Summary
Netflix’s upcoming animatedGhostbustersseries may be facing a major problem it can’t avoid. The 40-year-old franchise has had its ups and downs over the decades, with the original being known as one of the best comedies of all time and the most recent film,Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,receiving dismal reviewsacross the board. Ghost Corps,the production house behind 2021’sGhostbusters: Afterlife, is teaming up with Netflix to release an animated series. Jason Reitman, director ofAfterlifeand son of the originalGhostbustersdirector Ivan Reitman, will produce the series along with writer Gil Kenan.
Even though theGhostbustersuniverse has proven to be a great world to set an animated series in, the volatility of the franchise’s recent releases cast doubts on whether a new series will be successful. The 2016 reboot ofGhostbustersthat starred women in its lead roles was met with anger and turmoil from the fandom.Ghostbusters: Afterlifewas seen as mediocre by critics and well-liked by the audience, and even thoughGhostbusters: Frozen Empirehad an open ending, it was still seen as a failure in all areas and is doubtful to continue the story.
Who Is Garraka? Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Villain, Powers, & Plan Explained
Garraka is the otherworldly deity and central antagonist of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, with an inherent set-up that makes it ideal for future roles.
Netflix’s Ghostbusters Animated Show Will Struggle To Beat The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters Was One Of The Most Successful Cartoons Of The ’80s And Early ’90s
One of the biggest challenges a newGhostbustersanimated series will face is its ability to outshineThe Real Ghostbusters, which is seen as one of the best and most successful cartoons of the ’80s and ‘90sera of Saturday morning cartoons. The seven-season show was geared more towards kids but explored the film’s characters deeply, took place after the movie’s events, and introduced a number of silly and scary ghosts to the franchise. Fan-favorite ghosts from the film also made appearances in the show, like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Slimer, who became a regular character.
The Real Ghostbusterskicked off an avalanche of merchandise, including video games, apparel, and action figures that are still being remade and produced today. At its peak, the series was the face of theGhostbustersfranchise, and it’s hard to believe a new series could ever reach that height again.Five years after the end of the series, a sequel,Extreme Ghostbusterswas created in 1997with hopes of continuing the original show’s success. Unfortunately, all the original characters (aside from Egon) had disbanded, and the show was aimed at older kids.Extreme Ghostbusterswas canceled after one season.
Why Animation Is Still Better For Ghostbusters’ Future Right Now
Animation Can Keep Costs Down And Story Possibilities Are Endless
Regardless of whether Netflix’s new show outperformsThe Real Ghostbusters, animation still seems like the way to go with the franchise.Like most fantastical ideas, the story angles and visuals are essentially endless in animation. Budgets of $100 million (the cost ofFrozen Empire) aren’t needed to create the unbelievable, and the world of animation opens up possibilities of using content from many different medias, including crossovers from comics that had the Ghostbusters meeting the Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There are also a variety of greatGhostbustersvideo games to draw inspiration from.
More than 25Ghostbustersvideo games have been released throughout the decades, with the most recent beingGhostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, which was released in 2023.
Netflix has hit a few home runs when continuing movie franchises in animated form.Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, andFast & Furious Spy Racershave all found multi-season success and critical acclaim. It’s also possible to mix nostalgia with quality, as Disney+‘sX-Men ‘97has shown with its continuance of a 25-year-old series. If the newGhostbustersshow can lend itself more towards character development and good storytelling and be less of a continuance of mediocre films, it may just be able to catch the same lightning in a bottle asThe Real Ghostbusters.
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a multimedia franchise created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The first two films were released in the ’80s, but Ghostbusters III got stuck in development hell for years. Nearly 30 years after Ghostbusters II hit theaters, a reboot starring female Ghostbusters was released, followed by another reboot/sequel in 2021 titled Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The popular characters have also appeared in several video games and animated TV shows since the franchise’s creation in 1984.
