecycle does indeed have parallels in nature! In case you forgot what was taught you in elementary school, here’s a refresher.

Single Cell Asexual Reproduction

Hail Hydra! Wait, wrong franchise.

Gremlins: The Novel

You see, children, once upon a time there were these things called “novelizations” of popular movies. These books were more than mere adaptations of the movie for print, but often included details (later considered non-canonical) that further fleshed out the story or lore of the film. Gremlins by George Gipe was one of these. In the days when it took forever for a movie to make it from the theaters to TV, we absolutely cherished these things. Keep your eyes peeled and you’ll find them in used bookstores, at garage sales, and elsewhere.

Original Gremlins Designs

Feast your eyes on the earliest Gremlins concept art here!

WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?

Remember when we said there were other episodes in our (unintentional) series about the biggest movies of 1984? Check out our Ghostbusters episode here and our episode on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom right here!

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Check out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!