Reversible Plush Gremlins (Mohawk and Daffy)

It took me a very, very long time to get over my fear of Gremlins.

As a kid of the 1980s, I was inundated by product after product of all the various popular movies, television shows, and toys that a kid had to choose from in terms of entertainment. I didn’t have to see the movie Gremlins to know what Gizmo looked like. His adorable furry mug was plastered on a wide assortment of toys and plush dolls.

But Gizmo was a Mogwai. Those Gremlins (the creatures Mogwai transform into if they eat anything after midnight…I’m assuming Eastern Standard Time) terrified me. Ugly scales, sharp little teeth, evil red glaring eyes…to me, wet little monster puppets are far more realistic than anything anyone will ever be able to recreate with CGI these days. And because I was so exposed to entertainment as a kid, it was difficult for me to differentiate between reality and fantasy. So I knew that if I avoided watching either of the Gremlins movies, I wouldn’t have to fear them when the lights went out at night.

Here’s the thing: my fear of Gremlins is exactly what the filmmakers of the 1984 movie wanted me to experience. Not just anyone can create a piece of cinema where you can completely lose yourself in the moment even though you know that you’re watching puppets. As such, Gremlins holds up quite well today.

Several toy companies are churning out Gremlins collectibles in large quantities, and they’re all quite popular. In many cases, items that were released as collectibles in the last 15 years (as opposed to items contemporary to when the movies were released in 1984 and 1990) are quite a bit more valuable and desirable than their vintage counterparts.

However, my eyes have been focused on finding vintage Gremlins toys in the last couple of years, and there is some truly amazing merchandise that was made for the two movies. I would say a good 90-95% of the merchandise is based around Gizmo, and that makes a lot of sense, since he’s literally the cutest fictional character in a horror movie ever and easily marketable to children.

Vintage Plush Mohawk

Vintage Plush Daffy

Today, I’m spotlighting a pair of plush toys that, as far as I can tell, were only available in the United Kingdom. It’s a set of plush dolls of Mohawk and Daffy, two of the evil Mogwai that were spawned when Gizmo gets wet in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and the first Gremlins movie (1984), respectively. Like I said, the vast majority of Gremlins merchandise was based around Gizmo with a couple of items based on Stripe from the first film, so it’s nice to see Gremlins toys based on other Mogwai. There are an awful lot of plush Gremlins out there, so it’s not as though these are standouts, right?

Wait. Bear with me. It gets a whole lot better.

See, according to the rules established in the movies, if you feed a Mogwai after midnight, that’s when they transform into the titular Gremlins. Even though these are plush toys, you can pretend that these little guys got out of hand by literally pulling them inside out and exposing their true, horrific nature.

Yes, these plush toys are reversible, which allows you to transform Mohawk and Daffy back and forth between Mogwai and Gremlins. These. Are. INCREDIBLE. I was simply doing a search for vintage Gremlins toys on eBay and these popped up. I had no idea they existed. The auctions for the two plush dolls were both were in the United Kingdom, and as far as I can tell, every other example of these that I’ve been able to find has only been for sale over there, leading me to believe they’re an overseas exclusive. Much like the Japanese JUN Planning toys from the late 1990s, it seems like the best merchandise is never available in the market where it makes the most sense.

Plush toys are a tough call in the collecting world, since they’re not something that can easily be displayed on a shelf. However, once I knew these existed, I knew I had to own them, proper display space be damned. To my knowledge, they are the only transforming Gremlins toys ever made, and in this case, it makes perfect sense. The “action feature” of these toys is built around what happens to Mogwai in the films.

To my UK readers, be thankful that you have a pretty easy shot of getting these. For everyone else, time to add a saved search to eBay!

This entry was posted in 1980's, 1990's, Ben, Monsters, Movies, Toys, Weird. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to Reversible Plush Gremlins (Mohawk and Daffy)

  1. Julie Martin says:

    Hi, I’ve got both of these in their original boxes, they are good condition, can you tell me how much they are worth please? I want to sell them.
    Thank you.
    Julie

    • admin says:

      Hi Julie! I’ve never even seen them in their original boxes! Could you pass along a picture?

      It’s tough to provide an appraisal. I didn’t spend much to get these, but then again, I’m not sure how many people know that they exist. That’s the problem with rare toys. Rarity does not always equate into value. If it’s rare, and several people want the items in their collections, that’s when the prices soar.

      • Kia says:

        Thank you for proving I’m not insane! A kid next-door had one of these when I was a kid, but because I could never find the merch of it, I was CONVINCED that I’d made it up and some kid had convinced me that such a thing existed, while simply swapping one plush for another (he always did it behind closed doors). This probably sounds crazy, but I AM SO GLAD I WAS RIGHT. Argh.

  2. karl says:

    I used to have Mohawk as a kid but unfortunately I lost him when I moved out of my old house, luckily I was walking through the market and came across Daffy and bought him for £6.00.
    I just wish I still had the Mohawk so that I could have the pair :(

  3. Matt says:

    I saw the Mohawk one in a toy shop when I was a kid. It was about £25 so my mum wouldn’t buy it for me.
    About a year before that though I had got the Gizmo plushy from this same toy line for Christmas – he has two little Mogwai spawn that you stuff in his back and they themselves fold out from either being a little ball of fluff – or a little ball of fluff with a face!
    I still have it, plus both the spawns. I don’t have the box though because I was about 7 and it was a f*cking toy!

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