A Little Ghostbusting on the DVD
I hate it when something pops up on the shelf when I don’t know about it.
That’s what happened when the first season of “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon series came out of nowhere when I saw it in a Best Buy store in Green Bay. Yep, came out of nowhere. Like a ghost.
I was young when the cultural impact in the film frenzy tore through the public during the 1980s. You couldn’t get away from the “Who are you goin’ ta call” or "I've been slimed" crack jokes. I was just a kid then.
But this is one of those rare high blockbuster films that does deserve its every bit of glory on the big screen as well as the small screen treatment.
But it’s something I’ve always wanted to see for the longest time since it first hit the waves when I was just in high school. The Real Ghostbusters. That makes for a lot of haunting flashbacks. Finding my time in the school books, getting picked on by bullies, going to the local DQ for a snack and going home to catch the latest Ghostbusters cartoon on Saturday mornings. I liked those. A lot. Not the bullying part.
Not to be confused with the stupid Filmation cartoon version of the Ghostbusters that came out slightly before. The one with the big ape and a jungle safari looking car. Something about getting sued for copyright laws. I don’t understand. Considering the Ghostbusters films was the first thing to appear.
Bill Murray hated the voice of his character in the cartoons. Sounded too much like Garfield. But I liked it. I also liked the fantastic stories of spooks comedy central much in the tradition of the films.
Much of the consistency and historical background can be handed to the growing genius of story editor and writer J. Michael Straczynski. Who went on to do the excellent Babylon 5 television series which made for a significant slice of science fiction. But here we can see, as an audience, his clever design and his knack for story arcs. (Egon Spengler’s desire for studying the Slimer ghost and Janine’s high schoolish crush on the brainy scientist). Egon was awesome. They all were.
All of them have some great individual solo stories. The cartoon show does have a great gallery of writers including David Gerrold of Star Trek fame.
I’m really impressed with stories such as “Citizen Ghost” which is a nice reference to the first hit film and how they formed the odd friendship with a ghost. Some of my other favorites would be “Cry Uncle” and the deliciously frightening Sandman episode where we learn more about Egon’s character.
Though I have to admit that the Egon character does have a knack for solving everything with his smarts. But it’s still cool. It’s okay to be a nerd or a dork. And to like this series. Even if it’s a cartoon. I’m okay with it.
Though I have to admit Straczynski is visibly getting cranky in his old age. Maybe he ought to stop making those stupid Babylon 5 straight-to-video movies. They do nothing to enlighten his great writing abilities.
But the writing is top notch considering the cartoon level series. So don’t underestimate it. So obvious is the continued winning formula of the comedy and horror blend and going through the much needed fix of the Ghostbusters series. I can’t wait for the other dvd treatment of this series because it’s been long overdue. It’s nice to hear Arsenio Hall’s voice for the Winston character. Even Janine gets a shot at being a Ghostbuster when there’s a story centered on her.
The animation is always very dependable as well.
There are some nifty story background for the other characters such as Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz. Even if Peter does sound like Garfield. And the man of the thousand voices Frank Welker contributes his hefty talent to the series as Ray. Nothing like a little ghostbusting memories. It goes a long way.
So who are you gonna call? The local retail store so you can grab yourself the latest copy of the Real Ghostbusters. Even if it’s a one shot deal, it’s will worth getting a small chip of this very good cartoon series. And try finding out how many times they make references to a certain Enterprising S-F series.
That’s what happened when the first season of “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon series came out of nowhere when I saw it in a Best Buy store in Green Bay. Yep, came out of nowhere. Like a ghost.
I was young when the cultural impact in the film frenzy tore through the public during the 1980s. You couldn’t get away from the “Who are you goin’ ta call” or "I've been slimed" crack jokes. I was just a kid then.
But this is one of those rare high blockbuster films that does deserve its every bit of glory on the big screen as well as the small screen treatment.
But it’s something I’ve always wanted to see for the longest time since it first hit the waves when I was just in high school. The Real Ghostbusters. That makes for a lot of haunting flashbacks. Finding my time in the school books, getting picked on by bullies, going to the local DQ for a snack and going home to catch the latest Ghostbusters cartoon on Saturday mornings. I liked those. A lot. Not the bullying part.
Not to be confused with the stupid Filmation cartoon version of the Ghostbusters that came out slightly before. The one with the big ape and a jungle safari looking car. Something about getting sued for copyright laws. I don’t understand. Considering the Ghostbusters films was the first thing to appear.
Bill Murray hated the voice of his character in the cartoons. Sounded too much like Garfield. But I liked it. I also liked the fantastic stories of spooks comedy central much in the tradition of the films.
Much of the consistency and historical background can be handed to the growing genius of story editor and writer J. Michael Straczynski. Who went on to do the excellent Babylon 5 television series which made for a significant slice of science fiction. But here we can see, as an audience, his clever design and his knack for story arcs. (Egon Spengler’s desire for studying the Slimer ghost and Janine’s high schoolish crush on the brainy scientist). Egon was awesome. They all were.
All of them have some great individual solo stories. The cartoon show does have a great gallery of writers including David Gerrold of Star Trek fame.
I’m really impressed with stories such as “Citizen Ghost” which is a nice reference to the first hit film and how they formed the odd friendship with a ghost. Some of my other favorites would be “Cry Uncle” and the deliciously frightening Sandman episode where we learn more about Egon’s character.
Though I have to admit that the Egon character does have a knack for solving everything with his smarts. But it’s still cool. It’s okay to be a nerd or a dork. And to like this series. Even if it’s a cartoon. I’m okay with it.
Though I have to admit Straczynski is visibly getting cranky in his old age. Maybe he ought to stop making those stupid Babylon 5 straight-to-video movies. They do nothing to enlighten his great writing abilities.
But the writing is top notch considering the cartoon level series. So don’t underestimate it. So obvious is the continued winning formula of the comedy and horror blend and going through the much needed fix of the Ghostbusters series. I can’t wait for the other dvd treatment of this series because it’s been long overdue. It’s nice to hear Arsenio Hall’s voice for the Winston character. Even Janine gets a shot at being a Ghostbuster when there’s a story centered on her.
The animation is always very dependable as well.
There are some nifty story background for the other characters such as Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz. Even if Peter does sound like Garfield. And the man of the thousand voices Frank Welker contributes his hefty talent to the series as Ray. Nothing like a little ghostbusting memories. It goes a long way.
So who are you gonna call? The local retail store so you can grab yourself the latest copy of the Real Ghostbusters. Even if it’s a one shot deal, it’s will worth getting a small chip of this very good cartoon series. And try finding out how many times they make references to a certain Enterprising S-F series.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:39 AM
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