Gremlins: The Wild Batch Review - The Looney Spirit of the Films Endures in Animation

The story moves to San Francisco as the 1920's-set prequel series continues its fun approach to both Gremlins and other supernatural beings.

The Gremlins animated series returns for its second season this week on Max – well, the first half of the season at least – and it once more proves that if we still can’t get these creatures back in puppet/animatronic form in a movie, cartoons are also a pretty great way to tell new Gremlins stories. 

Sporting the subtitle The Wild Batch (Season 1 was Secrets of the Mogwai), Gremlins’ second season brings the action to San Francisco, after China-based kids Sam (Izaac Wang) and Elle (Gabrielle Nevaeh Green) and their Mogwai pal Gizmo (A.J. LoCascio) find themselves magically transported to America - a sentence that will throw those who missed the first season. 

Because yes, the 1920s-set Gremlins goes all in on magic and the supernatural. This is a world where not just the Mogwai but many other strange creatures and spirits exist, mainly pulled from Chinese folklore. And while this might initially give some Gremlins fans pause, the first season showed it could work well, as the show – under the guidance of executive producers Tze Chun and Brendan Hay – always kept Gizmo prominent and included plenty of Gremlins mayhem, while also allowing for clever detours along the way.