Gremlins: Extreme Cuteness and Incredible Cruelty

Gremlins are mythological creatures that cause a ruckus, often by messing with human-built mechanical systems. Legend has it that they especially like to cause aircraft malfunctions.

Joe Dante got the call to direct "Gremlins." He also directed "Innerspace," "The Howling" and "The 'Burbs," among other well-known movies.

Randall wanders into Chinatown, where he finds an antique shop that has a cute little creature behind the counter. After some hassle, he manages to obtain the animal as a gift.

The Cantonese word "mogwai" is the name for the little furry creatures featured in the film. Mogwai means "monster," which at first seems like the wrong word for the adorable pets.

The movie was released in 1984 and immediately became both a critical and financial hit. "Gremlins" is now considered an 80s classic.

When Randall buys a cute mogwai as a birthday present for his son, he is instructed to never feed the animals after midnight. Doing so sends the mogwai into a cocoon phase, after which they emerge as scarier, deadlier creatures.

Never, ever expose a mogwai to water. Just a bit of water can cause the creatures to quickly multiply.

Zach Galligan was a little-known actor when he got the part of Billy. Steven Spielberg wanted Galligan for the part when he saw the magic between the actor and Phoebe Cates, who plays Billy's girlfriend, Kate.

For the mid-1980s, the movie's $11 million budget was fairly cheap. That frugal fact made its $153 million box office haul even sweeter.

Billy inadvertently splashes water on Gizmo, who then spawns five new gremlins. These gremlins aren't nearly as nice as Gizmo.

Given the immense success of the original movie, it took a rather long time for the sequel to emerge. It was released in 1990, six years after the first film.

The gremlins wind up watching "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." They are a fellow filmgoers worst nightmare, shrieking and throwing popcorn throughout the screening.

Winslow was already well-known for his role as Larvelle Jones in "Police Academy." His dynamic vocal range helped him to create the mogwais' many strange sounds.

Stripe, with his signature white mohawk, plays role of the heel in "Gremlins." His affinity for violence and destruction make him a scary character.

It's no wonder that some kids left the theater in tears. Stripe grabs a chainsaw and tries to cut Billy during this intense scene.

In the early 80s, Burton had yet to direct a big-budget Hollywood film. Spielberg decided to go with Joe Dante, who already had substantial directing experience.

"Red Dawn" was the first film with a PG-13 rating. But the scary scenes in "Gremlins" helped push the film industry to adopt the PG-13 rating.

Sunlight is very bad for the mogwai. Very bright light is hard on them, and sunlight will outright kill them.

As of 2016, there's just one "Gremlins" sequel, called "Gremlins 2: The New Batch." There may be another sequel very soon.

Columbus wrote a short piece that inspired "Gremlins" while he was a student at film school. He got the idea after listening to hordes of mice scamper around his apartment at night.

The original script had very dark and ominous content in which the gremlins kill both Billy's mother and dog. Everyone on the production team agreed that those parts needed to be removed.

Gizmo might be cute, but he's no shrinking violet. He finds a way to crack open a skylight, and the resulting blast of sunlight kills Stripe.

Kingston Falls, the town in "Gremlins," might seem familiar to some observant viewers. Some of the same sets were used for "Back to the Future."

The movie was a huge success. It was the fourth-highest grossing film that year. "Beverly Hills Cop" was No. 1

Howie Mandel performed all of Gizmo's cute little cooing sounds. He is famous in large part due to his role in "St. Elsewhere."

Kate's dad dressed up like Santa Claus and wiggled his way into the chimney in order to surprise the kids. Instead, he died. Kate's retelling of the events turned out to be one of the movie's more memorable scenes.

Spielberg was the man who saw the potential of Chris Columbus's story. He decided to become the film's executive producer.

The creatures in the movie were pricey mechanical props, and the production team was a worried that someone might try to steal one. Thus, security teams were hired to secure the props at the end of each day.

The complicated little machines might have cost the studio upwards of $30,000. After adjusting for inflation, that's around $70,000 in today's world.

After the ruckus finally dies down, the Chinese man from the antique store arrives on the scene and reclaims Gizmo, admonishing the family for their inability to care for the little creature.