Sections:Information | Description | Controversy | Fun Stuff | Covers | Advertisements | Comic Books
Aug 15, 2019 The Gremlins has a very good claim to being Roald Dahl’s first piece of writing for children. It is certainly one of the first stories he ever wrote. Gremlins by Roald Dahl, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. However, the film was loosely based on a children’s novel written in by Roald Dahl. This “preview” was published by Disney as an attempt to secure copyright for specific character designs ahead of a planned Gremlins feature film, since the concept of Gremlins in general were well known within the RAF and Dahl was unable to prove sole ownership. Sep 12, 2006 The Gremlins Dahl, Roald, Artists And Writers Guild on Amazon.com.FREE. shipping on qualifying offers. The Gremlins. Roald Dahl - Gremlins - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Published in 1943 and long unavailable, this landmark book is from the author of such beloved tales as 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'James and the Giant Peach' and 'Matilda.'
Information
5.0 out of 5 stars The Gremlins by Roald Dahl. Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2012. Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase. This little book brings back fond memories of my childhood. During WW-II a RAF pilot, Tony Powell, was a good friend of my parents and frequently stayed at our home when he was in Washington, DC on Army Air Corps.
Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.
- Full title:Walt Disney: The Gremlins – A Royal Air Force Story by Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl
- Illustrated by: Disney Studios (aka Bill Justice, not credited)
- First editions:
- Random House, 1943, USA.
- To identify: Used a standard single statement (‘First edition’ under the copyright information) and published with a jacket priced at $1.00
- Collins, 1944?, UK.
- To identify: Used a standard single statement (copyright statement with date below, no later dates or printing statements indicated) and published without a price or jacket.
- Ayres & James Sidney, 1994?, Australia.
- To identify: Used a standard single statement and published with a price of 4/6
- Random House, 1943, USA.
- Previewed in:
- “The Gremlins” in December 1942 issue of Cosmopolitan
- Mentioned in:
- “Gremlins… A Warning!” in April 1943 issue of This Week Magazine
- 2006 reprint includes:
- Introduction by Leonard Maltin, “The Gremlins Got ‘Em: How Walt Disney and Roald Dahl didn’t get to make a movie together”
- Contains:
- Radio Shows:
- Roald Dahl: A Gremlin in the Works (2016)
- Buy this book:
Description
The Gremlins was Dahl’s very first book for children. The story was originally intended for production as an animated film by Walt Disney, but the film was dropped before it was completed. Disney did, however, still publish the book that had been created as a tie-in with the movie’s release. Only around 50,000 copies were printed worldwide, therefore copies of it are extremely rare.
In 2006, Dark Horse Comics were able to secure the rights to The Gremlins from Disney to reprint the book. They also released a line of figurines and a sequel series of comic books. You can read more information about the revival here.
Controversy
During pre-production for the film, Disney was contacted by another RAF pilot, Douglas Bisgood, who claimed that Dahl had taken most of the Gremlin terminology from him without his permission. The two had met during Dahl’s journey to the US and had swapped stories of Gremlins onboard the ship. Bisgood claimed that “The names of Fifinella, Widget and Flippertygibbet are my own private property.” (Bisgood’s mother had gone by the nickname Fifinella within her family.) Rather than monetary compensation, Bisgood was keen to be credited in the film. Dahl and Disney tried to placate him by pointing out that all proceeds were being donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund, and in the end the film was never made anyway so Bisgood let the matter drop.
You can learn more about this issue and read some of the correspondence involved over at Mouseplanet.
Fun Stuff
Merchandise
- Fifinella and Widgets
- Gremlin Rufus Set
- Gremlin with Pipe
- Gremlin with Postage Stamp
- Gremlin Gus Set
- Gremlin Gus and Fifinella
- Gremlin Jamface Set
- Gremlin Gus Soft Toy
- Fifinella Soft Toy
- Elsewhere on the web:
- Blog post with lots of research from Wade Sampson at Mouseplanet
- Theory that Dahl was working as a British Secret Service spy when he wrote the story
- Falling Hare (watch online) and (watch online), two Warner Bros. cartoons featuring the Gremlins. (Disney asked them not to use “gremlins” in the titles.)
- Videos:
Covers
- Random House, 1943, front
- Random House, 1943, back
- Dark Horse, 2006
Reference
Advertisements
The Gremlins characters were extremely popular and featured in this 1943 advertisement for Life Savers candy:
The Gremlins - Wikipedia
GREMLIN CHASERS. You’ve heard of the Gremlins… pesky little troublemakers that hang around air fields… army camps… ports of call… and battle stations. One good antidote for Gremlins is LIFE SAVERS… they cheer a fellow up when the Gremlins get him down. Maybe that’s why our armed forces are ordering so many of them… so … if you have trouble getting some favorite flavor… blame it on the Gremlins.
Comic Books
The Walt Disney Company published several sequels in comic book form. These page are from a 1987 reprint by Gladstone Publishing Ltd. (Thank you to Marvin Winitz for tracking these down for me!)
- Gladstone Publishing Ltd, 1987
- Gladstone Publishing Ltd, 1987
In 2008, Dark Horse released a three-issue comic book series written by publisher Mike Richardson that took place in the modern world rather than World War II. (Issue 1|Issue 2|Issue 3) These were collected into a hardcover volume in 2015. You can read more these comic books here.
- Issue #1, 2008
- Issue #2, 2008
- Issue #3, 2008
- Collection, 2015
The Gremlins are mythical creatures that attempt to cause damage to the Royal Air Force’s machines in order to cause mechanical troubles. The Gremlins do this in order to seek revenge for the RAF’s destruction of the forest, which is their natural habitat.
The protagonist, Gus, has a Hawker Hurricane aircraft that is destroyed by one of the Gremlins. The Gremlin’s manage to parachute their way to freedom. However, Gus manages to convince them to join the RAF in its fight against Hitler and the Nazi’s.
The RAF then begin an intensive reeducation for the Gremlin’s training. The Gremlins learn how to fix the damage they caused to the RAF equipment and aircrafts. The Gremlin’s become a part of the RAF team and learn to work alongside each other