Every Easter egg in Gremlins

Horror-comedy "Pixie" is beloved for its festive atmosphere and comedic violence, but it's also full of hidden Easter eggs that reference other great films.

The classic monster movie Gremlins has many hidden easter eggs. Released in 1984, the film was a collaboration between director Joe Dante, known for his dark comedies, and producer Steven Spielberg. Given their close working relationship, Dante pays homage to Spielberg throughout the film, from Indiana Jones impersonations to cameos from the prolific director himself. Some of them are hidden in plain sight, while others are harder to spot.

The reference to Spielberg isn't the only Easter egg in Gremlins, though plenty of iconic older films get nods as well. A clever scene set at the Science Invention Convention is a treasure trove of tributes, with multiple classic movie Easter eggs appearing in one shot. Even Marquis of the Theater, with what appears to be a fake movie title, has some notorious history behind it. It's hard to believe that Gremlins was almost R-rated for its affinity for family adventure movies. Still, Gremlins is fast-paced minute by minute, and it's no different when it comes to tons of Easter eggs.

Looney Tunes Animator Chuck Jones Makes A Cameo

Joe Dante, known to be a huge Looney Tunes fan, paid homage to the animated short series Director Chuck Jones blinks and misses a cameo in Gremlins. Jones's own 1949 Looney Tunes cartoon, "Scent Causes," starring Pepe LePew, also played on the bar's TV. A cameo by an animator is synonymous with Looney Tunes and it couldn't be more fitting because the series has a lot of character traits with animated and snappy characters with funny pixies and the movie owes a lot of its comedic violence to those cartoons too in this way.

Rockin' Ricky Rialto Billboard

The Gremlins drop references to the film without hesitation, as a billboard of Rockin' Ricky Rialto, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones, can be seen in the opening shot. The orange and yellow lettering on the ad is apparently a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark. While it's easy to mistake the billboard for a bootleg Indiana Jones parody movie poster, The Rock Ricky Rialto is actually a radio DJ and the billboard is an advertisement for his show. That wasn't the whip he was holding; it was a microphone.

The Indiana Jones Easter egg is the most obvious way to refer to Steven Spielberg At the time, Raiders of the Lost Ark had been a huge success a few years earlier. Spielberg even produced Wisps while directing Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom. Plus, Indiana Jones changes dramatically between the two films, and Temple of Doom is darker and more in keeping with the Gremlins' humor than its predecessor's heady globe-trotting. This homage comes just three years after Indiana Jones was introduced to the world, showing how the character instantly became iconic in the '80s.

Movie Theater Marquee

Two more Spielberg-related Easter eggs soon appear behind the Rockin' Ricky Rialto billboard in Gremlins. The subtitles at the cinema showed the titles of two fictional films, "A Boy's Life" and "Watch the Sky," but they weren't entirely fictional. A Boy's Life is the working title of E.T. Alien and Skywatch are the working titles of two of Spielberg's most successful films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While it's another fun little nod to the filmmakers who helped Gremlins make it, the subtitle title may have a deeper meaning as well. mogwai and gremlins have no origins, but these false titles imply that they Probably aliens.

Robby The Robot

Robbie the Robot may not be as familiar today, but the character was a famous element in the classic 1956 sci-fi film Forbidden Planet. The droid can also be found in Gremlins, as he appears next to a phone booth in the convention center where Randall is calling. Randall is at an invention convention where Robbie the robot is thought to be one of the scientists' inventions. There aren't any obvious connections between the Gremlins and The Forbidden Planet, but the cameo makes for a nice gag when Robby the Robot distracts Randall while he's banging on the booth.

The Time Machine

Long before Spielberg's "Back to the Future" brought time travel success to the mainstream, the 1960 H.G. Wells adaptation "The Time Machine" did an incredible job of exploring the concept of science fiction. Work. The movie's titular vehicle can also be seen at the Gremlins' convention center, and it's the basis for some of the best background jokes in the entire movie. While Randall is on the phone, a scientist can be seen in the time machine behind him. After editing a close-up of Randall, the film returns to A wide-angle shot showing that the time machine has disappeared.

The E.T. Doll

While E.T. Extra-Terrestrial has an obscure reference on the marquee, its working title Gremlins makes a more overt reference to one of Steven Spielberg's best films later in the story. Stripe, the leader of the gremlins, takes refuge in a department store when he disappears into the stuffed toy aisle. There are Looney Tunes dolls like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, another reference to Dante's favorite old cartoon, plus an alien. Dolls can be found among them. This Easter egg isn't just a place for a doll cameo, though, as it's also reminiscent of a scene from E.T. The titular alien is likewise hidden in the plush toy.

Steven Spielberg Cameo

When Randall is on the phone, the third Easter egg from the convention center scene reappears in the same shot as the time machine. Steven Spielberg can be seen zooming in and out of the frame while sitting in a motorized wheelchair. Spielberg is no stranger to funny cameos, as he also uses them a lot in his own films (see David Lynch's cameo in Fabelmans), but none of them like this cheeky. Gremlins is a great shrine to Spielberg because when it's not directly referencing his films, it elevates the filmmaker's trademark technique. It only makes sense for the director to get an Alfred Hitchcockian impromptu cameo.

Movie Posters In Billy's Room

Billy's bedroom is another treasure trove full of Easter eggs, as several famous movie posters can be seen in the corner of the attic. One was the groundbreaking 1981 dystopian action film The Road Warrior. However, this isn't as connected to the Gremlins as much as the Twilight Saga: The Movie's poster, which can also be seen in the room. This 1983 anthology horror film consists of four different stories, each directed by a different filmmaker, including Joe Dant and Steven Spielberg. Although The Twilight Saga: The Movie was plagued by tragedy, their two entries are by far the funniest.

Gremlins Saying "Phone Home"

The third time E.T. is mentioned, one of the elves clearly says "call home", a famous E.T. The gremlins were completely incomprehensible and barely even tried to speak English, but the line was clear. While it may be nothing more than a fun little Easter egg, gremlins using E.T.'s signature one-liner is another hint that they are aliens. However, while a wild theory suggests that E.T. is an interstellar alien, it's highly unlikely that Gremlins are anything like E.T. ever was. Since it still exists, the origin of Gremlins is unknown.

The AMC Gremlin

In The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne drives a Lamborghini Murciélago, "murciélago" is Italian for "bat", alluding to his alter ego as Batman. It's clever, but Jordane had made it more than 20 years ago. The first car to appear in Gremlins was the 1973 AMC Gremlin, a harbinger of what the mogwai would become. Only true car geeks will understand, but that's what makes it so perfect in the blink of an eye. While Billy's snowy streets appear in the sitcom's Christmas episode, the better Gremlins Easter egg on the '70s show would be the AMC Gremlin shot, given the timeline match.

Flashdance

While both Flashdance and Gremlins are fun and nostalgic '80s movies, they have absolutely nothing in common. One is a romantic drama and the other is a horror comedy. However, one Gremlin connects the two films because he wears Jennifer Beal's signature outfit at the Flashdance party scene. While the gimmick appears to have been concocted out of thin air, it's actually a tribute to Michael Sembello, the composer who worked on both films. The musician wrote "Gremlins...Mega Madness" for Gremlins and "Maniac" for Flashdance. Ironically, "Maniac" is a song about someone killing someone, so it might work better with the Gremlins.