When did Gremlins come out? Director claims Baby Yoda design was stolen from Gizmo, leaves internet skeptical

In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Gremlins director Joe Dante expressed his opinion about Disney and Lucas film's beloved Grogu, aka the Baby Yoda character from The Mandalorian. As per the director, the character design of Grogu is based on his Gremlins film's character, Gizmo.

Dante asserted that the look of Baby Yoda has been 'stolen' from the Gremlins series' Mogwai named Gizmo. This comment has been triggered by the recent release of the Gremlins animated series from Warner Brothers Discovery, titled Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. The project dropped on HBO Max on July 13 and will follow the adventures of a young Gizmo.

The 75-year-old director is credited only as a consultant on the project. Furthermore, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, Dante has not planned to take legal action against Disney for the character design.

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Gremlins director Joe Dante's statement on Baby Yoda's design in The Mandalorian may be a joke

While speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle's G. Allen Johnson, Dante said in a video conference:

"I think the longevity of [the Gremlins series] is really key to this one character [Gizmo], who is essentially like a baby. Which brings me, of course, to the subject of Baby Yoda, who is completely stolen and is just out-and-out copied. Shamelessly, I would think."

However, it is also possible that Dante was joking. As of now, the intent of his statement is unclear. Last year, the Gremlins series star Zach Galligan also addressed the similarities between the two characters. He told Entertainment Weekly:

"People have been bombarding me on social media with comparatives, scale drawings and everything, and coming up with all sorts of theories about whether or not there was any kind of conscious decision behind it…All I can say is this: In many ways, it's really great because it's always very helpful in media to have a foil. Which one do you like better? Which one was first? It just is another kind of narrative you can use to drive people's engagement."

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Gremlins' Gizmo vs. The Mandalorian's Grogu Baby Yoda

While Dante claimed that the Disney Plus series copied the design of the Grogu from his 1984 film, Gremlins, the Baby Yoda is based on the Star Wars series' humanoid alien called Yoda. Even though Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch preceded Disney's The Mandalorian series, the character of Yoda first appeared in the 1980s in The Empire Strikes Back.

Thus, it is extremely difficult to determine what Grogu's design might have been influenced by. The only similarities between the Star Wars franchise's green alien and the Gizmo are their short figures, big expressive eyes, flat heads, and pairs of big pointy ears. However, Mogwais, like Gizmo, are covered with fur and have proportionate limbs. It is also important to note that Grogu's limbs are disproportionate.

Though the two are similar in looks, it must be noted that Yoda's design from the 1980's Star Wars series also featured similar pointy ears and flat circular heads, identical to that of the Grogu.

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Netizens react to Joe Dante's claims of Baby Yoda being copied from Gizmo

Following the claim, numerous tweets pointed out how Yoda had predated Gizmo and that Grogu was based on him. A few tweets further alleged that Joe Dante's accusations are meant to generate free publicity for the upcoming HBO Max animated series about Gizmo, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.

Most of the reactions on social media platforms seem to defend the Star Wars franchise and reject Joe Dante's claims of the Grogu being based on Gizmo.