Gremlins 2: Hero George Mogwai
As the gruff, cigar-chomping counterpart to Lenny’s dopey charm, this hero George puppet embodies the meticulous design and mechanical sophistication that defined Gremlins 2’s mogwai creations.
THE GREMLINS MUSEUM
George Mogwai Movie Prop
HERO HAND PUPPET with animatronic head
Introduction
George is a Mogwai character from the 1990 film Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Acting as the “straight man” to his dim-witted companion Lenny, George’s perpetual scowl and gruff demeanor set him apart from the rest of the mischievous brood. His design was famously inspired by classic Hollywood gangster Edward G. Robinson, whose tough-guy expression was translated perfectly into the mogwai’s furrowed brow and curled lip. With his gravelly voice, cigar-chomping personality, and perpetual air of irritation, George served as both comic foil and personality anchor among the chaos of the group.
As with the other mogwai in the film, George was brought to life through a mix of hero-level animatronic puppets and specialized builds, each tailored for specific shots or expressions. The hero version in our collection represents one of the most fully realized mogwai puppets produced for the film, featuring a dense internal servo system capable of detailed facial performance.
This George Mogwai puppet, created by Jim McPherson at Rick Baker’s Cinovation Studios, served as the hero animatronic used throughout the mogwai sequences of Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Designed as the primary performance version of the character, it was built to be worn directly over a puppeteer’s hand, allowing for natural arm and hand movement while the intricate facial expressions were handled remotely.
A gray animatronic cable extending from the back of the puppet connected to a late-1980s controller, supplying power and signal to the servo systems hidden within the head. Through this setup, operators could precisely control George’s face, giving him the full range of motion needed to express his trademark scowl, cigar-chomping sneer, and occasional flashes of begrudging amusement.
Early George mogwai sculpts by Jim McPherson
This interview with ZBrushCentral illustrates how Jim became synonymous with the character George:
"...Soon after that I worked on Gremlins 2 for Rick Baker at Cinovation Studios. At a certain point a lot of us were doing maquettes. I did maquettes for basically all of the characters; all the gremlins in the film and a lot of other people did, too. We did them fairly quickly. I think they were done in about two days each. So we’d have a lot of different things to show Rick and see what he liked. He would show things to the production. It ended up that they liked this character I did: “George”. I made him to look like Edward G. Robinson. We’d gotten a description that said “We’re doing Lennie and George from ‘Of Mice and Men’.” They were supposedly doing Warner Brothers-type gremlins. So I thought of the little gangster guy that they had; the big, dumb guy specifically that they had in Warner Brothers cartoons. It wasn’t exactly Lennie and George but that was what I went with. I ended up doing a lot gremlin assembly. There were a lot of robots and puppets, so I ended up working on that for quite a long time."
- Jim McPherson, ZBrushCentral.com
Restoration
The George Mogwai puppet was shipped from The Netherlands to Tom Spina Designs in New York for a round of sympathetic restoration. While he arrived in relatively stable condition, his signature jutting lower lip—the defining feature of his permanent scowl—was beginning to weaken and risked breaking away from the face. There was also minor deterioration to the foam around his hands.
Spina’s team carried out meticulous repairs, stabilizing the jaw, seamlessly restoring the hand damage, and re-seating George’s removable head into a more secure, screen-accurate position. They also adjusted the lower eyelid servo, fine-tuning its angle to better reflect George’s trademark look of perpetual irritation and disapproval.
Final Photos
Mounted on his original wood and PVC rig, still bearing a piece of tape with creator Jim McPherson’s handwriting, George’s trademark scowl and raised brows are now frozen mid-expression—perfectly capturing his exasperated attitude. He is displayed in a clear acrylic museum case beside his companion Lenny, a fitting reunion for the exact same puppet duo used together in the Gremlins 2 scene where the pair discover the frozen yogurt stand. Presented under soft, even lighting, George’s expressive face, layered fur, and restored animatronic rig stand as a vivid reminder of the meticulous craftsmanship and personality-driven humor that defined the film’s mogwai performances.
