History YMMV / Gremlins

* BrokenBase: Because the two films are so radically different in tone, it's practically an even split between fans who prefer the darkly comic angle of the original or the manic, live-action cartoon vibe of the sequel. Finding someone with an equally positive opinion of both is fairly rare.
* CreepyAwesome: Stripe.
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome
** Music/JerryGoldsmith [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eicf5TbIM1g strikes again]].
** The question is, which is better? The original [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBEYCbamxIQ Gremlin Rag]] or the more up-tempo [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0PbjKZGYxg Gremlin Theme]] from the sequel?
** PeterGabriel's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7crfAIKBro Out Out]], which plays in the bar scene from the first movie.
** Brain Gremlin in the sequel singing "New York, New York".
** The NES video game of the second film has a pretty damn good soundtrack too.
** Faith No More's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cpr2k9_3qY Surprise! You're Dead!]] plays in one of the many scenes where mohawk is torturing Gizmo in the second movie. Also, Slayer's Angel of Death playing in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvYACIdQIYo this scene]]
* EvilIsCool: Stripe, probably the only gremlin in the first film who's both totally evil and [[GenreSavvy wickedly smart]].
* HarsherInHindsight: At the end of the first movie, the old Chinese man says (to the American family), "You have done with the mogwai what your society has done with ALL of nature's gifts!" Fast forward 30 years to the ecological nightmare that is modern China…

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The Atari video game based on the first film is rather badly done. Likewise,the Game Boy adaptation of the second film wasn't well received.
** Averted for the NES adaptation of the second film, however, which was nominated for several awards.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The first movie bothers to properly introduce several residents of Kingston Falls, even giving them detailed personalities and backstories. Most of them disappear in the second act or end up quick victims of the Gremlims' rampage. It's especially glaring with Gerald (played by Judge Reinhold) who is set up as a jerk deserving of some comeuppance -- and is then never seen again after his second scene in the tavern. The sequel seems to go out of it's way to avoid the same mistake, even bringing back a handful of the original cast to be utilised more fully.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The first movie bothers to properly introduce several residents of Kingston Falls, even giving them detailed personalities and backstories. Most of them disappear in the second act or end up quick victims of the Gremlims' rampage. The sequel seems to go out of it's way to avoid the same mistake, even bringing back a handful of the original cast to be utilised more fully.

* IAmNotShazam:
** For the record, the main gremlin's name is "Stripe" not "Spike", and the lead gremlin in the sequel is officially named Mohawk (though WordOfGod suggests that they are indeed the same character, reincarnated).
** The only time the titular monsters are actually referred to as "gremlins" in universe is when Mr. Futterman yells "There's a real gremlin in my snowplow!" in the first movie. (Hulk Hogan refers to them as gremlins in the sequel, but that's technically not part of the story as the gremlins have [[BreakingTheFourthWall invaded the theater and interrupted the movie.]])

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eicf5TbIM1g Jerry Goldsmith strikes again]].

* IAmNotShazam: For the record, the main gremlin's name is "Stripe" not "Spike", and the lead gremlin in the sequel is officially named Mohawk (though WordOfGod suggests that they are indeed the same character, reincarnated).

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: This movie, along with ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. The trailers presented this picture as much more lighthearted than it was. Reviewing it for ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'', Creator/HarlanEllison described it in terms more suited to NightmareFuel. He deplored its many instances of wanton cruelty played for laughs, and said he "heard little children scream and cry" in the theater. The manager later told him he'd never had so many patrons walking out and demanding their money back.

** Averted for the Nintendo adaptation of the second film, however, which was nominated for several awards.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The first movie bothers to properly introduce several residents of Kingston Falls, even giving them detailed personalities and backstories. Most of them disappear in the second act or end up quick victims of the Gremlins rampage. The sequel seems to go out of it's way to avoid the same mistake, even bringing back a handful of the original cast to be utilised more fully.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
** Second movie:
*** Firstly, there's the sequence at the beginning where Daffy Duck takes over the Warner Brothers logo from Bugs Bunny, attempts to move it back into place, and then ends up with it around his waist.
*** Later, while Billy is heading to the Clamp Building, policemen in body armour armed with rifles escort an armoured van, which opens up to let out mimes. This is given absolutely no explanation whatsoever and has no relevance to the plot.
*** When the conversation between Dr Catheter and Billy begins to skip, slow and distort, then revealing Gremlins [[CelebrityParadox in a theatre showing the film]] playing shadow puppets. A woman with her daughter comes out to complain to the theatre manager, then the projectionist, looking bruised and bloodied, comes down, stating he is not performing that task without heavy compensation.Then, the theatre manager goes into the theatre and speaks to a patron, who turns out to be Hulk Hogan, and manages to get the movie running again by threatening to beat up the pesky Gremlins.
*** For the home versions, the scene was replaced with a similar bit where the Gremlins ruin the tape the viewer is watching. This prompts JohnWayne to gun down a few of them and return us to our movie. "I don't need varmints on my ranch, and you folks don't need them in yer TV set."
*** And finally in the novelisation, the Brain Gremlin locks the author out of his study and swipes his typewriter, briefly taking control of the narrative until taking off when the author takes a fire-axe to the door.
*** Leonard Maltin dissing the first movie on his show, only to get attacked by gremlins.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Brain Gremlin.

* HilariousInHindsight: The extremely overspecialized channels of the Clamp network have become reality. Who knew?
* HoYay: Between George and Lenny.Then again,all Gremlins are asexual...
* HilariousInHindsight: John Glover plays Daniel Clamp, an honest, likeable Millionaire who subverts many of the stereotypes about corporate executives. Ten years later, he played [[{{Smallville}} Lionel Luthor]] who may just be the trope codifier for the CorruptCorporateExecutive.

* NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The NES game adaptation of the sequel by {{Creator/Sunsoft}} is fondly remembered for its active gameplay,its faithfulness to the movie it was based on and its amazing soundtrack as well as its advanced graphics.
* {{Squick}}[=/=]UnfortunateImplications: Forster's smile at his "bride" at the end of the second film.
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The Atari video game based on the first film is rather badly done.Likewise,the Game Boy adaptation of the second film wasn't well received.
* UglyCute: Greta, the female gremlin, especially in a wedding dress.
** Daffy and Lenny are somewhat less uglier than the other gremlins,maybe because of their highly cartoony designs.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: This movie, along with ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.
** The trailers presented this picture as much more lighthearted than it was. Reviewing it for ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'', Creator/HarlanEllison described it in terms more suited to NightmareFuel. He deplored its many instances of wanton cruelty played for laughs, and said he "heard little children scream and cry" in the theater. The manager later told him he'd never had so many patrons walking out and demanding their money back.
* TheWoobie: Gizmo in both films, being abused by his spawned offspring, taken from Billy and Mr. Wing dying in the second film. And then the mad scientist cages Gizmo to start the whole mess all over again.

* NightmareFuel: [[NightmareFuel/{{Gremlins}} Has its own page]].

* TearJerker: [[spoiler: Gizmo saying goodbye to Billy]] at the end.
** Likewise, the sight of Gizmo huddled in a cage in the second movie.
** Poor Gizmo grieving the death of Mr.Wing.Gee,everytime [[BreakTheCutie Gizmo is sad]] in both films will make you feel like this.
** The scene after Kate tells her father's story. We are treated to Billy and Kate walking amongst the ruins of their once peaceful town. To add further insult to injury there is a Somber version of Silent Night playing in the background.

** First movie: The whole "Santa Claus" speech in the first film comes out of nowhere, and has absolutely no reason to be in the movie [[NightmareFuel than to be disturbing.]]
*** Though if you listen closely about almost mid-way in the movie (it is easy to miss), she ''does'' mention she hates Christmas, and so she told the story about ''why'' she hates Christmas.
*** It does, however, nicely adhere to the theme of trying too hard to make Christmas great (as Billy's dad did,) with a result of horrible consequences.

* ChaoticNeutral: Greta, she's more interested in inspiring chaos than doing chaos via competition of love interests.
** The majority of the gremlins could probably be described as this. Few outright attack humans, preferring to play (admittedly malicious) pranks and feed their own hedonism.

* LawfulEvil: Brain Gremlin, he is vey disciplined and believes by civilizing the Gremlins that they can gain enlightenment, though he still engages in ForTheEvulz at some points.

* FridgeBrilliance: Mohawk's tormenting of Gizmo isn't just the standard Gremlin-being-mean, but because [[{{Reincarnation}} he remembers that Gizmo killed him the last time.]]
** Mrs. Deagle believes that the gremlins are there to take her to Hell, which, in a way, is exactly what they did.
** When Gizmo gets wet, it produces more Mogwai. Unlike Gizmo, the Mogwais are mean and unruly. Assuming the reason why Gizmo maybe the only nice Mogwai is because he was raised to be good creature. None of the other Mogwais were raised to be nice and cause chaos.
* FridgeHorror: What would have happened if each of the Gremlins took the Sunblock solution? (Pun not really intended.) This could also count as FridgeLogic directed at the Brain Gremlin for not even considering the idea after injecting it in Bat Gremlin.
** Gremlins+Ocean=OhCrap!
** An offhand radio broadcast in the first film implies that the Marines were going to hose down the gremlins if it weren't for Billy and Gizmo killing them all first.
** Who would eat a salad of vegetables freshly plucked from Vegetable Gremlin?
* FridgeLogic: How does a gender-flipping serum work on an ''asexual'' creature?
** You can't feed them after midnight, but he is never told what time in the morning he can start feeding them again - it's *always* after midnight!
** Why haven't these creatures taken over the world á la [[Franchise/StarTrek tribbles]]? Surely some time in the past some wild mogwais would have got caught in the rain...
*** [[AdaptationExpansion In the novel, it is explained as]] [[LastOfHisKind Gizmo being the only Mogwai]], falling from space many years ago.
** The sequel actually devotes a scene to people quibbling over the rules. What ''would'' happen if a Mogwai was eating on an airplane that changed time zones?
** How can the Gremlins drink beer and dig through snow and not multiply?
** Daffy hid in a vat of noodles. Wouldn't the water in the vat cause him to multiply? Also, how were his siblings able to invade a television studio with all those stage lights?

*** For the home versions, the scene was replaced with a similar bit where the Gremlins ruin the tape the viewer is watching. This prompts JohnWayne to gun down a few of them and return us to our movie. "I don't need varmints on my ranch, and you folks don't need them in yer TV set.