150-574: Gremlins is a 1984 American fantasy comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante , written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan , Phoebe Cates , Hoyt Axton , Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain , with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—" gremlins "—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II . The story follows young man Billy Peltzer, who receives
300-483: A Bloom County story from 15 December 1981 through 24 December 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO (Professional Elves Toy-Making and Craft Organization) for higher wages, a hot tub in the locker room, and "Aggressive recruitment of a wider gender spectrum of employee" ("short broads"), with the elves then going on strike. President Reagan steps in, fires all of Santa's helpers, and replaces them with out-of-work air traffic controllers (an obvious reference to
450-406: A Montgomery Ward copywriter, and immortalized in a 1949 song by Gene Autry . Elves had been portrayed as using assembly lines to produce toys early in the 20th century. That shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa's residence—now often humorously portrayed as a fully mechanized production and distribution facility, equipped with the latest manufacturing technology, and overseen by
600-458: 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. Kirkpatrick Sale also interpreted Gremlins as an anti-technology film in his book Rebels Against
750-410: A Cocker Spaniel or something. Fortunately they did not go with it. These were the only two Mogwai I sculpted before the final one.” 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
900-500: A Nast creation. His Christmas image in the Harper's issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled Santa Claus and His Works , which included the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P." A colour collection of Nast's pictures, published in 1869, had a poem also titled "Santa Claus and His Works" by George P. Webster , who wrote that Santa Claus's home was "near the North Pole, in
1050-457: A bag full of gifts for children. The 1823 poem " A Visit from St. Nicholas " popularized this image in North America during the 19th century. Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa's image. The traditional 1823 Christmas poem A Visit from St. Nicholas relates that Santa has: "a little round belly That shook when he laugh'd, like
1200-680: A bearded bishop in canonical robes. In 1087, while the Greek Christian inhabitants of Myra were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuq dynasty , and soon after their Greek Orthodox church had been declared to be in schism by the Catholic church (1054 AD), a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in the Greek church in Myra. Over
1350-456: A beatin', and gave the good ones toys." In Kyrgyzstan, a mountain peak was named after Santa Claus, after a Swedish company had suggested the location be a more efficient starting place for present-delivering journeys all over the world, than Lapland. In the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek , a Santa Claus Festival was held on 30 December 2007, with government officials attending. 2008 was officially declared
1500-485: A cameo 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. 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
1650-407: A cinematic genre, fantasy has traditionally not been regarded as highly as the related genre of science fiction film. Undoubtedly, the fact that until recently fantasy films often suffered from the " Sword and Sandal " afflictions of inferior production values, over-the-top acting, and decidedly poor special effects was a significant factor in fantasy film's low regard. Since the early 2000s, however,
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#17328526706901800-488: A culture where we've become so commercialized and hooked into manufactured icons. Santa is much more organic, integral, connected to the past, and therefore connected to the future. Norman Corwin 's 1938 comic radio play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas , set entirely in rhyme, details a conspiracy of the Devil Mephistopheles and damned figures of history to defeat the good will among men of Christmas, by sending
1950-420: A fantasy film, and Heaven Can Wait (1978) was a successful Bangsian fantasy remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan (not 1943's Heaven Can Wait ). A few low budget "Lost World" pictures were made in the 1970s, such as 1975's The Land That Time Forgot . Otherwise, the fantasy genre was largely absent from mainstream movies in this decade, although 1971's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Willy Wonka &
2100-429: A film. As Spielberg explained, "It's one of the most original things I've come across in many years, which is why I bought it." Spielberg considered Tim Burton to direct the film after seeing his short film Frankenweenie . After deciding to executive produce the film himself, Spielberg chose Dante as his director because of his experience with horror-comedy; Dante had previously directed The Howling ; however, in
2250-407: 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". The story of Gremlins
2400-557: A hero of humble origins and a clear distinction between good and evil set against each other in an epic struggle. Many scholars cite J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings novel as the prototypical modern example of high fantasy in literature, and the recent Peter Jackson film adaptation of the books is a good example of the high fantasy subgenre on the silver screen. Sword and sorcery movies tend to be more plot-driven than high fantasy and focus heavily on action sequences, often pitting
2550-473: A history almost as old as the medium itself. However, fantasy films were relatively few and far between until the 1980s , when high-tech filmmaking techniques and increased audience interest caused the genre to flourish. What follows are some notable Fantasy films. For a more complete list see: List of fantasy films In the era of silent film , the earliest fantasy films were those made by French film pioneer Georges Méliès from 1903. The most famous of these
2700-448: A little more exciting. The 1940s then saw several full-color fantasy films produced by Alexander Korda , including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), a film on par with The Wizard of Oz , and Jungle Book (1942). In 1946, Jean Cocteau 's classic adaptation of Beauty and the Beast won praise for its surreal elements and for transcending the boundaries of the fairy tale genre. Sinbad
2850-710: A man riding a recumbent bicycle ; Jim McKrell plays Lew Landers; composer Jerry Goldsmith plays a man in a phone booth; Kenneth Tobey plays a smoking gas station attendant; and William Schallert plays Father Bartlett. Animator Chuck Jones plays Mr. Jones, Billy's drawing mentor; he would later create the title sequences for the sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). Mogwai and Gremlin vocal effects were provided by Howie Mandel, Frank Welker, Brad Kesten (uncredited), Michael Winslow , Bob Bergen , Fred Newman , Peter Cullen , Jim Cummings (uncredited), Sonny Melendrez (uncredited), Mark Dodson , Bob Holt , Michael Sheehan , and Joe Dante (uncredited). Gremlins
3000-410: A manic melee of pyrotechnics that made random grabs for my sympathy and failed to hold my attention, A bit more coherent thought, and who knows, it might have been something good." 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
3150-534: A modern Chinatown setting. Highlander , a film about immortal Scottish swordsmen, was released the same year. Jim Henson produced two iconic fantasy films in the 80s, the solemn The Dark Crystal and the more whimsical and lofty Labyrinth . Meanwhile, Robert Zemeckis helmed Who Framed Roger Rabbit , featuring various famous cartoon characters from animation's "Golden Age," including Mickey Mouse , Minnie Mouse , Donald Duck , Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , Droopy , Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner , Sylvester
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#17328526706903300-552: A pet, as well as explaining the three rules. Gizmo is friendly and docile, but when Billy's friend, Pete Fountaine, accidentally spills water on Gizmo, five more mogwai spawn from him, a more mischievous sort led by the aggressive Stripe, named after the white mohawk -like tuft of fur on his head. Billy shows one of the mogwai to his former elementary school science teacher, Mr. Hanson, spawning another mogwai , whom Hanson experiments on. Back at home, Stripe and his fellow mogwai trick Billy into feeding them after midnight by severing
3450-412: A physically powerful but unsophisticated warrior against an evil wizard or other supernaturally endowed enemy. Although sword and sorcery films sometimes describe an epic battle between good and evil similar to those found in many High fantasy movies, they may alternately present the hero as having more immediate motivations, such as the need to protect a vulnerable maiden or village, or even being driven by
3600-480: A pipe in a green winter coat. Irving's book was a parody of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention. Irving's interpretation of Santa Claus was part of a broader movement to tone down the increasingly wild Christmas celebrations of the era, which included aggressive home invasions under the guise of wassailing , substantial premarital sex (leading to shotgun weddings in areas where
3750-462: A red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, a red hat trimmed with white fur, a black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. He is popularly associated with a deep, hearty laugh , frequently rendered in Christmas literature as "ho, ho, ho!" This image originated in North America during the 19th century, influenced by Dutch immigrants who brought
3900-485: A reindeer sleigh, bringing rewards to children. Some modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the anonymous publication of the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (better known today as The Night Before Christmas ) in the Troy, New York , Sentinel on 23 December 1823; Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship, though some scholars argue that Henry Livingston, Jr. (who died nine years before Moore's claim)
4050-457: A result of seeing the film. Situating Gremlins in the children's horror genre, she argues that child viewers are invited to identify with the gremlins themselves, whose rebellious behaviour may function as a source of subversive pleasure. Colin Greenland reviewed Gremlins for Imagine magazine, and stated that "Two or three good jokes, three or four neat scenes, lots of detail, but overall,
4200-502: A specially priced 7 cut mini-album on LP and cassette (Goldsmith's music comprised all of side two) and reissued on compact disc in 1993 only in Germany. "Gremlins...Mega Madness" was also released as a single, with "The Gremlin Rag" as its B-side (The USA release has Late For Work). In 2011, Film Score Monthly issued a two-disc release of the soundtrack, with the complete score on disc one and
4350-414: A strange creature as a pet, which then spawns other creatures that transform into aggressive imp-like monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's town during Christmas Eve . The film was accompanied by a large merchandising campaign and juxtaposes black comedy with a Christmastime setting . Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer , with the film being produced by Michael Finnell . Gremlins
4500-518: Is contemporary fantasy . Such films feature magical effects or supernatural occurrences happening in the "real" world of today. Films with live action and animation such as Disney 's Mary Poppins , Pete's Dragon , Enchanted , and the Robert Zemeckis film Who Framed Roger Rabbit are also fantasy films although are more often referred to as Live action/animation hybrids (2 of those are also classified as musicals). Fantasy films set in
4650-492: Is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve . He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves , who make the toys in his workshop , and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air. The popular conception of Santa Claus originates from folklore traditions surrounding
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4800-545: Is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Moscow . During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before his name day of 6 December, children were bestowed gifts in his honour. This date was earlier than the original day of gifts for the children, which moved in the course of the Reformation and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many countries on 24 and 25 December. The custom of gifting to children at Christmas
4950-418: Is announced as "The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children, His Supreme Highness – Santa Claus". Images of Santa Claus were conveyed through Haddon Sundblom 's depiction of him for The Coca-Cola Company 's Christmas advertising in the 1930s. The image spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca-Cola Company or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colours used to promote
5100-557: Is the 25th of December, owes much to Odin, the old blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. Odin, transformed into Father Christmas, then Santa Claus, prospered with St Nicholas and the Christchild , became a leading player on the Christmas stage." In northern Europe, the Yule goat
5250-508: Is usually called "Krishkinkle", but in New York he is "St. Nicholas" or "Santa Claus". The author quotes Moore's poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too. As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved into a large, heavyset person. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast , a German-born American cartoonist of the 19th century who immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for
5400-518: The Fantasia segment (along with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 's original poem) The Sorcerer's Apprentice Many fantasy movies starting in the 2000s, such as The Lord of the Rings films, the 1st and 3rd Narnia adaptations, and the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th Harry Potter adaptations have most often been released in November and December. This is in contrast to sci-fi films , which are often released during
5550-402: The 1981 air traffic controllers' strike ), resulting in a riot before Santa vindictively rehires them in humiliating new positions such as his reindeer. In the 2001 The Sopranos episode, " To Save Us All from Satan's Power ", Paulie Gualtieri says he "Used to think Santa and Mrs. Claus were running a sweatshop over there. The original elves were ugly, traveled with Santa to throw bad kids
5700-582: The Eastern Orthodox Church is kept on 7 January. L. Frank Baum 's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus , a children's book , was published in 1902. Much of Santa Claus's mythos was not firmly established at the time, leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" (Necile's Little One) a variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, and ten reindeer—who could not fly, but leapt in enormous, flight-like bounds. Claus's immortality
5850-574: The English and later British colonies of North America , and later in the United States, British and Dutch versions of the gift-giver merged further. For example, in Washington Irving 's History of New York (1809), Sinterklaas was Anglicized into "Santa Claus" (a name first used in the U.S. press in 1773) but lost his bishop's apparel, and was at first pictured as a thick-bellied Dutch sailor with
6000-509: The Himalayan fantasy kingdom of Shangri-La , where the residents magically never age. Other noteworthy fantasy films of the 30s include Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932 starring Johnny Weissmuller starting a successful series of talking pictures based on the fantasy-adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the G. W. Pabst directed The Mistress of Atlantis from 1932. 1932 saw the release of
6150-480: The Puritans , waning in power and firmly opposed to Christmas, still held some influence) and public displays of sexual deviancy; the celebrations of the era were derided by both upper-class merchants and Christian purists. In 1821, the book A New-year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve was published in New York. It contained " Old Santeclaus with Much Delight ", an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on
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6300-474: The Universal Studios monster movie The Mummy which combined horror with a romantic fantasy twist. more light-hearted and comedic affairs from the decade include films like 1934s romantic drama film Death Takes a Holiday where Fredric March plays Death who takes a human body to experience life for three days and 1937s Topper where a man is haunted by two fun-loving ghosts who try to make his life
6450-812: The Wild Hunt , frequently attested as being led by the god Odin (Wodan), bearing (among many names ) the names Jólnir , meaning "Yule figure", and Langbarðr , meaning "long-beard", in Old Norse . Wodan's role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas and Santa Claus in a variety of facets, including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides (compare Odin's horse Sleipnir ) or his reindeer in North American tradition. Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that "the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day
6600-660: The afterlife , called Bangsian fantasy , are less common, although films such as the 1991 Albert Brooks comedy Defending Your Life would likely qualify. Other uncommon subgenres include historical fantasy and romantic fantasy , although 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl successfully incorporated elements of both. As noted above, superhero movies and fairy tale films might each be considered subgenres of fantasy films, although most would classify them as altogether separate movie genres. As
6750-450: The fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic , supernatural events, mythology , folklore , or exotic fantasy worlds . The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction films and horror films , although the genres do overlap. Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth , wonder , escapism , and the extraordinary. Several sub-categories of fantasy films can be identified, although
6900-399: The mogwai – do not expose the creature to light, especially sunlight, which will kill it; do not let it come in contact with water; and above all, never feed it after midnight. In Randall’s hometown of Kingston Falls, Billy works at the local bank, but fears that his dog Barney will be put down by widowed miser Mrs. Deagle. His father returns and gives him the mogwai , now named “Gizmo", as
7050-479: The mogwais larger to make their creation and functioning easier for the special effects team, Dante insisted on keeping their size small to enhance the cuteness of the creatures. Consequently, to satisfy the crew, a scene was included in which the gremlins hang Gizmo on a wall and throw darts at him. This was included on a list that the crew created known to them as the "Horrible Things to do to Gizmo" list. Rob Bottin and John Dykstra were originally considered to do
7200-484: The 1950s that feature fantastic elements and are sometimes classified as fantasy are Harvey (1950), featuring a púca of Celtic mythology ; Scrooge , the 1951 adaptation of Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol ; and Ingmar Bergman 's 1957 masterpiece, The Seventh Seal . Disney's 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland is also a fantasy classic. There were also a number of lower budget fantasies produced in
7350-611: The 1950s, typically based on Greek or Arabian legend. The most notable of these may be 1958's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad , featuring special effects by Ray Harryhausen and music by Bernard Herrmann . Harryhausen worked on a series of fantasy films in the 1960s, most importantly Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Many critics have identified this film as Harryhausen's masterwork for its stop-motion animated statues, skeletons, harpies , hydra , and other mythological creatures. Other Harryhausen fantasy and science fantasy collaborations from
7500-556: The 1963 children's book How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas , by Phyllis McGinley , helped standardize and establish the character and role of Mrs. Claus in the US. Seabury Quinn 's 1948 novel Roads draws from historical legends to tell the story of Santa and the origins of Christmas. Other modern additions to the "story" of Santa include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer , the 9th and lead reindeer created in 1939 by Robert L. May ,
7650-480: The 3 January 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly in which Santa was dressed in an American flag , and had a puppet with the name " Jeff " written on it, reflecting its Civil War context. Nast was inspired by the Belsnickel , part of the folklure in southwestern Germany, where he was born. In this drawing, Santa is also in a sleigh pulled by reindeers. The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been
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#17328526706907800-473: The 4th-century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas , the patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas became renowned for his reported generosity and secret gift-giving. The image of Santa Claus shares similarities with the English figure of Father Christmas , and they are both now popularly regarded as the same person. Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white- bearded man, often with spectacles , wearing
7950-624: The Barbarian followed by Krull and Fire and Ice in 1983, as well as a boom in fairy tale -like fantasy films such as The Neverending Story (1984), Ladyhawke (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), and Willow (1988). The 1980s also started a trend in mixing modern settings and action film effects with exotic fantasy-like concepts. Big Trouble in Little China (1986), directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell , combined humor, martial arts and classic Chinese folklore in
8100-701: The Caribbean also saw success at the box office. The early 2010s saw a continuation of the book to screen adaptation fad of the 2000s. Also prevalent in the decade were remakes of older fantasy films especially from Walt Disney Pictures . The 2020s as of 2023 have shown an increasing interest by studios to adapt games into film with Monster Hunter , Sonic the Hedgehog , The Super Mario Bros. Movie , and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas , Saint Nick , Father Christmas , Kris Kringle , or Santa )
8250-646: The Cat , Tweety Pie , and Jiminy Cricket , among others. The 90s saw the Disney Renaissance in which many successful adaptations of written fantasy works were released by Disney Animation . The 2000s saw a boom in the genre. This was compounded by the success of Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter , which spurred a movement in film adaptations of fantasy literary works including The Chronicles of Narnia , Tales from Earthsea , Eragon , Inkheart , and The Golden Compass . The Star Wars prequel trilogy and Pirates of
8400-533: The Charles W. Howard Santa School, the oldest continuously run such school in the world. In some images from the early 20th century, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Eventually, the idea emerged that he had numerous elves responsible for making the toys, but the toys were still handmade by each individual elf working in the traditional manner. The 1956 popular song by George Melachrino , "Mrs. Santa Claus", and
8550-593: The Chocolate Factory were two fantasy pictures in the public eye the former being predominantly from the same team who did Mary Poppins the latter again being from Roald Dahl in both script and novel. 1980s fantasy films were initially characterized by directors finding a new spin on established mythologies. Ray Harryhausen brought the monsters of Greek legends to life in Clash of the Titans while Arthurian lore returned to
8700-654: The Coca-Cola brand. Coca-Cola's competitor Pepsi-Cola used similar Santa Claus paintings in its advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s. Historically, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising— White Rock Beverages had used a Santa figure in monochrome advertisements for mineral water in 1915, and in 1923–25, the same company used colour images of Santa Claus in adverts for drink mixers. Earlier, Santa Claus had appeared dressed in red and white and essentially in his current form on several covers of Puck magazine in
8850-529: The Extra-Terrestrial . 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. 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
9000-727: The French speaking region, while the sinister Schmutzli accompanies Samichlaus in the Swiss German region. Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children. Prior to Christianization, the Germanic peoples (including the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule (Old English geola or giuli ). With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas, such as
9150-474: The Future . 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. Another scholar drew a connection between the microwave scene and urban legends about pets dying in microwave ovens. He described
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#17328526706909300-542: The Roman emperor Nero to the North Pole to assassinate Santa Claus. Through a battle of wits, Santa saves himself by winning Nero over to the joys of Christmas, and gives him a Stradivarius violin. The play was re-produced in 1940 and 1944. Many television commercials, comic strips and other media depict this as a sort of humorous business, with Santa's elves acting as a sometimes mischievously disgruntled workforce, cracking jokes and pulling pranks on their boss. For instance,
9450-467: The Sailor (1947), starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , has the feel of a fantasy film though it does not actually have any fantastic elements. Several other pictures featuring supernatural encounters and aspects of Bangsian fantasy were produced in the 1940s during World War II . These include Beyond Tomorrow , The Devil and Daniel Webster , and Here Comes Mr. Jordan , all from 1941, Heaven Can Wait
9600-516: The Sword and Sandal label should be reserved only for the subset of fantasy films set in ancient times on the planet Earth, and still others would broaden the term to encompass films that have no fantastic elements whatsoever. To some, the term Sword and Sandal has pejorative connotations, designating a film with a low-quality script, bad acting, and poor production values. Another important subgenre of fantasy films that has become more popular in recent years
9750-540: The United States and Canada, children may leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies intended for Santa; in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, sherry or beer, and mince pies are left instead. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it is common for children to leave him rice porridge with sugar and cinnamon instead. In Ireland it is popular to leave Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies. In Hungary, St. Nicolaus (Mikulás) or Father Winter (Télapó) comes on
9900-545: The Year of Santa Claus in the country. The events are seen as moves to boost tourism in Kyrgyzstan. The Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Santa Clauses is held by Thrissur , Kerala , India where on 27 December 2014, 18,112 Santas overtook the previous record. Derry City, Northern Ireland had held the record since 9 September 2007, when a total of 12,965 people dressed up as Santa or Santa's helpers. Prior to that,
10050-631: The advent of sound films , audiences of all ages were introduced from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to 1939's The Wizard of Oz . Also notable of the era, the iconic 1933 film King Kong borrows heavily from the Lost World subgenre of fantasy fiction as does such films as the 1935 adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's novel She about an African expedition that discovers an immortal queen known as Ayesha "She who must be obeyed". Frank Capra 's 1937 picture Lost Horizon transported audiences to
10200-409: The ancient crown of Italy), with war, cruelty, betrayal, heroism, sex, magic and mysticism, a whirl of events taken from every possible fairy tale and legend source Blasetti could find. This movie is unlike anything done before; indeed, considering that it was finished fifteen years before the publication of Lord Of The Rings, its invention of a vast, national epic mythology is an act of genius. And while
10350-703: The bank. Tom Hanks also read for Gerald. Some of the performances were shot on the Courthouse Square and Colonial Street sets of the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City , California (Mrs. Deagle's 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
10500-427: The cartoon base, Santa has been voiced by several people, including Mickey Rooney , Jim Cummings , Mel Smith , Ricky Tomlinson , Jim Belushi , and Alec Baldwin . Santa has been described as a positive male cultural icon : Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who's male, does not carry a gun, and is all about peace, joy, giving, and caring for other people. That's part of the magic for me, especially in
10650-404: The chimney. Still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder , Kate confesses this is how she lost her Christmas spirit. Billy and Kate discover that the gremlins are watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the local theater. They set off a natural gas explosion, killing all the gremlins except for Stripe, who had left the theater earlier to get candy at a Montgomery Ward store across
10800-406: The creation of the initial concept of the creatures, “After reading the script, my first idea was to take the tarsier , a little primate, and give it cartoony proportions. I wanted the big eyes to make it cute. I showed it to Mike Finnell and Joe Dante and they asked for some tweaks, so I made the next one. This is more like a puppy. Big, floppy ears. It’s not based on any one dog in particular — just
10950-574: The day itself, 6 December, while Christmas, 25 December, is used by another 21% to give presents. Some 26% of the Dutch population gives presents on both days. In Belgium, presents are offered exclusively to children on 6 December, and on Christmas Day all ages may receive presents. Saint Nicolas/Sinterklaas' assistants are called " Pieten " (in Dutch) or " Père Fouettard " (in French), and they are not elves. In Switzerland, Père Fouettard accompanies Père Noël in
11100-583: The decade include the 1961 adaptation of Jules Verne 's Mysterious Island , the critically panned One Million Years B.C. starring Raquel Welch , and The Valley of Gwangi (1969). Capitalising on the success of the sword and sandal genre several Italian B-movies based on classical myth were made, including the Maciste series. Otherwise, the 1960s were almost entirely devoid of fantasy films. The fantasy picture 7 Faces of Dr. Lao , in which Tony Randall portrayed several characters from Greek mythology,
11250-499: The delineations between these subgenres, much as in fantasy literature, are somewhat fluid. The most common fantasy subgenres depicted in movies are high fantasy and sword and sorcery . Both categories typically employ quasi-medieval settings, wizards, magical creatures and other elements commonly associated with fantasy stories. High fantasy films tend to feature a more richly developed fantasy world, and may also be more character-oriented or thematically complex. Often, they feature
11400-416: The desire for vengeance. The 1982 film adaptation of Robert E. Howard 's Conan the Barbarian , for example, is a personal (non-epic) story concerning the hero's quest for revenge and his efforts to thwart a single megalomaniac—while saving a beautiful princess in the process. Some critics refer to such films by the term Sword and Sandal rather than sword and sorcery, although others would maintain that
11550-482: The elves with Santa and Mrs. Claus as executives or managers. In 1912, actor Leedham Bantock became the first actor to be identified as having played Santa Claus in a film . Santa Claus , which he also directed, included scenes photographed in a limited, two-tone colour process and featured the use of detailed models. Since then many feature films have featured Santa Claus as a protagonist, including Miracle on 34th Street , The Santa Clause , and Elf . In
11700-461: The emblem of good cheer. His physical appearance was variable, with one image being John Leech's illustration of the " Ghost of Christmas Present " in Charles Dickens 's festive story A Christmas Carol (1843), as a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto
11850-800: 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 . 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. Since Gremlins had an international audience, different versions of
12000-484: The evening of 31 December to be opened on New Years Day. After the children have fallen asleep , parents play the role of Santa Claus and leave their gifts under the Christmas tree , which may be signed as being "from Santa Claus". Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white- bearded man, often with spectacles , wearing a red outfit consisting of jacket, trousers and hat all trimmed with white fur, accessorized with black leather belt and boots, and carrying
12150-806: The fantasy genre. In the 1950s there were a few major fantasy films, including Darby O'Gill and the Little People and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. , the latter penned by Dr. Seuss . Jean Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy , begun in 1930 and completed in 1959, is based on Greek mythology and could be classified either as fantasy or surrealist film, depending on how the boundaries between these genres are drawn. Russian fantasy director Aleksandr Ptushko created three mythological epics from Russian fairytales, Sadko (1953), Ilya Muromets (1956), and Sampo (1959). Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi 's 1953 film Ugetsu Monogatari draws on Japanese classical ghost stories of love and betrayal. Other notable pictures from
12300-493: 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". Spielberg commented when Galligan was testing with Cates that "he's in love with her already" and that was how Galligan won the part. Tom Hanks , Kevin Bacon , Ralph Macchio , Emilio Estevez , Rob Lowe , and Judd Nelson also auditioned. In contrast to Galligan, many of
12450-403: 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". The film became available to audiences again when it
12600-465: The film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Whether you choose to see it as a statement on consumer culture or simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick, Gremlins is a minor classic." On Metacritic , the film received a score of 70 based on 13 reviews. Warner Home Video released Gremlins on VHS , CED Videodisc , and Betamax on November 25, 1985. The film
12750-466: 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. These complaints were particularly present in people who had brought their children to see the film, many of whom walked out of the theater before
12900-412: 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. However, many critics questioned the summer release date of
13050-491: The film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating. It was followed by a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). Struggling inventor Randall Peltzer visits a Chinatown antique store, hoping to find a Christmas present for his son Billy. In it, Randall finds a small and furry creature called a mogwai ( Cantonese : 魔怪 , 'devil'). The owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell it to Randall, but his grandson secretly does, warning Randall to remember three important rules concerning
13200-550: 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. In 2017 Trick or Treat Studios began producing official Gremlins life-size puppets of Stripe and Gizmo. In May 2019, NECA unveiled their Christmas 2019 collectible, which features two Gremlins singing carols. Fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to
13350-439: 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". 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. Maltin later made
13500-489: The film, awarding it three out of four and 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
13650-412: The final scenes parody classic horror films. He connected Kate's speech about her father with "the great tradition of 1950s sick jokes". Gene Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half out of four, describing it as "a wickedly funny and slightly sick ride", and "a most original work. We're aware at every moment that someone is trying to entertain us. Playfulness abounds." Vincent Canby of The New York Times
13800-502: The first few years of the 20th century. The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly by organizations such as the Salvation Army . Volunteers dressed as Santa Claus typically became part of fundraising drives to aid needy families at Christmas time. In 1937, Charles W. Howard , who played Santa Claus in department stores and parades, established
13950-407: The genre has gained new respectability in a way, driven principally by the successful adaptations of Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings and J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series. Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is notable due to its ambitious scale, serious tone, and thematic complexity. These pictures achieved phenomenal commercial and critical success, and the third installment of
14100-406: The genre. These have included adaptations of the first, second, and third books in C. S. Lewis ' The Chronicles of Narnia and the teen novel Eragon , as well as adaptations of Susan Cooper 's The Dark Is Rising , Cornelia Funke 's Inkheart , Philip Pullman 's The Golden Compass , Holly Black 's The Spiderwick Chronicles , Nickelodeon's TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender , and
14250-439: 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. The film mentions an urban legend 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, studio executives insisted upon its removal, because they felt it
14400-587: The gremlins' rampage, including Mrs. Deagle. The police prove to be no help in the situation, and they too fall victim to the gremlins. Billy rescues his girlfriend, Kate Beringer, and they hide in the bank where Kate reveals to Billy and Gizmo that when she was nine years old, her father went missing on Christmas Eve and did not come home on Christmas Day either; several days later, he was found dead in their chimney while dressed as Santa Claus . Planning to surprise her and her mother, he had accidentally slipped and broken his neck, killing him instantly, while climbing down
14550-438: The gremlins. 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). 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
14700-440: 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. While Walas recommended making
14850-473: The happy populace. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the character of Santa Claus competes with that of Sinterklaas , based on Saint Nicolas. Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch ("the Christmas man") and Père Noël ("Father Christmas") in French. For children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas remains the predominant gift-giver in December; 36% of the Dutch only give presents on Sinterklaas evening or
15000-443: The ice and snow". The tale had become well known by the 1870s. A boy from Colorado writing to the children's magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said, "If we did not live so very far from the North Pole, I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey." The idea of a wife for Santa Claus may have been the creation of American authors, beginning in the mid-19th century. In 1889, the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs. Claus in
15150-436: The ideal Christmas setting. 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. Despite the initial mixed criticism, Gremlins has continued to receive praise over the years and is considered by many critics to be one of the best films of 1984. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes ,
15300-459: 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. An interactive Gizmo Furby Friends toy was released in 1999. A product placement deal with fast food chain Hardee's also led to a series of five book-and-cassette/45 records adaptations of
15450-515: The legend of Sinterklaas ("Saint Nicholas") to 17th-century New Amsterdam (present-day New York City ), and has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books, family Christmas traditions , films, and advertising. Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre ) in the region of Lycia in the Roman Empire , today in Turkey. Nicholas
15600-529: The musical Cabin in the Sky (1943), the comedy The Horn Blows at Midnight and romances such as The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), One Touch of Venus and Portrait of Jennie , both 1948. An astonishing anticipation of the full "sword and sorcery" genre was made in 1941 in Italy by Alessandro Blasetti. La Corona di Ferro presents the struggles of two imaginary kingdoms around the legendary Iron Crown (historically
15750-455: The night of 5 December and the children get their gifts the next morning. They get sweets in a bag if they were good, and a golden coloured birch switch if not. On Christmas Eve "Little Jesus" comes and gives gifts for everyone. In Slovenia, Saint Nicholas (Miklavž) also brings small gifts for good children on the eve of 6 December. Božiček (Christmas Man) brings gifts on the eve of 25 December, and Dedek Mraz (Grandfather Frost) brings gifts in
15900-980: The northern hemisphere summer (June–August). All 3 of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, however, were released in July 2003, July 2006, and May 2007 respectively, and the latest releases in the Harry Potter series were released in July 2007 and July 2009. The huge commercial success of these pictures may indicate a change in Hollywood's approach to big-budget fantasy film releases. Screenwriter and scholar Eric R. Williams identifies fantasy films as one of eleven super-genres in his screenwriters taxonomy , claiming that all feature length narrative films can be classified by these super-genres. The other 10 super-genres are action , crime , horror , romance , sci-fi , slice of life , sports , thriller , war and western . Fantasy films have
16050-478: The novel Ayesha: The Return of She both produced by Hammer Film Productions . The musical fantasy film Mary Poppins was released in 1964, and 1968 saw the release of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang based on a story by Ian Fleming with a script from Roald Dahl . Fantasy elements of Arthurian legend were again featured, albeit absurdly, in 1975's Monty Python and the Holy Grail . Harryhausen also returned to
16200-570: The objection of the monks of Myra the sailors took the bones of St. Nicholas to Bari, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola . Sailors from Bari collected just half of Nicholas' skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the church sarcophagus. These were later taken by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade and placed in Venice , where a church to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors,
16350-417: The objective of conveying "the mischievous humor and mounting suspense of Gremlins". Goldsmith also wrote Gizmo's song, which was hummed by Ilene Keys, a child actress and acquaintance of Goldsmith, rather than Mandel himself. Goldsmith also appears in the film, alongside Steven Spielberg, in the scene where Rand calls home from the salesman's convention. The soundtrack album was released by Geffen Records as
16500-482: The old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen). By 1845, "Kris Kringle" was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States. A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for "a fabulous personage" whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he
16650-442: The original soundtrack album on disc two (representing the latter's first North American CD issue); this was the label's final Jerry Goldsmith album. A CD release by Warner Archive Collection was released through WaterTower Music on October 10, 2015. DISC ONE: The Film Score Tracks 26–34 are listed as bonus tracks. DISC TWO: 1984 Soundtrack Album Financially, Gremlins was a success. Produced on an $ 11 million budget, it
16800-414: The other gremlins' voices were performed by Michael Winslow and Peter Cullen , while the remaining voices were done by Mandel, Welker, Bob Bergen , Fred Newman , Jim Cummings , Sonny Melendrez , Mark Dodson , Bob Holt , Michael Sheehan, and even Dante himself. 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
16950-420: The poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride". "Is There a Santa Claus?" is the title of an iconic editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church in the 21 September 1897 edition of The New York Sun that became the most reprinted in the U.S. and included the famous reply, " Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ". In Russia, Ded Moroz emerged as a Santa Claus figure around the late 19th century where Christmas for
17100-407: The portrayal of this urban legend in the film as successful, but that meant it seemed terrible. 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. Catherine Lester casts doubt on whether any children actually did attempt this as
17250-605: The power cord on his alarm clock. They form cocoons , as does Hanson's mogwai , which soon hatch, emerging as destructive monsters called "gremlins" that torture Gizmo (who is unchanged as he didn't eat the food from earlier) and attack Billy's mother Lynn, while Hanson is murdered by his gremlin. Lynn and Billy are able to kill the gremlins, except for Stripe, who escapes to a local YMCA where he jumps into its swimming pool, spawning an army of gremlins that wreak havoc in Kingston Falls. Many people are injured or outright killed by
17400-580: The record was 3,921, which was set during the Santa Dash event in Liverpool City Centre in 2005. A gathering of Santas in 2009 in Bucharest, Romania attempted to top the world record, but failed with only 3,939 Santas. Santa Claus has been featured in many video games. The tradition of Santa Claus being said to enter dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. In
17550-501: The reign of Henry VIII , when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas , bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry. As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to 25 December to coincide with Christmas Day. The Victorian revival of Christmas included Father Christmas as
17700-400: 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. Howie Mandel provided the voice for Gizmo, and prolific voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice for Stripe. It
17850-459: The screen in John Boorman 's 1981 Excalibur . Films such as Ridley Scott 's 1985 Legend and Terry Gilliam 's 1981–1986 trilogy of fantasy epics ( Time Bandits , Brazil , and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ) explored a new artist-driven style featuring surrealist imagery and thought-provoking plots. The modern sword and sorcery boom began around the same time with 1982's Conan
18000-582: The silver screen in the 1970s with two additional Sinbad fantasies, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). The animated movie Wizards (1977) had limited success at the box office but achieved status as a cult film . There was also The Noah (1975) which was never released theatrically but became a cult favorite when it was finally released on DVD in 2006. Some would consider 1977's Oh God! , starring George Burns to be
18150-492: The special effects more convincing. An earlier attempt to use monkeys to interpret the gremlins was abandoned because the test monkey panicked when made to wear a gremlin head. Puppets and marionettes were used instead, so the actors worked alongside them in most scenes. Nevertheless, after the actors finished their work for good, a great deal of effort was spent finishing the effects. Numerous small rubber puppets, some of which were mechanical, were used to portray Gizmo and
18300-413: The special effects, Bottin was Dante's first choice; but he was busy working on Legend (1985). 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
18450-425: 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
18600-597: The storytelling is rough - due to the need to insert everything - and the resources limited, Blasetti shows how to make a little go a long way through beautifully staged and designed battle and crowd scenes. Although it's not classified as a fantasy film, Gene Kelly 's Anchors Aweigh had a fantasy sequence called "The King who Couldn't Dance" in which Gene did a song and dance number with Jerry Mouse from Tom and Jerry . Because these movies do not feature elements common to high fantasy or sword and sorcery pictures, some modern critics do not consider them to be examples of
18750-780: The street. As morning approaches, they follow Stripe into the department store, where he attempts to use a fountain to spawn more gremlins. Gizmo opens a nearby skylight , exposing Stripe to sunlight and killing him via disintegration. As the local news reports on the day's mysterious tragedies, Mr. Wing reclaims Gizmo at the Peltzer home. He scolds the family for their negligence and criticizes Western society for its carelessness with nature. However, as he turns to leave, Gizmo, having bonded with Billy, bids him goodbye. A touched Wing then concedes that Billy may be ready one day and, until then, Gizmo will be waiting. The film features various cameos from crew members or guests. Steven Spielberg cameos as
18900-462: The supporting actors and actresses were better known. Veteran actor Glynn Turman portrayed the high school science teacher whose study of a newborn 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
19050-569: The time between The Howling and the offer to film Gremlins , he had experienced a lull in his career. Dante began doing storyboard work on the film while also working as a director on Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), a film on which Spielberg also served as a director. 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 . Designer Chris Walas spoke on
19200-537: The trilogy became the first fantasy film ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture . The Harry Potter series has been a tremendous financial success, has achieved critical acclaim for its design, thematic sophistication and emotional depth, grittier realism and darkness, narrative complexity, and characterization, and boasts an enormous and loyal fanbase. Following the success of these ventures, Hollywood studios have greenlighted additional big-budget productions in
19350-578: Was 1902's A Trip to the Moon . In the Golden Age of Silent film (1918–1926) the most outstanding fantasy films were Douglas Fairbanks ' The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Fritz Lang 's Die Nibelungen (1924), and Destiny (1921). Other notables in the genre were F.W. Murnau 's romantic ghost story Phantom , Tarzan of the Apes starring Elmo Lincoln , and D. W. Griffith 's The Sorrows of Satan . Following
19500-430: 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". The majority of
19650-497: Was again released on home video in 4K Ultra HD on October 1, 2019. The film grossed $ 15.2 million in home sales on DVD and Blu-Ray. With its commercial themes, particularly the 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 . Manufacturers including LJN produced versions of Gizmo as dolls or stuffed animals ,
19800-620: Was an earlier bearer of gifts, which has to some degree become conflated with Santa Claus, for instance in the Finnish Joulupukki tradition. Early representations of the gift-giver from Church history and folklore, especially St Nicholas, merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the mythical character known to the rest of the English-speaking world as "Santa Claus" (a phonetic derivation of " Sinterklaas " in Dutch ). In
19950-503: Was brought back to theaters on August 30, 1985. This additional release brought its gross up to $ 153,083,102, making it Warner Bros. ’ most successful film at the time, a record that stood until Batman surpassed it in 1989. By February 1985, the film had grossed $ 59.6 million internationally, including $ 17 million in Japan. It grossed a further $ 0.2 million in 2019, taking its worldwide gross to over $ 212.9 million. Roger Ebert approved of
20100-606: Was built on the San Nicolò al Lido . St. Nicholas' vandalized sarcophagus can still be seen in the St. Nicholas Church in Myra. This tradition was confirmed in two important scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice , which revealed that the relics in the two Italian cities belong to the same skeleton. Saint Nicholas was later claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups, from archers , sailors, and children to pawnbrokers . He
20250-459: 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
20400-457: 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". 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
20550-661: Was earned, much like his title ("Santa"), decided by a vote of those naturally immortal. This work also established Claus's motives: a happy childhood among immortals. When Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, exposes him to the misery and poverty of children in the outside world, Santa strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children, and eventually invents toys as a principal means. Santa later appears in The Road to Oz as an honored guest at Ozma's birthday party, stated to be famous and beloved enough for everyone to bow even before he
20700-467: Was first conceived during the 1920s when mechanical failures in RAF aircraft were jokingly blamed on the small monsters. The term "gremlins" also entered popular culture as children's author and RAF pilot Roald Dahl published a book called The Gremlins in 1943, based on the mischievous creatures. Walt Disney considered making a film of it. A Bugs Bunny cartoon of the era, Falling Hare , has him battling
20850-468: Was known for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. In continental Europe (more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany), he is usually portrayed as
21000-672: Was mixed, writing that the film "is far more interested in showing off its knowledge of movie lore and making random jokes than in providing consistent entertainment. Unfortunately, it's funniest when being most nasty." Variety declared, "Make room for adorable 'Gremlins' dolls on the shelves and start counting the take for another calculated audience pleaser from the Steven Spielberg-Frank Marshall-Kathleen Kennedy team. But that's all that's here in this showy display of technical talent, otherwise nearly heedless of dramatic concerns." Leonard Maltin disapproved of
21150-401: Was more expensive than Spielberg had originally intended but still relatively cheap for its time. 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
21300-477: Was played by Hoyt Axton , who was always the filmmakers' preferred choice for the role even though it was widely contested by other actors. 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
21450-458: Was played by Keye Luke , a renowned film actor, whose film career spanned half a century. 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. Corey Feldman , who up to that time had primarily been in commercials, played Pete Fountaine, establishing his early credentials as a child actor; he previously met with Spielberg when he auditioned for E.T.
21600-464: Was produced at a time when combining horror and comedy was becoming increasingly popular. According to Professor Noël Carroll , Ghostbusters , released the same weekend as Gremlins , and the comic strip The Far Side also followed this trend. Carroll argued that there was now a new genre emphasizing sudden shifts between humorous and horrific scenes, drawing laughs with plot elements that have been traditionally used to scare. The notion of gremlins
21750-553: Was propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previous very popular gift custom on St. Nicholas, to focus the interest of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. Martin Luther first suggested the Christkind as the bringer of gifts. But Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people. Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during
21900-474: Was released in 1964. But the 1967 adaptation of the Broadway musical Camelot removed most of the fantasy elements from T. H. White 's classic The Once and Future King , on which the musical had been based. The 1960s also saw a new adaption of Haggard's She in 1965 starring Ursula Andress as the immortal "She who must be obeyed" and was followed by a sequel in 1968 The Vengeance of She based loosely on
22050-473: Was released on DVD in 1997 in a bare bones presentation. It included both full screen and widescreen versions and the film's trailer. It was repackaged in August, 1999 with the same disc, but a different cover. On August 20, 2002, a " special edition " DVD was released, which featured cast and filmmakers' commentary and deleted scenes . A 25th anniversary Blu-ray edition was released on December 1, 2009. The film
22200-408: Was the author. St. Nick is described as being "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with "a little round belly", that "shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly", in spite of which the "miniature sleigh" and "tiny reindeer" still indicate that he is physically diminutive. The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem (Dunder and Blixem came from
22350-470: Was theatrically released on June 8, 1984 by Warner Bros. to critical and commercial success. However, it was heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. In response to this and to similar complaints about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) alter its rating system , which it did within two months of
22500-479: Was too ambiguous as to whether it was supposed to be funny or sad. Dante 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. A parody of this scene is featured in Gremlins 2: The New Batch . Phoebe Cates
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