If you notice something spooky in your area, it’s time to call the Ghostbusters! Everyone knows the paranormal action-comedy cult classic with a theme song by Ray Parker Jr. It was a massive hit and spawned a critically acclaimed multimedia franchise. This series includes video games, additional films within two different universes, and animated series. And the legacy expands with an upcoming animated movie supposedly connected to the original.
Busting Makes Them Feel Good
Premiering in 1984, Ghostbusters follows a trio of university scientists who study the paranormal. They are fired from their positions and become exterminators, except with a twist. Instead of hunting vermin like mice and rats, they hunt ghosts and demons. Business is going well, and it isn’t long until a fourth member joins the now-famous Ghostbusters. Things soon take a dangerous turn with the threat of a demonic god arriving. Everything is further complicated when the team is under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Ghostbusters rose to excellence thanks to its unique blend of comedy and horror. Its success launched a franchise along with an underwhelming sequel that fans would rather forget. Nevertheless, the franchise avoided the grave despite no new film until the 2016 all-female remake. It was to jump-start an alternate timeline, but its low performance ceased those plans. Sony eventually returned to expand the original canon with two new moderately successful movies. However, the big screen isn’t the only place the Ghostbusters franchise found fame.
The Return of Animated Ghostbusters
The 80s saw the premiere of The Real Ghostbusters, a cartoon following the original flick. It was also a spin-off meant to draw children into the horror-centric franchise. Naturally, the series starred the film characters, albeit cosmetically altered, like Egon Spengler going blond. The actors from the movie didn’t star, though Ernie Hudson auditioned for his character. Still, the series was massively successful and is adored to this day by fans. It ended in 1991, though the story was far from over.
Extreme Ghostbusters debuted in 1997 and took place several years after its predecessor. The original team disbanded and went their separate ways, except for Egon. He continues tending to the containment unit while teaching a paranormal course at a school. When ghost activity returns to the city, Egon recruits a new and younger team. The show possessed a darker tone than the previous installment, though fans liked it. Unfortunately, poor scheduling and low toy sales canceled it after one season.
New Cartoons on the Horizon
There hasn’t been another animated series about the world’s favorite ghost hunters since Extreme Ghostbusters. However, this situation changed months ago when Netflix announced the green light for a brand-new cartoon. Multi-Emmy-winner Elliot Kalan from Mystery Science Theater 3000 joins as a writer and showrunner. He’ll also be a producer alongside Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan of Ghost Corps, Inc. Aside from this, there’s currently no information about the show or its premise.
A new cartoon series is mind-blowing, though there’s even larger news. A full-length animated Ghostbusters film will be created by Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation. Little information about the film is available, except Kris Pearn will direct it. His works include Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Willoughbys, and Open Season. Hopefully, whatever direction this movie goes, it’ll remain faithful to the original’s aspects. And the new flick should be a winner with Pearn at the helm.
Final Thoughts
Despite the lack of information, this new animated Ghostbusters movie sounds intriguing. Seeing the classic characters return in a fresh installment would be amazing. Of course, that decision depends if this flick will adhere to the original canon. There’s the possibility it could create an iteration unrelated to the 1984 film. Either way, it’s nice to see the franchise getting new attention in the animation department. There’s no determined release date, but hopefully, one will be announced next year.
