Joe Dante reveals the origin of the Gremlins at the Annecy Festival

• The universe of "Gremlins" has been transposed into an animated series that tells their beginnings.

• We discover the origins of Gizmo, the adorable Mogwai.

• Joe Dante, director of the two feature films of 1984 and 1990, supports this new version of his universe.

“I would never have thought to see Gremlins on the screen again, confides Joe Dante to

.

Yet they have always been present in my life, because people talk to me about them all the time.

The American director, who directed the two parts of the story of the turbulent green critters, in 1984 and 1990, came to present the first episode of the new animated series

at the Annecy Festival.

The first episode of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai presented at @annecyfestival made me really want to see the rest as soon as possible.

Long live Gizmo!

https://t.co/4gYA5HP2pY via @YouTube

— Vié Caroline (@Caroklouk) June 16, 2022

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"I never wanted to make a third

," says Joe Dante.

I had locked the story so that there was none!

But the idea of ​​a prequel appealed to me.

We discover the origin of the adorable Gizmo, a two-tone teddy bear that evokes a bit of Baby Yoda with its big ears!

"It's true that the resemblance between Gizmo and Baby Yoda is striking, but our creature was created in the mid-1980s while that of the

universe is more recent," he smiles.

Major difference: Gizmo spawns evil creatures if wet or fed after midnight.

We are therefore going to discover how the creatures went from Shanghai in the 1920s to San Francisco in the mid-1980s.

We couldn't have digital effects at that time and we had to do everything with puppeteers that we had to hide because we couldn't erase them with the graphic palette,” admits Joe Dante.

The series is divided into ten episodes, changing scenery according to the tribulations of the teddy bear and his accomplice, the young Sam, determined to limit the damage that the cumbersome little animal with big expressive eyes can do – despite himself.

If the producers of the series claim Chinese legends and the mythical French series

, Joe Dante recognizes that he is attached to the fantastic side of the whole.

"What made the success of

is the mixture of humor, adventure and fantasy that we will find in animation", he specifies.

Our articles on Annecy are here

We do not yet know the broadcast date of the series, which will be released on HBO Max internationally and on Cartoon Network in France, but a second season is already in production.

“The Gremlins have been popular since the release of the first film in 1984, admits Joe Dante.

I believe this is due to the fact that this universe evokes the kindness and the wickedness that lie hidden in every human being.

This is what will also allow this new version to attract new fans.

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