6. It's Going To Be Watered Down
Problem: This is The Autumn Society's
Gremlins themed print that I found through Google when searching for "Cartoony Gremlins". With all due respect to the artist's vision, this is more suited for a tribute than an actual concept of re-imagining a previously scary film. And that's precisely the point. What you see above would probably be concept art for a more modern Gremlins film, one that, ya know, won't scare kids. These days, the studio system seems to treat children as if they can't handle a couple bad dreams and bogeymen; and as such, you're hard pressed to find a PG-13 horror film that's actually scary. Say hello to what Gremlins would probably look like, circa 2013 and in development at Dreamworks Animation. Again, this isn't a slam at the artists. I really like this print. But this concept could be abused by some studio hack who doesn't know any better and turned into a 3D tentpole that bombs harder than Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor.
If They HAVE To...: ...don't make Gremlins as a "kid's movie". It never was a kid's movie to begin with, but most of our parents were just cool enough to show it to us anyway because they expected that they could handle the nightmares that might come of it. It's not like we're introducing children to Freddy Kruger here, it's Gremlins. Sure it was scary, but it was also cute and funny in equal turn. Let's not amp up the last two in favor of shorting ourselves on the first.