Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai cast reveals what it means to them to bring the Gremlins franchise to a whole new generation, in this interview.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is the animated prequel to the popular Gremlins films. This series tells the story of how the shop owner, Mr. Wing, met Gizmo. It follows Sam Wing and Gizmo as they go on an adventure to get him home. It is funny and adorable, but also pushes the envelope when it comes to the horror elements in a similar way that the movies did.
Mama’s Geeky sat down with the voice cast of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai to discuss bringing Gremlins to a whole new generation and what that means for them. They also reveal if they think they could take care of a mogwai or not.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai Cast & Creators Talk New Animated Series
Mama’s Geeky: What does bringing Gremlins to a new generation mean to you?
Tze Chun: Brendan and I were huge fans of the original Gremlins movies. It was an incredibly formative experience for us growing up. We also grew up watching Amblin movies. And so this is really a dream. To have been fans watching these things, and growing up with these filmmakers as our heroes. To be able to live inside of this mythology, this franchise, for the last few years has been really incredible.
Brendan Hay: Yeah. And it’s been great share not just movies that we love with our kids, as we both have children, but to pass that on to next generation. But also, these are films that gave us nightmares and getting to pass that on to our kids have been cool.
Izaac Wang: A lot of people are looking at this series right now. People are judging, naturally, that’s just how humans are most of the time. So it’s gonna be interesting to see if it’s going to be more of a positive impact or negative impact. I think it’s going to be positive. I think the show is really good. Everything about the everything about the show, aspect wise is just like amazing. The art the storyline, the comedy, the horror parts, it’s great. I am a little bit intimidated, but it’s gonna be fun.
Gabrielle Nevaeh Green: It’s, it’s scary to bring something from the 80s and 90s to our generation because you don’t know how they’re going to react. They didn’t grow up on it. It wasn’t a part of their childhood, for most people. So it’s a brand new concept for a lot of people. I know when I was on All That that was something that was another cult classic that people love from the 90s. But it was the same type of anticipation like, oh, are people gonna like this? This is the same but different. You have to marry the current times with the nostalgic aspects. So it’s always a little bit of jitters, but it’s an honor.
AJ LoCascio: It’s really, really, really weird. It’ll never stop being weird taking on any sort of iconic role where people are looking at you and judging you against what came before. It’s very surreal. I’m super honored. And I’m also relieved after watching the show that I’m like, Oh, thank God it’s really good. Now, it’s just a matter of people seeing it.
You record in a vacuum basically, where you read the script, you can’t picture it, you don’t know how it’s all going to come together. And now that we’ve started to watch some of the episodes it’s like, oh, okay, it’s really good. It bridges the gap brilliantly where it feels like an old classic story, to some degree, where it’s an older adventure. It feels like something that’s almost existed for a while, like Avatar: The Last Airbender where you’re just like, oh, this is just a big adventure, but in the Gremlins world.
I’m surprised at how adult the kids are. There’s so much stuff. I’m like, Oh, my God, that was scary or violent, and in a way that as someone who grew up with 80s movies and 90s movies, it’s exciting to see kids being real. There’s some stuff where they’re wielding weapons where I’m like, wow, cool. I don’t know how to describe it. Modern reboot, but not modern in the sense that it feels very classic.
Ming-Na Wen: I was a huge fan of the original film and a huge fan of Steven Spielberg. The fact that they have cleverly taken a very mysterious character, which was their launching point for Gremlins, this Chinese character named Mr. Wing and are able to now take him and bring him back to the 1920s in Shanghai and tell his origin story.
And to have it be so wrapped in Chinese culture and history and to have Tze Chun behind it, writing it and directing it. For me it is like they took a Chinese character of the Mogwai, and now are giving it the respect of telling how it happened, how it originated, and all the other folklores and stories that embodies our culture and what I grew up with.
BD Wong: When this movie came out, all three of us, our whole community, we were starved for representation. We would kill to have better representation and more inclusivity and more diversity in the movies. Some progress has happened between the time that I was a kid and now. This project being initiated is partly in service to creating a more diverse landscape in the industry and in the entertainment field. I’m grateful for that.
I’m happy to say that we’re alive to see this happening. While we’re working and vital and able to not only enjoy it as actors, but to enjoy it as audience members. It’s really important for our kids for this project to also be intergenerational. I think it’s brilliant that it’s animated, because it takes it to a whole new audience of people. It can still be scary and dark and funny, but it’s not quite as scary as it would be if it was live action.
I think that’s intentional. I think that’s wonderfully part of the passing of the torch to the new generation. This wonderful idea that those people who enjoyed it at the time are now parents, so they want to enjoy this brand of Gremlins with their kids. And this is their opportunity to do that. I love it. I think it’s very positive.
James Hong: I think it’s wonderful that it’s come back in a sense. It has a second life. That’s wonderful. Anything good should be revived again. My daughter April told me when she was in school, one of her boyfriends used to always imitate the character, the mogwai. That character has come back again with the same sound. It’s the past coming up to let the generation of this time, enjoy it again and to be part of it. It’s really something.
Mama’s Geeky: Do you think you could personally care for a mogwai?
Tze Chun: I think that if I was given a Mogwai all of Los Angeles would be destroyed within 48 hours.
Brendan Hay: I want to believe that, because my family has two dogs and a cat, we can raise Mogwai. I also know that my children, and I do too, I can’t blame it just on them, we spill water at an alarming rate in our homes. They’re always mopping something up. So Los Angeles is doomed.
Gabrielle Nevaeh Green: I think I’d be pretty good at it. I feel like a gremlin would be a good challenge. It’s like a dog but harder.
Izaac Wang: I feel like you’re the most responsible one here. Unlike me and AJ. My cats eat grass and cobwebs. They’re cows.
AJ LoCascio: No. I can’t get my dog to not eat things off the floor. Or at the park. Mine are always finding little pieces of chicken someone left behind from a picnic. And I’m like, No, I don’t want to take you to the vet. So I don’t know if I’d be very good at that.
Be sure to watch the whole interview above to learn even more about the making of the series and the cast. Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai premieres on Max May 23rd.
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About Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
“Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” takes viewers back to 1920s Shanghai where the Wing family first meets the young Mogwai called Gizmo (AJ LoCascio). Voiced by Izaac Wang, Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 “Gremlins” film) accepts the dangerous task to take Gizmo home and embarks on a journey through the Chinese countryside. Sam and Gizmo are joined by a teenage street thief named Elle (Gabrielle Nevaeh), and together, they encounter—and sometimes battle—colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. Along their quest, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist named Riley Greene (Matthew Rhys) and his growing army of evil Gremlins.
CAST: The all-star voice cast includes Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, BD Wong, Matthew Rhys, Izaac Wang, AJ LoCascio and Gabrielle Nevaeh. The series also features notable guest stars including Zach Galligan who starred as the hero “Billy Peltzer” in the original “Gremlins” films. Additional guest voices include Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, and Bowen Yang.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.