Hey folks! This should be a fun conversation. In a recent interview, GREMLINS Director Joe Dante said that he believes the Baby Yoda design was stolen from Gizmo in the films.
"“I think the longevity of [the films] is really key to this one character [Gizmo], who is essentially like a baby,” director Joe Dante recently told the San Francisco Chronicle of the star of his classic Gremlins films. “Which brings me, of course, to the subject of Baby Yoda, who is completely stolen and is just out-and-out copied. Shamelessly, I would think.”
Personally, I don't think it was stolen. I think that it is just a classic case of a similar concept popping up in a different cinematic universe. I am sure that they probably used Gizmo as reference at some point, but to say it was "out-and-out copied" seems a touch much. But what do you think?
It is also a reminder to us that when we see and hear a concept that seems identical to our pitch or script, many times it is also a case of similar ideas in the zeitgeist.
Article:
https://deadline.com/2022/07/baby-yoda-stolen-gremlins-joe-dante-1235064...
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I don't think so.
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The designs are similar, but I don't think Gizmo's design was stolen. I think it's like you said, Jason Mirch. A classic case of a similar concept popping up in a different cinematic universe.
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Yoda first appeared on screen in 1980; Gremlins was 1984. In 1980, if an artist was asked to make a design for Yoda as a baby, I would think it would come close to what they eventually came up with years later with the actual product, seeing as how the basic features were already there on the original character. I think Mr. Dante is stretching things a bit with this one.
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You cannot steal an idea. The baby yoda image may have been inspired by Gizmo, but it has enough variances that it would not be considered a copyright infringement. If you Google copyright vs and idea: Copyrights protect expression and creativity, not innovation. Patents protect inventions. Neither copyrights or patents protect ideas.
Because I have worked in publishing, copyright of images, writing, etc., are always front and center. A copyright lawyer friend talks about this all the time. Even a copyright image, if you add a portion of it to a collage, it may not be considered copyright infringement because of the new expression. There are copyright exceptions for educational, media, etc. purposes (i.e. a top-10 list of songs, movies, etc.)
When in doubt, check a copyright lawyer, but in this case, no. This is not a copyright infringement.
Ideas are not copyrightable. Every one of us on this platform can have the same idea and produce our own script. Each script will be written uniquely because we won't have the same vision. I use this exercise in my writing classes, using a photograph. Every student writes a paragraph, no rules of format, and then after each reads their creation and every story is completely different, even if it's 10 or more students.
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Imagine if the show was animated. I don't think Dante would be making the same accusations. Then again, Dante's been around for so long, usually a big hitter doesn't drop these kinds of statements without motive. Both Dan and Maurice got me thinking.
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Here is adult Yoda. A baby Yoda would look like exactly like the one they have designed. The thing I find funny is that The Empire Strikes Back (Yoda's first film) cam out four years before Gremlins. Is Dante speaking from guilt.
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I do not believe it was stolen. The only similarities I see are the ears. Lol, Infringement is hard to prove, even with WGA Protection, or am I wrong? I always TRY TO avoid keywords or imagery that might appear copied from someone else. I think that is just respect for one another.
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I suppose the true test would be to feed Yoda after midnight.
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[Mark: Ha!]
Okay, so let's throw ET (June 1982) into this mix...
The thing here is, there are plenty of studies that show the human appeal of and empathy toward big-eyed, round-headed, symmetrical creatures. They strike an anthropological chord as our babies. Visual artists know this. I'm not surprised at these similarities in movie creatures, and anybody who says one is "stolen" is probably trying to stir up some sh*t.