The Mandalorian introduced Star Wars fans to Baby Yoda at the end of the first episode, and the adorable child has endeared himself to most viewers ever since. Still, Dante feels there are too many similarities between Baby Yoda and the equally beloved Gremlins character Gizmo.
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In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Dante discussed the beloved character from The Mandalorian and made claims that the idea for Baby Yoda was “completely stolen” from the 1984 horror comedy Gremlins and its 1990 sequel. Dante went on to tell the San Francisco Chronicle, “I think the longevity of the films is really key to this one character (Gizmo), who is essentially like a baby.” Dante added, “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.” Dante has made it clear he has no plans on taking legal action against Disney and Lucasfilm for the lack of credit where he believes it’s due, however, he’s also made it known that the striking similarities between Gizmo and Baby Yoda haven’t slipped his eye.
Although Baby Yoda and Gizmo do have their similarities, the original Yoda appeared in the Star Wars universe before The Mandolorian, more specifically in The Empire Strikes Back, which was released four years before Dante’s Gremlins film. Last year during an interview with Deadline, Jon Favreau who’s the creator of The Mandalorian, revealed that most of the inspiration for Baby Yoda stemmed from a different character, E.T. Favreau went on to say that a rough draft from Dave Filoni started the creation of the new and improved Baby Yoda. Favreau explained to Deadline, “Dave had done a sketch of kind of a Michelangelo/E.T. moment, and that was a source of inspiration.”
There’s even an episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandolorian on Disney Plus that shows the behind-the-scenes process of the sketching of Baby Yoda and what the workshop process the team went through before they found the design that made it to the screen. This further instills that the creation of the Baby Yoda character doesn’t really have any real connections to the Gremlins character, especially during its early stages.
Dante’s mixed feelings are valid, considering the characters do have stunning similarities when placed side by side for comparison. However, to call the character “completely stolen” is a major stretch due to the fact that Baby Yoda’s design is based on the original Yoda, who existed prior to Gizmo and the Gremlins film franchise.
The Mandalorian seasons 1-2 are now available on Disney Plus.
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle
