The Joe Dante Slide Collection

01.

Kingston Falls

Our first set focuses on Kingston Falls, offering a rare look at the Universal Studios Courtyard Square set that served as the town’s main location. These photos reveal an incredible amount of detail—from the movie posters displayed at the local theater to the distant California hills that were later replaced with a snowy matte painting in the finished film—showcasing the meticulous world-building that brought this small-town setting to life.

Here’s a fascinating before-and-after comparison of the film’s iconic opening matte painting, created by Dream Quest artist Rocco Gioffre. In the original photo, you can clearly see the California hills just beyond the Universal Studios backlot—details that were later replaced with Gioffre’s hand-painted winter landscape to transform the setting into the snow-covered town of Kingston Falls.

A handful of rare photos capture Kingston Falls from street level during filming, offering a ground-up perspective of the Universal backlot dressed for winter.

02.

Bavarian Snowman Mishap

According to the original shooting script, Billy was meant to rescue a cat from the road just before it was hit by a police car, then return it to Mrs. Deagle’s house—only for Barney to immediately ruin the moment by crashing into her prized Bavarian snowman. The entire sequence was filmed and appears in the Gremlins Rough Cut, but ultimately removed from the final theatrical version of the movie.

03.

Billy's Bedroom

A small but charming collection of images captures the interior of Billy’s bedroom, offering a closer look at the set where much of the early story unfolds. Included are a full-body shot of Gizmo, as well as a behind-the-scenes photo of Joe Dante directing Zach Galligan, and an adorable photo of the sleeping mogwai—Gizmo included—nestled inside their cutout box.

04.

Stripe vs Barney

Early in the film, one of the most unsettling moments is the reveal of Barney hanging from the Christmas lights outside the Peltzer home. We never see who’s responsible—but how could those adorable little mogwai have done something so cruel? With the discovery of the Gremlins Rough Cut footage, we were finally able to see how this whole sequence played out. It is truly one of the highlights of the whole film. Before this, the only real hint as to what was shot was the shooting schedule and a surprisingly detailed set of storyboards.

"Yes, we shot, or tried to shoot, the walking mogwai in the hallway. We didn’t have time to set it up properly so after a few attempts, Joe just abandoned it." - Chris Walas, Gremlins Museum 10-2025

This is one of the only known shots of Stripe from the attempted version of that sequence, and despite a lack of production photos from the scenes, the entire sequence was fully storyboarded—illustrating in detail how the action was originally envisioned.

05.

Battle with the Christmas Tree

One of the film’s most intense moments features Lynn Peltzer (Frances Lee McCain) surviving her brutal kitchen encounter with the Gremlins, only to discover more lurking in the living room—including a particularly vicious one hidden inside the Christmas tree. This sequence was brought to life with Chris Walas himself puppeteering the attacking Gremlin, and the behind-the-scenes photos from this setup reveal fascinating details of the creature rigging and the coordination required to pull off such a chaotic, terrifying scene.

06.

Why Don't Gremlins Multiply in Snow?

This slide image comes from one of the deleted scenes first uncovered with the discovery of the Gremlins Rough Cut.

My original thought was that it showed Stripe peering through the Peltzer house window, but it’s actually Earl in the classroom calling out to his fellow mogwai. In this incredibly revealing scene, Mr. Hanson explains his findings on why mogwai don’t reproduce in the snow. Yes, that’s a real scene — and I promise I’m not making this up.

07.

The Death of Roy Hanson

As detailed in our Roy Hanson article, these images of Billy’s biology teacher reveal an alternate version of his death—one that was originally far more graphic. In this earlier cut, the character suffered multiple stab wounds at the hands of the newly hatched Gremlin, a sequence ultimately toned down in the final film to a less explicit, though still unsettling, demise.

08.

YMCA Pool

One of the more surprising discoveries from the YMCA pool sequence images is that the set was actually built outdoors. The pool itself was located on the Warner Brothers Ranch—famously used years later in Christmas Vacation—where the production team constructed a detailed facade around an existing pool.

09.

The Kentucky Harvester

One of the subtler background characters in Gremlins is Mr. Futterman’s pride and joy—the Kentucky Harvester. While the rusted old tractor doesn’t get much screen time, a few rare photos from this set showcase it in detail, both parked and in motion as it crashes through the Futterman house.

10.

Jesus, Frank. That's Dave Myers. He does Santa every year.

What’s a Christmas movie without a few horrifying monsters attacking Santa? Very little is known about local Dave Meyers, played by character actor Joe Brooks, beyond his brief appearance being clawed outside the sheriff’s car. However, these rare images offer a closer look at that chaotic sequence, along with glimpses of his background moments elsewhere in the film—small but memorable touches that helped bring the madness of Kingston Falls to life.

11.

Gerald in the Bank Vault

In the final film, Gerald’s character quietly disappears without a proper ending, but the original script gave him a far more interesting sendoff. Billy and Kate enter the ransacked bank to discover Mr. Corben dead and Gerald cowering inside the vault, having locked himself in out of sheer panic. When Billy offers to help, Gerald lashes out, accusing him of exploiting the situation for personal gain and rambling about promotions and office politics. Billy and Kate ultimately walk away, leaving him to his delusions—an ending that would have perfectly encapsulated his arrogance and unraveling sense of control.

12.

Private Snow White Screening

The theater sequence remains one of the most unforgettable moments in Gremlins, and while relatively few promotional stills exist from this scene, these two images perfectly capture the unbridled chaos. They show the Gremlins packed into theater seats—throwing popcorn, guzzling beer, and gleefully improvising props—embodying the unrestrained mayhem that made the film so memorable.

13.

The Blue Background Series (Promotional)

The Blue Background series is a collection of promotional photos overseen by Chris Walas, showcasing the film’s intricate puppet work in a studio setting. Shot against a clean blue backdrop, the series features multiple poses of Stripe, a generic Gremlin, and most memorably, Gizmo seated in his pink Corvette.

The first images in the collection feature creature creator Chris Walas striking a series of humorous poses alongside his Gremlin creations

This close-up of a generic Gremlin has long been a favorite, most notably appearing on a widely released puzzle in the United States. The second image is an alternate take.

Gizmo posing in his Corvette, tongue out in concentration, has always been a fan favorite. The first image in this set is the clearest version I’ve ever seen, capturing incredible detail in both the puppet and the Barbie car. The second shot appears to be an alternate take—one I’ve never come across before.

Lastly, this photo set is one that few have ever seen before—Stripe and Gizmo silhouetted against the familiar blue background. It appears the concept was ultimately scrapped, as these striking images never progressed beyond this early stage of production.

14.

Shadow Puppets (Promotional)

Another promotional photo session with the Gremlin puppets appeared to focus on their shadows—casting them in poses that were either menacing or playfully absurd. Though these images were never officially used, they carry a striking visual similarity to the “film break” gag in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, making it easy to imagine that this earlier concept might have subtly inspired that later moment of self-aware chaos.