Joe Dante has finally brought up the thing we have all been thinking about since watching The Mandolorian. While speaking with The San Francisco Chronicle, Dante spoke about characters like Gizmo having longevity because of the creativity put into that character.
“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.” Dante said. 
The two characters are very similar. Both characters are the same wee size and have big adorable eyes and also have this really emotive way of communicating.
When Deadline was speaking with Jon Favreau last year, the director said that he was thinking more of E.T. when the team was going through different design approaches. 
Of course, Dante’s Gremlins is entirely iconic and it is easy to see the similarities between the two adorable characters. Dante even recently spoke to George Lucas who is an old friend of Dante’s. Lucas admits that he didn’t really think that the character of Baby Yoda would work in the beginning. It wasn’t until Lucas saw the puppetry in action that he changed his mind.
I love The Mandolorian but I can see Dante’s point entirely. But hey, even if it is stolen straight from the design of Gizmo, at least it is the ultimate form of flattery… I suppose.
What do you think about Dante’s comment? Do you think Gizmo’s design was stolen to create Baby Yoda?
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