The 1984 movie Gremlins helped usher in the PG-13 rating, along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, another Spielberg film that came out the same year. Gremlins started out as a cutesy kid's movie and escalated quickly into a horror comedy. I don't know whether it traumatized kids or not, but for adults it was a real hoot. There was a lot going on behind the scenes of Gremlins.
3. There was no CGI in the film.
Every last gremlin was animatronic in cost upwards of $30,000-$40,000 dollars. Each night when the crew went home they had to open their trunks for security to make sure that nothing was being stolen. That’s a lot of money in just one gremlin.
2. Tim Burton was almost selected to direct.
Spielberg liked his work and almost pulled the trigger on hiring him but realized that Burton hadn’t done a full-length feature yet and passed.
Learn more about the movie Gremlins at TVOM.