Why You Need To See Gremlins: A Puppet Story

(This guest article was written by Gremlins fan and amazing artist Aelia Petro. Check out and buy some of her incredible work at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtByAelia and visit her on facebook https://www.facebook.com/ArtByAelia/)

UPDATE 7/22: The documentary is now available through July 30th over at https://hollywoodtheatre.org/events/gremlins-a-puppet-story/

Today is a good day to be a Gremlins fan. A great day, in fact. Why? Because Chris Walas, father of the Gremlins has dug deep within his personal archives to bring us the behind-the-scenes documentary we’ve always wanted!

Although there is a featurette, (which dates to production and has been on most iterations of the DVD/Bluray), it doesn’t have much behind-the-scenes content. Additional features were released with the Diamond Luxe edition Bluray, with some new content, but that too was fairly limited. But now Gremlins: A Puppet Story gives us an entirely new look at what it took to make one of the most beloved movies of the 1980’s.

Focusing largely on pre-production, this documentary provides a spectacular in-depth look at the creative process that took the titular critters from words on a script page to a foam-latex reality. Whether you already know a lot about the production or not, this documentary is a wonderful viewing experience.

A lot of fans are familiar with the fact that making Gremlins was a stressful experience for the crew. In Gremlins: A Puppet Story, the viewer gets a first-hand look at the early puppets and their limitations. We get to see the various rigs which were each designed for a single, specific action. We get a sense of the toll of uncertainty on the crew. We get to see how much work was done before the movie was green-lit (and it’s a LOT!). Have you ever wanted to see the test footage which earned that green light?
Now’s your chance! Watching the evolution of the puppets is fascinating, and underscores the incredible advances made by certain puppets later in production, namely the “super arms” and the “super gremlin”.

A Puppet Story is an intimate affair. It explores the human aspect of Gremlins as much as it does the mechanical/technical. This is not a cold, impersonal exploration of a film. This is Chris Walas’s personal story of struggle and success. The story of a largely inexperienced crew that came together to create and puppet innovative monsters the likes of which had not been seen before. Walas welcomes the viewer into his home, to tell us his story… and what a story it is!

This documentary is currently streaming for a limited time. Tickets are just $10 and benefit Hollywood Theatre. It’s only available until July 23, 2020, so don’t miss your chance to witness the creation of these iconic 80’s monsters!

Gremlins 2 action figures by NECA finally arriving this fall!

Fans have been waiting for many years to finally see the Lady Gremlina (or Greta as she is now known) Tattoo Gremlin and Brown Gremlin hit shelves and it looks like we will see them this fall!
John Squires has a nice little write up about it over at Bloody Disgusting and some photos as well.

We have some photos coming of our own this weekend so keep an eye on the site and facebook page for those.

Ultimate ‘Gremlins 2’ Action Figures from NECA Will Be Hatching This Fall

Does this mean we might get the melted gremlin and Gremlin cocoon as well?
I suppose since we have waited this long for the Gremlins 2 figures and are actually happening we should never say never.

Do you still collect the NECA gremlins? Share your favorite below!

Hotel Madrid in Milwaukee, WI is becoming Dorry’s Tavern for the holiday!

A bar in Milwaukee is transforming into Dorry’s Pub for part of the season! Check it out below. I grew up in Milwaukee and may have to go see this, though not a drinker myself.
https://onmilwaukee.com/seasonal/holidays/articles/gremlins-pop-up-hotel-madrid.html

Animated Series “Secrets Of The Mogwai” Confirmed!

Yesterday, Variety broke he news that the upcoming Gremlins animated series would be called “Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai” and be a prequel series set in 1920’s Shangai.

From Variety:

The series, which Variety exclusively reported back in February, will be titled “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.” Set in 1920s Shanghai, the series will tell the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie) met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.

This seems to be an interesting take on the Gremlins mythos, as diehard fans know about the long history Mr. Wing has had with the Mogwai thanks to George Gipe’s novelization. The novelization claims Mr. Wing saved the Mogwai in World War II, and had been caring for the creature since then. Obviously this is a different version of events, but likely inspired in part by the novelization.

Sadly this series, which has 10 half-hour long episodes, will likely not have any returning characters due to the timeframe when it takes place. Also due to Keye Luke passing away in 1991, we will not have the pleasure of hearing more of Mr. Wing’s sage wisdom anytime soon.

Hopefully WB sticks to canon and does not name the Mogwai “Gizmo” as we all know Rand Peltzer named the creature such due to the Mogwai’s affinity for gadgets.

The show is being headed up by Tze Chun, who is known for his work on the Gotham TV series, as well as Once Upon A Time, Little America and various other productions.

While this may not be Gremlins 3, we are certainly excited to see new developments with the brand, and hopefully this will be a fantastic addition to a beloved franchise.

While it may or may not be connected, Randy Falk of NECA has mentioned that there will soon be plenty of new Gremlins to add to our collections. It is speculated that this means NECA has the Secrets Of The Mogwai license and could be making figures for new Gremlins and possibly the mentioned mythical spirits from the series.

There is no confirmed release date for the WB streaming service or Secrets Of The Mogwai at this time. I will be sure to update everyone when more information becomes available.

 

 

{Blog Post} Mega Sale Madness

In early April, there was the first “Mega Sale” of the season at the local fairgrounds. I usually go a few times a year, typically ending up at the booth with old trading cards and spending far too much on things like packs of Dinosaurs Attack! that I plan to write about but keep putting off.

This time I am only about a month late and finally getting to tell you all about the majestic wonders of a medium-sized town’s “Mega Sale”

Here we go!

This is new…and frightening. On the outside of the building is this sign, featuring Rummage Vintage/Collectibles and….Direct Sale Companies.
For those who don’t know, Direct Sale Companies are a fancy way of legitimizing Multi Level Marketing (MLMs) programs, also frequently known as Pyramid Schemes. You have heard of Amway, Avon and similar, but there are many many more out there and they all have the same method. Get you to buy in to more than just the products but get you to sell the products yourselves, as the person who recruited you gets more money the more you sell, and then you get to recruit people so you get more money, etc.

MLMs have been prevalent in the past at these but this was a new level.

They were everywhere. These are just the tables that didn’t mind me taking a picture of their tables. The others were very adamant that no photos were taken because they are used to spread “propaganda” or “smear their company’s names”. I get some people enjoy these products, and that is fine, but this is insanity.  3/4 of the tables were MLMs, every one of them promising free stuff if you do a free in-home demo/party/makeover/tasting with your best friends. This made hunting for rad treasures a bit harder.

In fact as I looked at my wider shot photos of the building, they are almost indistinguishable from the photos posted above.

I found a really neat pen table full of fountain pens and old inkwells. Plus these awesome Garfield Pens! I didn’t grab any but my wife did, she got some shark fountain pens because sharks are awesome and she is as well.

I found this incredible WWF PowerPenz Cyclone Pen that  has discs you can use to battle with other pen havers? But it called me a Bozo, so I had to have it. for $3, who would be able to resist? Other pens in the WWF line include such legends as Kane, HHH and Val Venis. Yep. The Big Valbowski can battle the Undertaker when you are in study hall! I don’t think I ever saw any PowerPenz back in the 90’s. Why? I would have loved them. They are the perfect match of licensed useless garbage that does weird stuff, is collectible, and I can convince myself is practical at the same time.

One thing I love but never understand about these sales are the junk dealers. Tons of rusted tools from a time long gone and random bits and pieces that are covered in dust older than I am. I am sure there are people that buy this stuff but every time this vendor is at the sale, nothing ever seems to change. How could this be worth lugging around, paying for the space and then packing up at the end of the day? Remember this is a one-day affair here, so these tables and bins have to be packed up after the seven hour show. At least I know if I need a funnel or a hoe I know where to go.

The usual vendor where I get my retro trading cards wasn’t there, much to my chagrin. We were making our last once-overs and I noticed the side room was open…and like a personal heaven, this is what I saw as I turned the corner.

This vendor occasionally shows up with a corner setup, but this time he got the side room all to himself and his action figures and retro toys.

Classic comics, book and record sets, LEGO toys and so much more. This was an incredible spread.

I never was really into GI Joe but I always loved the breadth of the playsets and vehicle lines. The Star Wars figures and WWE figures were neat but they weren’t my target. I always am looking for the usual. ALF, Ghostbusters (Real or Filmation only), Gremlins, POGs and My Pet Monster stuff.  Well those and anything funeral or hearse related for my son. He’s a weird kiddo.

Those WCW Nitro TCG cards were calling my name but I don’t really need more TCG cards cluttering up the house. I needed other clutter and finally came across a few clutter-worthy gems.

Wolfman from the Monsters line and two fright feature Ghostbusters (Egon with the requisite broken tie) but with accessories! Winston came with his appropriate ghost, but egon for some reason came with the Ecto-1 ghost. Either way, a great deal for $8 total for all 3, even though Winston has a hard time getting his spinning, toothy head back to neutral position. I still love him anyway!

The same vendor also had a really neat Real Ghostbusters retractable vinyl sun shade that had to come home with me.
These were HUGE in the 80’s along with folding cardboard sun visors for your windshield. You could get them for pretty much any popular property out there including ALF and the Simpsons. This was only $6 and I was very happy to have it, even though it didn’t come with suction cups to put in my car immediately. Apparently they are pretty easily found on eBay for very fair prices, but the thrill of discovery is what made this one worth it.

We went to leave the show and my wife’s eye was caught by some necklaces with neat clasps on a table, and I was taking a few more shots for this article, when I saw a Ghostbusters something in my phone’s camera that I would have completely missed otherwise…
Why yes, that is a $5 price tag on that Stay Puft toy. Even in the neglected condition, it was more than a steal! A bit of cleaning and it will look good as new! This was a surprisingly successful event for me, and my wife even found a set of red depression glass cups for $6.

Hopefully there are less MLMs at the next sale, and more random 20+ year old packs of cards to open!

Thanks for joining me on this adventure through the MEGA SALE!!