As a kid, I wasn’t really great with money. I would get it and then burn through it. There were a few times my parents were able to give me and my brother an allowance and each time I never learned my lesson. One of those times was when the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters, based on the movie Ghostbusters was popular enough to have toys made of it. I really wanted my own proton pack, but it was my little brother who was able to save the money to get his own. I on the other hand failed to meet that goal. So, when it came time for him to buy his, I had to put one together from things around the house using much of my imagination. I had a toy rifle that transformed into a robot (wasn’t a real transformer), a little string and a pretty cheap red back pack. I tied that string to the end of the rifle robot and the other end to that back pack and I was ready to hunt some ghosts down. To this day I swear when I put that thing on, it felt more real than when I got to use my brothers “real” one.
I don’t really remember where I was or why I was watching Ghostbusters for the first time, but I remember loving it, like most kids my age did when it first came out. It was one of those movies I would watch a lot when I was young. I remember that the opening with in the library, my brother would cower behind a couch or his hands until that scary librarian had disappeared. I thought he was being ridiculous, but I would have my share of cowering behind something on other movies for sure.
The gun I used to make myself a proton pack
What was it about this movie that drew kids in? It is more an adult themed movie with its dialogue and jokes. But when I was growing up, many kids, as I am sure a lot are even today, were drawn to the prospect of being a real Ghostbuster. They got to live in a firehouse with a real fire pole through the middle of it. They had a great car and some sort of laser pack to shoot things with. It’s a fun film that has most of its jokes go over a kids head…at least a kid in the eighties. What kid wouldn’t want to see what it felt like to be slimed by Slimer or shoot a giant marshmallow man?
I was always a fan of Venkman and my brother preferred either Ray or Egon. Maybe this film is what started me on the road to thinking Bill Murray was a comic genius in my adult life. I still love this film and laugh more now than when I was a kid because I get the sarcastic humor that came from Bill Murray. This is a fantastic film, loved by so many for over 25 years and will continue to be loved no matter how many sub par video games come out based on the film. One day I will be watching this with my son and wonder if he’ll be the one hiding behind the couch or if he’ll be screaming as he’s imagining himself as Venkman getting slimed…as I often did.
4 stars out of 4
Ahhhh…the joys of Ghostbusters. My wife actually had an extra part in the crowd scene at the end long before I met her. To this day, even on frame forward, I can’t see her. She told me she wore a pink sweatshirt so she could maybe find herself. Nope. She said either the crowd was too big and she got lost in it or the scene was cut.
Have you heard anymore about the hinted at new sequel?
I have heard a lot over the years for part three, which seems to be picking up steam in the last year. Bill Murray’s in, he’s out, he’s in, etc. At this point I hope they don’t make it, I don’t think it will be any good now, seems more like a cash grab rather than a well thought out story for it’s already set fan base.