Hero Greta Gremlin Puppet

screen MATCHED full body animatronic

Introduction

In Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Greta stands out as the franchise’s most flamboyant creation—the first and only distinctly female Gremlin. Born in the Splice o’ Life lab after drinking a vial of experimental hormone, Greta emerges as a green-skinned, high-heeled diva whose exaggerated features and playful sensuality push the film’s satirical tone to its limits. While the other Gremlins revel in chaotic destruction, Greta brings a different kind of energy—part monster, part movie star, fully self-aware of her absurdity.

Her character functions as both parody and commentary: a tongue-in-cheek jab at horror and sci-fi’s long history of gendered tropes, wrapped in the anarchic humor that defines Gremlins 2. From her flirtatious encounters with Clamp Center’s Forster to her final bridal appearance at the film’s end, Greta’s over-the-top presence transforms her into an instant cult icon. Decades later, she remains one of the most talked-about creations from the sequel—a surreal fusion of beauty, grotesque charm, and pure 1990s satire.

Building the Greta Puppets

The Greta Gremlin design is a fantastic example of creature craftsmanship straight from Rick Baker’s Cinovation Studios, where the team pushed the limits of animatronic expression and character design. Greta (or Girl Gremlin as she was known during production) represents the combined work of several key artists—Grant Arndt, who pitched the original puppet idea, oversaw the primary build and executed an incredible paint job that enhanced her blend of glamour and style; Steve Wang, whose original gremlin head design served as the creative foundation; and Jim McPherson, whose sculpted arms came from the original generic gremlin build.

In the production photo shown above, you can see the three distinct Greta puppets representing different levels of functionality used on set. On the right is the weighted “throwaround” version with no internal controls; at center, the hero puppet, with numerous animatronic cables exiting her torso (her legs not yet attached); and on the left, a more simplified hand puppet version. Together, these pieces reflect the extraordinary versatility of Baker’s crew—each Greta fine-tuned to perform specific functions on screen, ensuring the character’s larger-than-life presence translated seamlessly from workshop to camera.

In the photo above, Grant Arndt is seen working on the initial Greta Gremlin sculpt. In the background sits an early “Steve-style” generic gremlin that served as the foundation for Greta’s head design. Also visible in this shot is an interesting detail of her construction: Greta’s high-heeled shoes were sculpted directly into her feet, meaning they were never intended to be removed or treated as separate components.

The Iconic Photo

No article about Greta Gremlin would be complete without mentioning the iconic publicity photo of her standing confidently with her hands on her hips. The image was taken inside the Clamp Center mall set, with the blurred metal store grates visible in the background.

What makes this photo especially fascinating is how, using knowledge of the known Greta puppets, we can deduce exactly which one was used. The half-body Greta with visible elbow controllers can easily be eliminated. The full-body “throwaround” puppet existed as well, but it lacked any internal controls and featured a noticeably different eye design. That leaves the full-body hero puppet which we have here, which had no external elbow controllers and included the more mechanical, expressive eyes seen in the shot. It’s genuinely satisfying to narrow it down like this—especially knowing that this same image continues to appear on official Greta merchandise and promotional material more than three decades later.

Restoration

After owning the “throwaround” version of Greta for several years, a unique opportunity arose to acquire the main hero Greta Gremlin puppet. The transaction came together as a bit of a trade—essentially a swap of Gretas—with a few additional items included to even out the deal. Before long, the most iconic and fully functional Greta puppet was on her way to our museum collection.

This particular puppet is the primary animatronic design, outfitted with servos that control her fluttering eyelids and signature kissing motion, along with the standard side-to-side eye articulation and ear movement. This is the puppet featured most prominently on screen— interacting with Forster in the Splice o’ Life lab, the red ballgown reveal during New York, New York, and again in the film’s final scene dressed in her wedding gown. Any time Greta’s eyes flutter or she puckers up for a kiss, it’s this exact puppet bringing that expression to life.

Following production, the puppet remained in storage from 1990 until around 2015, when it was purchased and underwent restoration by the Musée Cinéma et Miniature in Lyon, France. Decades of storage had left her with extensive foam deterioration and surface damage. Later upon our acquisition of the puppet, Tom Spina Designs in New York carried out additional touch-ups—reinforcing her feet, stabilizing delicate areas, and blending fresh paintwork to harmonize with the original finish.

The photos below show Greta as she appeared upon emerging from Cinovation Studios’ storage, her once-bright hair faded and thinned over time and then again as she entered restoration in 2023.

Head Servos

One of the most fascinating aspects of this puppet is just how densely packed with animatronics she truly is. During her restoration at Tom Spina Designs, technicians discovered a curious gray piece of metal protruding from the back of her head. It turned out that the original Cinovation crew had simply run out of internal space for additional mechanisms—so they concealed the excess structure beneath Greta’s velcro-attached wig. This clever bit of improvisation perfectly illustrates the ingenuity (and occasional chaos) that went into bringing these complex characters to life. The intricate network of servos and controls inside her head were designed by Dwight Roberts at Rick Baker’s Cinovation Studios.

Unpacking

A quick video we put together of Greta arriving at the Gremlins Museum

Screen Matched:

This puppet was used in all of the main Greta scenes, here are a few images of her being used.

Final Images

Shown here is the hero Greta Gremlin puppet following her restoration—a remarkable survivor from over thirty years ago. Despite her extensive use during production and the decades spent in storage afterward, Greta remains in exceptionally good condition. Her foam latex skin retains its rich coloration and sculptural detail, with only minor age-related softening along the surface. The bright green hair, while slightly stripped of pigment and reduced in volume, still cascades over her shoulders in that unmistakable Gremlins 2 glamour.

Today, Greta stands proudly on her original internal support structure, posed with her trademark tilted head and mischievous smirk, wearing the same leopard-print outfit seen in the film’s Splice o’ Life sequences. Every contour of her sculpt, from the finely textured scales to the gloss of her lips, reflects the artistry of Rick Baker’s Cinovation Studios and the meticulous restoration efforts that followed. For a puppet that spent months under hot production lights and years in deep storage, her survival is nothing short of astonishing—a living relic of Gremlins 2’s wild creativity and cinematic excess.