Ghostbusters (Filmation) - The 1986 animated series

December 14 2020

Ghostbusters (later called Filmation's Ghostbusters) is a 1986 American animated series made by Filmation and distributed by Tribune Entertainment. Sin is the sequel to Filmation's 1975 live-action TV show The Ghost Busters.

It is not to be confused with Columbia Pictures' 1984 film Ghostbusters or that film's subsequent animated television show, The Real Ghostbusters, which premiered five days later. During the making of the film, Columbia Pictures needed to obtain the rights to use the name from Filmation.

The success of the Columbia film prompted Filmation to revive its ownership, producing an animated series based on the characters from the previous television show. This animated series aired from 8 September to 5 December 1986 on the syndication tv channel and produced 65 episodes. The series is technically simply called Ghostbusters, but the home video releases have used Filmation's name Ghostbusters to avoid confusion. In the US, reruns of the show previously aired on CBN Cable; The Family Channel, Qubo's Qubo Night Owl block from 2010 to 2013; and most recently on Retro Television Network through 2015.

In the 80s, ABC aired the series in Australia.

History

Jake Kong Jr. and Eddie Spencer Jr. are the sons of the original Ghost Busters of the eponymous live-action comedy series; Tracy the Gorilla had worked with their fathers.

Their headquarters, called Ghost Command, is located in a haunted mansion nestled between a series of tall skyscrapers (reminiscent of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City). They are supported by a number of secondary characters including Ansabone, a talking skull phone; Skelevision, a talking TV skeleton; Belfry, a pink talking bat; and Ghost Buggy Jr., their talking car. Occasionally they enlist the help of Futura, a time-traveling Ghostbuster from the future, and Jessica Wray, a local TV reporter.

Together, they are dedicated to ridding the world of the evil ghost wizard Prime Evil and his cast of henchmen. Prime Evil's headquarters, called the Hauntquarters (reminiscent of the British Parliament complete with a Big Ben-style clock tower), is located in the Fifth Dimension. In a typical episode, Prime Evil uses his magical powers to open a wormhole to allow one or more of his henchmen to complete a particular scheme that helps him take over the world.

Famous ghosts and monster guest stars that have 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 Jean-Marc Lofficier's wife, Randy. Lofficier).

Like nearly all 80s Filmation cartoons, each episode closes with a segment describing a particular lesson that can be learned from the episode's events. Skelevision (sometimes accompanied by Belfry) is the character most often employed in this role. From time to time, Jake Jr., Eddie Jr., or another protagonist would talk to Skelevision about the lesson.

While The Real Ghostbusters had the slogan “Who will you call? Ghostbusters! ”, Each episode of Filmation's Ghostbusters also used a slogan:“ Come on, Ghostbusters! ”

Production

When Columbia Pictures began producing the Ghostbusters movie in 1984, it overlooked the fact that Filmation had already produced a series of live-action comedies of the same name in 1975. Columbia agreed to license the name from Filmation for $ 608.000. plus 1% of profits (of which there was apparently none thanks to Hollywood accounting).

This deal did not include granting Filmation the rights to make an animated series based on the film. After the film became a hit, Filmation offered to make an animated series, but Columbia chose to give DiC the contract instead.

Filmation then decided to make their own animated series based on the 1975 live-action sitcom that aired a few days before the DiC series. DiC titled his own adaptation of the movie The Real Ghostbusters to distinguish it directly from the Filmation show.

The Filmation show and the DiC show aired at the same time, and this left the audience confused as they had similar titles and concepts. This confusion led to poor toy sales for the Filmation show. In retrospect, producer Lou Scheimer felt it was a mistake to produce the Ghostbusters series in direct competition with Columbia's most popular show.

Characters

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Jake Kong Jr. is the 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 for solving difficult problems. Action is what Jake lives for and he takes ghostbusting very seriously. His nose twitches when ghosts are nearby. Jake is of Swedish descent from his father's side of the family.

Eddie Spencer Jr. is the son of the original Eddie Spencer of The Ghost Busters. Eddie is often scared of ghosts, even though he always has good intentions. He is clumsy, but what he lacks in intelligence and resourcefulness he makes up for in enthusiasm.

Tracy the Gorilla is the same monkey from The Ghost Busters. Extremely intelligent, Tracy is credited with providing the various Ghostbusters gadgets used by Jake and Eddie; will often produce one on the fly if needed. Tracy is as strong as she is smart, which also helps in the crisis. Unlike the live-action series, where she usually wore a cap, Tracy wears a felt hat with a backpack and khaki shorts.

belfry it is a pink colored bat that can make a loud scream. Belfry calls it Belfry Blast. Belfry sometimes joins in on Ghostbusting adventures, but is often told that it may be too dangerous. Belfry has three cousins: a Southern bat named Beauregard, a Brooklyn bat named Rafter, and an English bat named Yves. The bell tower resembles Winnie the Pooh's Piglet. Its name and its species are a reference to the expression "bats in their bell tower".

Futura is a 30th century ghost-catcher who uses technology instead of magic. She is as smart and brave as she is adorable. His favorite vehicle is the Time Hopper, a futuristic motorcycle. Futura is often referred to by its XNUMXth century predecessors whenever a bad situation gets worse. It can predict what will happen in the present time, as well as being telekinetic. He also seems to have a crush on Jake; she often compliments him on his appearance and kisses him periodically, much to his delight. In her original design, Futura was an African American with long light brown hair.

Jessica Wray is a television reporter. He often reports events that the Ghostbusters will investigate and sometimes accompanies them. Jake seems to have a crush on her and she has a crush on him. She had blonde hair in her initial design.

Madame Why she is a fortune teller Roma woman who speaks with a European accent, resides in a wagon and occasionally assists ghostbusters.

Ghost Buggy Jr., aka GB. is the Southern-accent car from the Ghostbusters that can take many forms of transportation (including a train complete with graffiti on the sides), along with the ability to travel through time. Ghost Buggy is reminiscent of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car. Ghost Buggy Jr. often finds himself sleeping in the Ghost Command garage and gets annoyed when the Ghostbusters land on him. His face is the ghost shown in the series logo.

corky is Jessica's young nephew. He wears an orange shirt with the Ghostbusters logo on it.

Ansabon is Ghost Command's talking skull phone. When the Ghostbusters receive a call for help, Ansabone will usually make it difficult for them to answer and give the caller a sarcastic message (example: "You've caught up with the Ghostbusters and you're in luck. They're not here!" Or "The Ghostbusters are out right now. Out of my mind, that is! ").

Skelevision is the talking TV skeleton of Ghost Command. Skelevision often shows the Ghostbusters the problem they will face and is very often the one who talks about the lesson that can be learned from the episode.

Skeleton is Ghost Command's bony elevator with a mind of its own. It is the primary means of transportation for the Ghostbusters to don their ghost hunting outfits. A portable version is used when the Ghostbusters are in place while chasing ghosts.

Shock Clock is Ghost Command's talking cuckoo clock.

Merlin is the famous wizard of the King Arthur era, who previously crossed paths with the First Evil.

Fuddy is Merlin's apprentice. When there is a full moon, Jake is able to sing and ask him for help by casting a magical spell, which rarely works as intended. It is similar to Orko from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, although it sounds like Kowl from She-Ra: Princess of Power.

Jake Kong Sr. and Eddie Spenser Sr. they are the fathers of Jake and Eddie, the original Ghostbusters, who also occasionally appear in animated form. They are voiced by the same actors who do the voices of Jake and Eddie, respectively.

Skelescope is Ghost Command's talking telescope.

Ghost Buggy Sr. is the car of the original Ghostbusters and the father of GB.
Time Hopper is the Futura scooter. GB has a crush on her, but she doesn't feel the same way.

Foxfire is a super fast fox who resides with Madam Why.

Bad

Prime Evil: The main villain is a wizard, although he appears to be a robot with an android-like human skull and dressed in flowing red robes. Its name is a play on the word "primordial". Prime Evil has many evil powers, including the ability to fire bolts of energy from his fingers. Prime Evil minions often get hit when they can't stop the Ghostbusters. Meet the Ghostbusters in the first episode; however, they outsmarted him and imprisoned him for 100 years, until he escaped. He went back in time to take revenge. Prime Evil has a hard time saying "Ghostbusters" and will often refer to them as "Ghost Blister", "Ghost Buzzards", "Ghost Brats", "Ghost Bozos", "Ghost Busting Goons", "Ghost Bunglers", etc. It was originally designed to look like Mumm-Ra from ThunderCats.

The Ghosts of Prime Evil

Brat-A-Rat: this paunchy, legless flying rat has an elongated nose and a lizard-like body, with a sharp squint in one eye. It has no wings, but it levitates. He serves as Prime Evil's right-hand man and gossip. His name is loosely based on Burt Bacharach. Brat-A-Rat is a skilled keyboard player not appreciated by the followers of Prime Evil as much as Belfry is loved by the Ghostbusters.

Scared stiff : A robotic skeleton, similar in appearance to C-3PO. He gets scared easily and is often torn apart by the First Evil or falls apart due to his own fear. He was initially stockier in his pilot appearance.

fangsters: a werewolf from the future wearing high-top sneakers.

The Haunter : “Civilized Hunter of Haunted Prey”. Looks like a safari hunter with an English accent. Its vowel nuance exaggerates the letter "r" for the letter "w", for example by pronouncing "Dematerializer" as "Dematewealwizer". He often gets into trouble for calling Prime Evil "old boy", "old bean" and other English endearments. According to the DVD guide, the Haunter's speech, mannerisms and appearance are based on actor Terry-Thomas. Sometimes he will make his pith helmet extremely large to fly or to help kidnap people. His magic monocle has the power to turn people into nastiness. He is perhaps Prime Evil's most loyal minion, as he has never sided with Big Evil, believing such a thing to be bad business.

The mysteries : “Lady of the mists”. She looks like Morticia of the Addams Family, wearing a long black hairstyle. She has power over the fog and is known for calling people "darling". She is also known for her extreme vanity. It originally had a human appearance and a long red dress.

Sir Trance-A-Lot : “A bad knight for everyone”. A skeleton rider with a Dalí mustache who also rides a skeletal horse called Frightmare and wields the Trance Lance that fires sleep-inducing rays. His name is a reference to Sir Lancelot.

Apparitia: “Supreme Sorceress Spirit”. A vampire sorceress who talks like Mae West. As its name suggests, it can evoke all kinds of apparitions. She wears a sleeveless red dress with long green hair, which gives her an appearance similar to Eris, the Greek goddess of discord.

Captain Long John Scarchrome: A pirate ghost with a metal wooden hook and leg and an Australian sounding pirate accent. His name is a reference to Long John Silver.

Technical data

Original language English
Country United States
Studio filming
Network syndication
1st TV 8 September - 5 December 1986
Episodes 65 (complete)
Italian network OdeonTV
1st Italian TV 1987
Italian episodes 63/65 97% complete