Filmation's Ghostbusters

infobox television
show_name = Ghostbusters


caption = The title page for the animated Ghostbusters series produced by Filmation
runtime = 30 minutes
format = Animated
developer = Filmation and Tribune Broadcasting
executive_producer = Lou Scheimer
starring = Pat Fraley
Peter Cullen
Lou Scheimer
Susan Blu
country = USA
network = Syndicated
first_aired = September 17, 1986
last_aired = December 14, 1986
related = "The Ghost Busters"
num_episodes = 65
imdb_id = 0127569
tv_com_id = 5384|

"Ghostbusters" was an animated television series created by Filmation and distributed by Tribune Broadcasting and launched following the success of Ivan Reitman and Columbia Pictures' 1984 film "Ghostbusters". It ran from 1986-1988 in daytime syndication and produced 65 episodes. The cartoon was based on a live-action television show from 1975-1976 titled "The Ghost Busters". It is not to be confused with the animated show "The Real Ghostbusters", which was based on the 1984 film "Ghostbusters". Columbia Pictures had to obtain the rights to the name from Filmation for its film, and after "Ghostbusters" was a hit, Filmation went into production with its animated series based on the characters from its series. The series is technically called simply "Ghostbusters", but home video releases use the name "Filmation's Ghostbusters" to avoid confusion.

ummary

Jake Kong, Eddie Spencer and Tracy the Gorilla are "The Ghost Busters". Jake and Eddie Jr are the sons of the original Ghost Busters from the live action series of the same name; Tracy worked with their fathers.

Their headquarters, termed Ghost Command, is located in a haunted mansion nestled between a number of tall skyscrapers (which resemble the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in NYC). They are supported by a number of secondary characters including Ansa-Bone, a talking skull phone; Skelevision, a talking skeleton television; Belfrey, a pink talking bat; and Ghost Buggy, their talking ghost car. They occasionally enlist the aid of Futura, a time travelling Ghostbuster from the future, and Jessica, a local tv news reporter.

Together, they have dedicated themselves to ridding the world of the evil ghost wizard Prime Evil and his cast of henchmen. Prime Evil's headquarters, termed Hauntquarters (which resembles the British Houses of Parliament complete with a Big Ben-esque clock tower), is located in "The Fifth Dimension". In a typical episode, Prime Evil uses his magical powers to open up a wormhole to enable one or more of his henchmen to complete a particular scheme that serves to help him take over the world.

Famous guest-star ghosts that appeared on the show include Count Dracula (who is actually a vampire) and the Headless Horseman (who also appeared in an episode of "The Real Ghostbusters" written by Randy Lofficier).

Like almost all 1980s Filmation cartoons, each episode closes with Skelevision (sometimes accompanied by Belfrey) explaining a particular lesson that can be learned from the events that went on during the episode. From time to time, Jake, Eddie Jr or another good character would talk with Skelevison about the lesson. Also some versions would not have Skelevision.

While "The Real Ghostbusters" had the catchphrase, "Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!", each episode of "Filmation's Ghost Busters" also used a catchphrase: "Let's Go, Ghost Busters!"

"The Real Ghostbusters" controversy

The show is also known as "The Original Ghost Busters" because when Columbia Pictures released the film "Ghostbusters" in 1984 it neglected the fact that Filmation had already produced a live-action comedy series with that same name in 1975. Filmation sued Columbia in 1985, and as part of the out-of-court settlement the cartoon based on the Columbia Pictures property could not simply be called "Ghostbusters". Columbia proceeded to name their cartoon show "The Real Ghostbusters" to directly distinguish it from the Filmation show.

Filmation had even gone as far as to attempt to work with Columbia Pictures and had completed initial design work for a cartoon to be based on the movie. Columbia changed its minds, deciding not to work with Filmation, and the proposed deal fell through (Columbia worked with DiC instead). Filmation's Lou Scheimer later admitted "We should have asked for the animation rights for their (Columbia's) "Ghostbusters" as part of the settlement." [cite book | author=Michael Swanigan and Darrell McNeil | title=Animation by Filmation | publisher=Blackbear Press | year=1993] This prompted Filmation to create the cartoon based on its former live-action series.

Toys

Many toys were made by Schaper to go along with the series. The action figures were very good likenesses to their cartoon counterparts and included a small comic with each figure which was a shortened version of the first five episodes of the show. The series of figures included Jake, Eddie, Tracy, Futura, Jessica, Belfrey, Brat-A-Rat, Prime Evil, Haunter, Scared Stiff, Mysteria, Fib Face and Fangster. Jake has a magic backpack and ghost gun. Eddie came with a removable ghostpack and Specter Snare. Tracy came with his removable backpack and Ghost Gummer. Due to their small size, Belfrey and Brat-A-Rat were packaged together with a backpack that could be worn by Tracy or Fangster. Prime Evil had a removable cape. There were also several vehicles and playsets that included the Ghost Buggy, Futura's Time Hopper, Prime Evil's Bone Troller playset, the Scare Scooter and the Ghost Command playset. The following were not not made into action figures, playsets, and roleplay accessories: Madam Why, Airhead, Flozart, Long John Scarechrome, Sir Trancelot and Nightmare, Apparatia, Hauntquarters, Jake's Dematerializer, Eddie's Spectre Snare and Tracy's Ghost Gummer. The tagline for the series was "So much fun, it's spooky!"

DVD release information

BCI Eclipse released volume One (a 6 DVD set) on Tuesday, February 27, 2007. It features creator interviews with producer Lou Scheimer, writer Robby London and directors Tom Tataranowicz and Tom Sito, Ghostbusters anti-drug spot, original 10 min presentation of the promo pilot, slideshow storyboard for episode 22 "Laser and Future Rock", image gallery including the original model sheets and sketches, the complete five-episode script for the origin movie collectively known as 'The Revenge of Prime Evil', and a bonus episode of the original live action The Ghost Busters series. Volume 2 was released on July 3rd, 2007. Unlike many of BCI's Filmation releases, with the exception of two episodes (Tracy Come Back, and Like Father, Like Son), this DVD release appears to have been sourced from the original NTSC prints.

BCI Eclipse release schedule [http://www.andymangels.com/BCI_DVDs.html]
* The Ghost Busters: The Animated Series Volume 1--Available.
* The Ghost Busters: Live Action — The Complete Series--Available.
* The Ghost Busters: The Animated Series Volume 2--Available.

(The animated series was previously released on VHS by Celebrity Home Entertainment's "Just For Kids" imprint.)

Recurring characters

Heroes

* Jake Kong Jr.: Son of the original Jake Kong from The Ghost Busters. Jake is the leader of the Ghostbusters just like his father. He is often responsible for coming up with ideas to solve difficult Ghostbusting problems. His nose twitches when ghosts are nearby. Jake also is of Swedish heritage because of his paternal grandfather. Voiced by Pat Fraley.

* Eddie Spencer Jr.: Son of the original Eddie Spencer from The Ghost Busters. Eddie is often frightened by ghosts and though he means well, he is a bit of a klutz and frequently fumbles things up. Voiced by Peter Cullen.

* Tracy the Gorilla: The same ape from The Ghost Busters. Tracy is extremely smart and is credited with inventing all of the Ghostbusting gadgets and would often construct one to help a bad situation. Tracy is also very powerful and uses his strength to get out of tight spots. Unlike the live-action series where he only wore various hats (most commonly a beanie), in this series, he wears a fedora, backpack and khaki shorts. Voiced by Lou Scheimer.

* Futura: An alluring, purple-skinned woman from the future, who is a Ghostbuster in her own time. Futura has a flying scooter named Time Hopper and can predict what's going to happen in the present time as well as being telekinetic. She also seems to have a crush on Jake; often complimenting him on how he looks and periodically kissing him much to his delight. In her original design, Futura was an African-American with long, light-brown hair Voiced by Susan Blu.

* Jessica Wray: A TV news reporter. She often reports on the events the Ghostbusters will go investigate and sometimes accompanies them. Jake seems to have a crush on her and she for him. Originally had blonde hair in her initial design. Voiced by Susan Blu.

* Belfry: A pink-colored bat who can emit a sonic scream. Belfry calls it the Belfry Blast. Belfry will sometimes tag along on Ghostbusting adventures but often he is told it could be too dangerous. Belfry has three cousins: a Southern bat named Beauregard, a Brooklyn bat named Rafter, and an English bat named Yves. Belfry resembles Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. His name and species are an obvious reference to the expression "bats in the belfry". Voiced by Susan Blu.

* Madam Why: A fortune-telling gypsy who speaks with a Romanian accent, resides in a wagon, and occasionally assists the Ghostbusters. Voiced by Linda Gary.

* Ghost Buggy aka G.B.: The Ghostbusters' Southern accent talking car that can assume many forms of transportation (including a train complete with graffiti on the sides), along with the ability to travel through time. Ghost Buggy is often found sleeping in Ghost command's garage and gets annoyed when the Ghostbusters land on him. Voiced by Pat Fraley.

* Corky: Jessica's young nephew. He wears an orange shirt with the Ghostbusters logo on it.. Voiced by Erika Scheimer.

* Ansabone: Ghost Command's Talking Skull Phone. When the Ghostbusters get a call for help, Ansabone will usually make it hard for them to answer the phone and will give the caller a sarcastic message. Example: "You've reached the Ghostbusters and you're in luck. They're not here!" or "The Ghostbusters are out right now. Outta their minds, that is!" Voiced by Lou Scheimer.

* Skelevision: Ghost Command's Talking Skeleton Television. Skelevision often shows the Ghostbusters the problem they will have to face and is very often the one who talks about the lesson that can be learned from the episode. Voiced by Lou Scheimer.

* Skelevator: Ghost Command's bony elevator with a mind of its own. Primary transport for the Ghostbusters to change into their ghost busting attire. A portable version is used when the Ghostbusters are on location while tracking ghosts. Voiced by Erika Scheimer.

* Shock Clock: Ghost Command's talking cuckoo clock. Voiced by Erika Scheimer.

* Merlin: famed wizard of King Arthur's era, who has previously crossed paths with Prime Evil. Voice by Alan Oppenheimer.

* Fuddy: Merlin's apprentice. When a full moon is out, Jake is able to chant and call him for help by casting a magic spell, which rarely works the way it's supposed to. Similar to Orko from "He-Man". Voiced by Lou Scheimer.

* Jake Kong Sr. and Eddie Spencer Sr: Jake and Eddie's fathers, the original Ghostbusters, occasionally appear in animated form as well. They are voiced by the same actors that do the voices of Jake (Voiced by Pat Fraley) and Eddie (Voiced by Peter Cullen), respectively.
* Skelescope: Ghost Command's talking telescope.
* Ghost Buggy Sr: The car of the original Ghostbusters and GB's father.
* Time Hopper: Futura's hover scooter. GB has a crush on her, but doesn't feel the same.
* Foxglove: A superfast female talking fox who currently resides with Madam Why.

Villains

* Prime Evil: The primary villain is a wizard, although he appears to be a robot with an android-like human skull and garbed in flowing red robes. Prime Evil has many evil powers including the ability to shoot energy bolts from his fingers. Prime Evil's minions often find themselves getting zapped when they don't succeed in stopping the Ghostbusters. Prime Evil has a hard time saying "Ghostbusters" and will often refer to them as "Ghost Bozos" and "Ghost Bunglers". Originally designed to resemble Mumm-Ra from the Thundercats Voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.

* Fib Face: A two-faced villain who often argues with himself. Voiced by Lou Scheimer.

* Fangster: A Werewolf from the future who wears high-top gym shoes. Voiced by Alan Oppenheimer in a style similar to Cringer (from He-Man).

* Scared Stiff: A robotic skeleton,similar in appearance to C-3PO. He is easily frightened and is often zapped to pieces by Prime Evil or falls apart on account of his own fright. Originally stockier in his pilot apperance. Voiced by Pat Fraley.

* Haunter: Resembles a safari hunter with an English accent. His vocal nuance exaggerates the letter "r" for the letter "w" such as pronouncing "dematerializer" as "dematewealwizer." Often gets in trouble for calling Prime Evil "old boy," "old bean" and other English endearments. Sometimes will make his pith helmet extremely large to fly in or to assist in kidnapping people. His monocle has magic powers. Voiced by Peter Cullen

* Bratarat: A pot-bellied, legless flying rat with an elongated nose, a lizard-like body, and an acute squint in one eye. His name is loosely based on Burt Bacharach, and is also a master keyboard player. Voiced by Peter Cullen.

* Misteria: Resembles Morticia from The Addams Family, wearing a long black hairstyle. She has power over mist and is known for calling people "darling". She is also known for her extreme vanity. Originally had a human apperance and a long red dress. Voiced by Linda Gary.

* Sir Trance-A-Lot: A skeleton knight with a Dali-esque moustache who also rides a skeletal horse named Frightmare, and he wields the Trance Lance that fires beams that induce sleep. His name is a reference to Sir Lancelot. Voiced by Lou Scheimer.

* Apparitia: A vampish sorceress who talks like Mae West and like her name implies she can conjure up all sorts of apparitions. She wears a sleeveless red dress and has long green hair. Voiced by Linda Gary.

* Captain Long John Scarechrome: A pirate ghost bearing a hook and metal peg leg and an Aussie pirate-type accent. His name is a reference to Long John Silver. Voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.

* Airhead: An overweight mummy ghost who is nothing but bandages. Airhead lives up to his name as he is not very smart. He often makes really bad jokes which amuse only himself. "Duh, Airhead make joke!" Voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.

* Floatzart: A petite, red-headed tuxedo-wearing ghost with music-themed powers, loosely based on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but looks like Ludwig van Beethoven. Voiced by Peter Cullen.

* The Tooth Scaries: Three small ghosts named Big Tooth, Sweet Tooth, and Cavity. A fourth one, a girl named Flossy, appears later. Her guitar has the power to put anyone to sleep. Have the power to eat anything due to their sharp teeth. They eventually become good.

* Big Evil: Prime Evil's overweight rival with four arms and pointed ears. Voiced by Peter Cullen.

* Corpulon: A ghost from the future with a grudge against Futura, who sent him to Ghost Limbo. Requires massive amounts of energy to stay "alive"--in fact, he eats it from enormous jars. (This makes him very similar to Jabba the Hutt.) Uses "Bug-droids" to do his dirty work. Remarkably, Corpulon is one of the few ghosts who isn't associated with Prime Evil. Voiced by Peter Cullen.

Weapons

(Note: only the Dematerializer carried over from the live-action series. All other weapons shown here are specific to this series).

* The Dematerializer: The Ghostbusters' main weapon, it shoots a beam that banishes ghosts to limbo, but doesn't always work (Prime Evil, for example, is too powerful to be affected, and while it works on Fangster, a werewolf, and Scared Stiff, a robot, it doesn't work on vampires or on a "voodoo monster" named Voodon seen in "The Bind That Ties"). It tends to get broken, preventing the Ghostbusters from achieving easy victory.
* Ghost Gummer: Shoots a gob of a sticky pink substance to immobilize enemies.
* Spectre Snare: Shoots a coiled rope to trap a ghost.
* Bubble Blaster: Fires off a stream of soaplike bubbles that combine to form one large bubble to entrap a ghost.
* Dematerializer Net: An energized net that is stretched across the Ghost Buggy that causes ghosts to be banished to limbo as soon as they touch it.
* Ghost Pack: The standard equipment pack Jake and Eddie carry with their Ghostbusters Logo on it. It holds an impossible amount of devices within it and also acts as a jetpack when needed. Tracy carries a larger version which includes the portable Transformation Chamber itself. The Ghost Packs replace the single "satchel" from the live-action series.
* Transformation Chamber: A skeletal elevator normally located at Ghostbusters HQ, which Jake and Eddie use to change into their uniforms and equip themselves with their Ghost Packs. The elevator rises up into some kind of ghostly dimension where they are stripped down to their underwear and prepared for battle. Their 'transformation sequence' is a series of acrobatic movements along a kind of assembly-line, with trapezes, a slide, and bouncing off an old mattress to land into the Ghost Buggy. In the majority of the episodes, viewers see part or all of this process.
*Ghost Post: A weapon owned by the original Ghostbusters. It's functions are unknown as it was just about to be used.
*Fright Freezer: A weapon mounted to the side of the Ghostbuggy that can freeze ghosts instantly.
*Micro Dematerializer: All the goodness of the regular-sized Dematerializer, packed into a flashlight-sized "phaser" type weapon.
*Ecto-Strobe: A device that could temporarily stun ghosts. Often made cases a bit too easy.

Episodes

# I'll Be A Son of a Ghostbuster Part 1
# Frights of the Roundtable Part 2
# No Pharoah At All Part 3
# The Secret Of Mastadon Valley Part 4
# The Ones Who Saved The Future Part 5
# Witch's Stew
# Mummy Dearest
# Wacky Wax Museum
# Statue of Liberty
# The Ransom Of Eddie Spenser
# Eddie Takes Charge
# Tracy, Come Back
# A Friend In Need
# No Mo' Snow
# Prime Evil's Good Deed
# The Haunting Of Gizmo
# The Headless Horseman Caper
# Banish That Banshee
# Rollerghoster
# He Went Brataway
# The Looking-Glass Warrior
# Laser And Future Rock
# Runaway Choo Choo
# Dynamite Dinosaurs
# Ghostbunglers
# My Present To The Future
# The Beastly Buggy
# Belfry Leads The Way
# The Battle For Ghost Command
# Going Ape
# Cyman's Revenge
# Ghostnappers
# Inside Out
# The Sleeping Dragon
# The Phantom Of The Big Apple
# Shades Of Dracula
# Outlaw In-Laws
# Our Buddy Fuddy
# Train To Doom-De-Doom-Doom
# The Princess And The Troll
# Second Chance
# The Great Ghost Gorilla
# Doggone Werewolf
# That's No Alien
# Scareplane
# The Ghost Of Don Quixote
# The White Whale
# Whither Why
# Knight Of Terror
# The Girl Who Cried Vampire
# Little Big Rat
# Really Roughing It
# The Bad Old Days
# The Curse Of The Diamond Of Gloom
# The Bind That Ties
# Like Father Like Son
# The Fourth Ghostbuster
# Country Goblin
# Cold Winter's Night
# Father Knows Beast
# Back To The Past
# Pretend Friends
# The Haunted Painting
# Maze Caves
# The Way You Are

Production notes

Filmation was known for re-use of stock scenes for its shows to keep down costs. "Ghostbusters" was no exception, using among others, an extensive sequence where they got their equipment and the Ghost Buggy. In the episode featuring Dracula, Filmation used the model sheets and character design of Drac from the "Groovie Goolies", and even used his clumsy bat transformation sequence, banging against the floor and ceiling, changing clumsily from vampire to bat.

This was the second collaboration between Pat Fraley and Peter Cullen. Both had been castmates in DIC's Rainbow Brite series as the voices of Murky Dismal and Lurky. Coincidentally, the original live-action series starred Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch in the lead roles; they were previously castmates in the prime-time sitcom F Troop.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0127569|title=Ghostbusters
* [http://www.toyarchive.com/Filmation/Filmation.html Filmation's Ghostbusters Toyline @ toyarchive.com]
* [http://trughostbusters.proboards98.com The TRUE Ghostbusters Fan Forum]
* [http://www.filmations-ghostbusters.de Germans biggest Homepage of the Filmation Ghostbusters]