Earlier this month, Gremlins celebrated its 30th anniversary, so the timing couldn't be more perfect for this great little easter egg. Take a look at the poster for the 1984 film, which shows someone carrying a box full of Gizmo. See if you can spot a very subtle nod to Steven Spielberg's production logo.
It's ok if you didn't see it. Even with the poster blown up, it's barely noticeable. Slash Film brought our attention to it, posting the above poster, along with a close-up of the button on the jeans positioned between the underside of the box and the Gremlins title...
Close up, you can just make out the iconic silhouette of Elliot and E.T. flying past the moon on a bicycle. It's a nod to Steven Spielberg's production company, Amblin Entertainment, the logo of which was inspired by Spielberg's beloved 1982 movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial...
Steven Spielberg executive produced Gremlins, which was directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus.
It's a great little Easter Egg that I doubt many of us noticed. Then again, when was the last time any of us stared at the poster for Gremlins? Either way, it's a cool little nod to Amblin worked into the poster, which was done by the late great poster artist John Alvin, whose other contributions to the art form include the posters for Blazing Saddles, E.T., The Color Purple and a number of Disney films, including The Lion King.
Gremlins arrived in theaters June 8, 1984 and introduced us to three very important rules for the care of an adorably furry little creature called a Mogwai. Keep it away from bright light ("Bright light!"), don't get it wet, and never (never-never-never) feed it after midnight. Little Gizmo is acquired by Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton), a traveling salesman who picks the Mogwai up from a little store in Chinatown and gifts it to his teen son Billy (Zach Galligan). As you might guess, though Billy takes the three instructions very seriously, things don't go so well for Gizmo. Exposure to water causes him to multiply through a bizarrely disturbing reproduction process...
If you listen closely, you can still hear him screaming...
The water reaction is weird enough, but things get much worse when Gizmo's offspring get ahold of some food after midnight. Creepy-critter horror ensues. The 1984 film was followed up by a goofier (total guilty-pleasure) sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. There was talk of rebooting the original film as recently as last April.
