"Gremlins" director accused "Mandalorean" creators of plagiarism

The creator of the "Gremlins" dylogy, Joe Dante, believes that the hero of the "Mandalorean" series, Grogue, who is often called Little Yoda, is copied from the main character of "Gremlins," Gizmo. "I think the films owe their enduring popularity to the character of Gizmo, who essentially looks like a child. Which brings me, of course, to the theme of Little Yoda, who is completely stolen and just copied. Shamelessly, I would say," Dante told the San Francisco Chronicle.
While the two cute creatures with unusual powers, big eyes and expressive ears do look very similar, Dante's claims are hardly valid. The famous Jedi master Yoda, the inspiration for Grogue, made his film debut in 1980 in Star Wars: Episode 5 - The Empire Strikes Back, four years before the first Gremlins. In Star Wars Episode 5, Yoda looked like a mischievous little swamp creature annoying Luke Skywalker while he was passing the time on Dagobah.
"Mandalorean" showrunner Jon Favreau said last year that he thought more of E.T. from Steven Spielberg's film of the same name than Gizmo when creating Grogue.