Gremlins 2: Vegetable Gremlin Movie Prop
Among the wildest creations to crawl out of Gremlins 2: The New Batch, the Vegetable Gremlin stands out as a bizarre and unforgettable fusion of horror, humor, and horticulture.
THE GREMLINS MUSEUM
Hero Vegetable Gremlin Movie Prop
screen used main vegetable hand puppet
Introduction
The Vegetable Gremlin is the first of the lab creatures in the Splice o’ Life laboratory to undergo mutation, transforming after downing Wally’s experimental vegetable medley. His most memorable trait is his loud, exaggerated belching—a vocal performance that, according to Zach Galligan, he achieved by drinking an excessive amount of Diet Coke.
After his introduction, the Vegetable Gremlin is one of the first to appear in the Clamp Center lobby, emerging from the salad bar to attack football legend Dick Butkus, who unknowingly plucks one of the creature’s lettuce ears. Later, a gremlin bartender is seen picking olives off his body to use as drink garnishes—a gag later echoed by Microwave Marge in a deleted scene.
Gabe Bartarlos' original Vegetable Gremlin maquette / Photo by: Charles Pieper
The Vegetable Gremlin may be the most striking and iconic design to emerge from Rick Baker’s Cinovation Studio in 1989. Conceived by sculptor Gabe Bartalos, the character was inspired by the surreal composite portraits of Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and brought to life through a beautifully detailed maquette which is still in Gabe's personal collection today.
Norman Cabrera working on a Vegetable Gremlin maquette
Norman Cabrera expanded upon Bartalos’ early concept work, refining the design into the final on-screen character. He gave the Vegetable Gremlin its distinctive carrot-shaped chin, lettuce leaf ears, and an assortment of produce covering nearly every inch of its body.
This Vegetable Gremlin puppet is believed to be the most frequently used in production, as his whole body was never shown in the movie. It was restored and sealed around 2010 by Brian Penikas, who was on the original Cinovation Creature Team.
Screen Matched
Our hero Vegetable Gremlin puppet was used throughout Gremlins 2 and can be seen in many of the screenshots below.
Storyboards:
One of the more unique scenes in Gremlins 2 is when the Vegetable Gremlin emerges from the Clamp salad bar. This great sequence is captured in storyboard images below from our John Hora Storyboard collection:
