I have a theory about why Disney is bringing out this book now. Billy Tucci, of the comic "Shi" fame was promoting a Gremlin related property a few years back at the San Diego Comics Con. According to his website:

" It is summer 1940 and the Gremlins of Hootonshire on the Isle of Wight have been "invaded" by the Royal Air Force, and they're not about to let a little thing like The Battle of Britain get in the way of their revenge!"

Gee, sounds kinda similar to the Dahl Gremlin Story, right? I suspect Disney just wanted to make sure that they kept their hand in and got their copyrights updated.
BTW, Billy's Gremlin comic evidently didn't fly and as far as I know it never came out.

 

I think I once heard something about this, but I didn't know anything other than the title.  Thank you so much for this article & pictures!!!  I think that "Gremilns" could have come to life in short form- there were plenty of great shorts in the wartime era.  I wonder if folks at Disney had ever thought of that.  Are American pilots in the story at all?  Maybe another reason this wasn't made into a movie by Disney was that Disney is an American company?  I know Britain was on our side, so I'm most likely wrong, but it was a thought that popped into my head.  

Were those pictures drawn by actual Disney artists- did Dahl go to Walt and ask if his artists could illustrate the story?  And, I wonder how close to these pictures the final designs would have been.

This article brings to mind the Bugs Bunny cartoon when he meets the Gremlin.  Did that come out around the time when Disney was in pre-production?  That short is hilarious.

It seems to me that all the reasons it wasn't made don't apply anymore. I doubt Disney is looking for an excuse to make this movie, but now would be the time. Extremely unsympathetic characters who gradually become heroes - that's Stitch. We can do that now. And WWII isn't old to audiences - it's historical.

I found the entire book as a set of photographs inside the DVD set _Walt_Disney_Treasures:__On_The_Front_Lines_. It's a little hard to read, but all there.

I have that Treasures DVD...is it in the insert booklet?  Or literally a set of individual photographs, like on cardboard or something?  I just moved so all my movies are in boxes; otherwise I'd go check.

Instead of remaking something like Bedknobs and Broomsticks, why don't they make this a film, along with many others that never saw completion?

Doubleleb wrote:

"This article brings to mind the Bugs Bunny cartoon when he meets the Gremlin.  Did that come out around the time when Disney was in pre-production?  That short is hilarious".

I checked around on this - "Falling Hare" (the cartoon you're referring to) was released in October of 1943, so that would have come out at about the time  "The Gremlins" was in pre-production. Warner Brothers had another feature featuring the Gremlins - "Russian Rhapsody", where they're "Germlins from the Kremlin" sabotaging a plane being flown by Hitler to bomb Moscow - in 1944.  I have to wonder how much influence these cartoons had in Disney's decision to shelve their project.

//I have that Treasures DVD...is it in the insert booklet?  Or literally a set of individual photographs, like on cardboard or something?  I just moved so all my movies are in boxes; otherwise I'd go check.//

I think it's actually on the DVD itself, and you flip through it with your remote.

Since the article didn't mention it, I wil.  Dark horse is also producing a 3 issue mini-series comic book titled the Return of the Gremlins as well as some merchandise such as pvc figures.  Go to Darkhorse.com for details.  Here's the solicit for the first issue:  The Return of the Gremlins #1
Writer: Mike Richardson
Artist: Dean Yeagle
Genre: Humor, Classic


The mischievous gremlins are back! Based on the landmark creation of beloved children's author Roald Dahl, these playful (and occasionally exasperating) creatures have been in the public eye since WWII, disassembling fighter planes and causing roguish havoc wherever they go.

Our story opens on Gus, a man visiting England from the States. His grandfather's house is part of his inheritance, and he plans to sell it as soon as he can. Even though the locals think the house is haunted--something Gus immediately dismisses--a slick man named Mr. Snide promptly appears with his "associates" and makes an offer. But when Gus declines to sign over the house right then and there, Snide reveals that his arrangement with the mayor will seal the deal soon enough!

Left to explore the place, Gus experiences a series of very odd events. How did his folded clothes end up in knots? Who on earth would drill a hole in a coffee cup? Certainly not ghosts, but for a former fighter pilot's abandoned old home, it sure is clean . . .

When the house's tiny residents decide to take extreme measures, Gus will meet the gremlins up close and personal--just like his grandfather, who first discovered them sixty years ago!

• Based on the classic Disney characters created by world-renowned author Roald Dahl!

• Look for the release of new Gremlins figures in next months Previews!

Publication Date: Dec 13, 2006
Format: Full color, 32 pages
Price: $2.99

Last August, MousePlanet's Wade Sampson wrote a piece (http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=ww060802ws) with additional back story about the Gremlins and merchandising.  These two articles compliment each other nicely.

gypsybob said:
"Instead of remaking something like Bedknobs and Broomsticks, why don't they make this a film, along with many others that never saw completion?"

That's the best suggestion I've heard in a while.  Good idea!

Thanks, Anonymouse- when I unpack I'll have to check that out!  (I've watched all the shorts and "Victory Through Airpower", but somehow I missed that.)

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