Friday, March 29, 2024

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Billy And Gizmo Return For Mountain Dew Zero Commercial (With Easter Eggs Galore!)

Whenever there are rumblings of something new in the Gremlins universe, fans understandably freak out. Could this be the long-awaited Gremlins 3? It is a reboot movie? Will it be CGI? Practical? Will it use the Chris Walas creature designs from the first movie or the Rick Baker concepts from Gremlins 2?

These questions were at a fever pitch over Valentine’s Day Weekend after Zach Galligan, star of the Gremlins films said something is coming soon.

Word started to spread amongst the online Gremlins communities about a commercial airing early during some NBA games. Zach commented on “it” but couldn’t say anything until Monday the 15th of February, the day after his 57th Birthday. (Happy Birthday Zach!)

By now you should have seen the commercial with very impressive animatronic effects by Legacy Effects Inc. On a site that at the time of this publishing was no longer publicly available, they said they created the creatures for the commercial by using reference photos provided by Chris Walas. There are some notable changes in the design: Gizmo seems to be aged up a little bit and the ears are slightly smaller than they were in the first film, but this is still definitely Gizmo and not a Hobgoblin or Ghoulie in disguise.

Source: Mountain Dew on Youtube

While the world is excited (and rightly so) by the new punk Mogwai and Billy’s unnamed daughter, I caught a few Easter eggs in this lovingly-crafted commercial that might be missed by all but the most die-hard Gremlins fans!

First up are Billy’s vest and poster!

Billy sits at the couch thinking about giving Gizmo some Mountain Dew
Source: Mountain Dew on Youtube

Billy is wearing a vest emblazoned with the Peltzer logo that was seen on all of his father’s inventions in the first film. Maybe Billy has become an inventor himself over the years.

Also behind his head is a Gremlins poster that I have not been able to source. I thought it might be a Mondo print but it doesn’t seem to match any of their designs at the moment. Not sure why Billy would have a poster of the monsters that wrecked his life twice in his room, though he could have drawn it himself!

Lastly in this shot, is a cute little nod to the Gremlins’ love of film and popcorn with the portable movie-theater style popcorn machine. Nice touches! Let’s move on.

Gizmo on his stomach, in pain from offspring popping out of his back. 3D Glasses next to him.
Source: Mountain Dew on Youtube

Looks like Gizmo is still a fan of 3D glasses. This is a cute touch and just a great shot of the puppet made for the commercial. Undoubtedly there are new challenges in designing in the HD era. You can also see he is again on top of various comic books and drawings, another call back to the original scene.

poster of a dragon with a woman's head and a helmet on a shelf
source: Mountain Dew on Youtube
drawing of a dragon with an old lady's head
Source: Warner Bros

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the reference that got me excited the most out of the entire commercial. For those that remember, in a couple of scenes in Gremlins, Billy was working on a drawing of a dragon that featured Mrs. Deagle’s head. As legendary animator Chuck Jones said in the film: “The old bat never looked better. You’re doing fine.” It seems he finished the image and a poster-sized version sits in his home behind a very familiar motorcycle helmet that once was in his bedroom.

gizmo hides in a motorcycle helmet
Source: Warner Bros

So the real question everyone is asking: “Is this a tease of Gremlins 3?” The answer is almost definitely no.

There have been many attempts at a script for the third film but none have gotten out of the earliest stages. Warner Bros is very protective of the Gremlins property, so they have done their best to make sure anything that comes out officially is going to be top quality. This commercial could have been done on the cheap with hints of Gizmo like the McDonald’s ad over the holidays, but they got practical puppets and Zach Galligan back, not to mention expanding the mythos a bit with his daughter and a new Mogwai.

The performance/reception of this commercial and the upcoming Secrets Of The Mogwai animated series by showrunner Tze Chun for HBO Max will likely be major factors in whether or not there will be a new movie anytime soon.

For now, let’s all enjoy this commercial and the irony that the original film had Coke cans all over it, and how the franchise is promoting the competition 37 years later.

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