Gremlins (1984) - 7 questions

Question: I have the original VHS version and I've noticed that some cuss words have dubbed over on the DVD. Yet The original VHS is still rated PG any reason why, other than the fact to make it more of a family film.

Answer: The original film was released before the PG-13 rating existed (it was one of the films responsible for its creation). Producers decided to remove some of the language and violence for the DVD release to avoid complaints about the PG rating.

Question: This movie is quite violent and carries a PG rating, further is is located in the "Family Section" of my local video store. Can someone explain the conflicting aspects of this?

Answer: The movie is famous for the uproar it created over its violent content, and was one of the films responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating. As the PG-13 rating didn't exist at the time of Gremlins' release, but its content wasn't serious enough for an R, it was rated PG.

Question: According to imdb.com Jerry Goldsmith composed the music for the film. But I ran across a copy of the soundtrack which names Danny Elfman as the composer. I have also seen him credited for the music in both "Gremlins" films on several occasions, both on TV and online. Why is Elfman getting credit if Goldsmith composed the music?

Answer: It's hard to get a definite answer to this, as I've found conflicting answers online. However, by 1984 Danny Elfman hadn't done much composing, with his musical work largely restricted to songs as part of his band. As such I'd think it was unlikely he composed the Gremlins score. No music from the Gremlins films are on either of his compilation CDs either. The closest thing to a reason I can find for the mis-crediting is that on the Gremlins 2 DVD one of the deleted scenes apparently has some music from "Beetljuice" (which Elfman scored) used over it, which may have led to the confusion.

Question: I own a copy of the DVD, and the cover says "We're back". Why does it say this? It's the first film.

Answer: The movie was originally released in theaters in June of 1984. It was released again to theaters in August of 1985 with the "We're Back" ad campaign. When Gremlins was released on video in 1999, they used the more recent "We're Back" artwork.

Question: Why does the video cover say "We're back"? It's the first film.

Answer: I just looked at the cover on cdcovers.cc and it actually says "We're Here", not "We're Back". On Gremlins 2 - The New Batch it says "Here they grow again".

Question: Is the building used as the outside of the school in the film, the same one they used for the courthouse in Back to the Future 2? If so, how did they remove the lake? (the one Marty falls into during his escape from Griff's gang).

Answer: According to IMDB, the town sets for Gremlins and BTTF were both shot on the same set. But since Gremlins came out well before Future 2, they would have actually added the pond.

Question: What exactly is meant by never feed them "after midnight". Every moment of time that does not happen right at midnight may be construed as happening after midnight...even 11:59PM which occurs 23 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds AFTER the preceding midnight. I would assume that the afternoon hours are considered before midnight, but does anyone know the exact extent of "after midnight"?

Answer: The precise cut-off point is never stated - I've generally assumed that the embargo on feeding finishes once the sun comes up.