After the release of the critical and box office smash Ghostbusters in 1984, Columbia Pictures Television joined with the animation company DIC to create a cartoon version. In 1986, The Real Ghostbusters premiered on the ABC Saturday morning schedule. It became a huge hit due to its sharp writing and voice actors.
A spinoff to the original series, The Extreme Ghostbusters, premiered in 1997 to bring in a new generation of viewers. Rather than focusing on the original quartet, the team of this syndicated cartoon comprised university-age students led by Egon Spengler. Though only 40 episodes aired, as opposed to 140 for Real Ghostbusters, it continues to have wide popularity. In the end, both the original and sequel have several positives.
10 Real Ghostbusters Is Better Thanks To The First Movies
Ghostbusters’ first animated incarnation has an advantage over its sequel. It already had a huge fanbase due to the original film’s success and anticipation of its sequel. Even The Real Ghostbusters’ weaker episodes are deemed better.
On top of this, the show had some top writers. Among them are future Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski and Gargoyles writer Michael Reaves. They maintained the live-action film’s humor while incorporating a plethora of new phantasms. This was especially true for the show’s 65-episode syndicated run.
9 Extreme Ghostbusters Is Better Because It Doesn’t Completely Rely On The Original
By the time Extreme Ghostbusters aired, viewers of the original cartoon were older. Actually, they were about the same age as the show’s college-aged characters. With that in mind, the creators of this version did more with the concept.
Since it was syndicated, Extreme Ghostbusters’ ghosts are creepier than the ones on the Saturday morning program. In another change to the original cartoon, anything done by the specters was undone once they were caught. Additionally, being a new cast of characters, there were opportunities to flesh out their personalities.
8 Real Ghostbusters Is Better Because It Had Competition & Still Thrived
As Columbia Pictures developed its Ghostbusters’ animated version, Filmation Studios was doing the same. This was a sequel of sorts to the company’s 1975 Saturday morning show, The Ghost Busters. To take advantage of the film’s popularity, Filmation released their version in syndication five days before the ABC version.
There’s certainly no way to confuse the two cartoons. The Filmation version is broadly comedic as opposed to Real Ghostbusters. Nevertheless, Straczynski and Reaves produced some quality episodes in the show’s first season to compete.
7 Extreme Ghostbusters Is Better Because It Is More Diverse
When one looks back at both the Ghostbusters movie and cartoon, they lack diversity. It was a team comprised of three white guys with doctorates and African American Winston Zeddemore. Yet, he plays a minor role behind Venkman, Spengler, and Stantz.
Conversely, Extreme Ghostbusters features a diverse cast to reflect the societal changes of the 1990s. For instance, Kylie is a goth young female with extensive knowledge of the paranormal. Her teammates include Eduardo, a man of Hispanic descent, and Garrett, who has been disabled since birth.
6 Real Ghostbusters Is Better Because Of Its Voice Cast
During its seven-season run, The Real Ghostbusters had a stellar voice cast. Among the players were veteran actor Frank Welker as Ray Stantz and Slimer, Maurice LaMarche as Egon, and Arsenio Hall as Winston.
The best of the lot was Lorenzo Music. The former faceless doorman on Rhoda and Garfield’s eventual voice, played drool Peter Venkman.
5 Extreme Ghostbusters Is Better Because It Tackled Some Real-Life Issues
Since it didn’t have to comply with the standards of network television, Extreme Ghostbusters addressed some real-life issues. An example of this is Garrett’s attitude toward his disability. Despite being in a wheelchair, it doesn’t stop him from being immensely positive and a lover/participant of sports.
Egon’s shifting attitudes toward ghostbusting is another situation. Though a highly confident member of the team at the start, getting older has made him less sure of himself. As his team of young adults gains confidence, it feeds into Egon and provides him with the power to move forward.
4 Real Ghostbusters Is Better Because Of Slimer
Slimer is an important figure in Ghostbusters’ history. He was the team’s first capture in the live-action film. Bringing him in as the group’s mascot in The Real Ghostbusters, Slimer provided a light touch to episodes that featured heavier or darker villains.
The ghost became so popular that he received 13 segments of his own during the show’s later seasons.
3 Extreme Ghostbusters Is Better Because Of Its Continuity
Granted, Extreme Ghostbusters didn’t have an underlying ongoing story like today’s animated series. However, it packed a lot of continuity into its 40-episode run. Lessons learned in previous installments carried over to others. Furthermore, the characters grew as they learned more about ghostbusting.
This didn’t mean the team’s animated legacy was forgotten. In “Back in the Saddle,” the Extreme and Real Ghostbuster teams came together.
2 Real Ghostbusters Is Better Because Of Its Longevity
There aren’t many Saturday morning cartoons that can tout a continual seven-season run. The Real Ghostbusters has this distinction.
Save for the second season, which appeared in syndication, the show ran on the ABC schedule from the mid-1980s to 1991. A big achievement during a time when Saturday morning cartoons began to lose steam.
1 Extreme Ghostbusters Is Better Because Of Its Horror Content
The Real Ghostbusters stuck to its formula of not-quite-scary ghosts to reflect the movie’s comedic style. This was due to the regulations put on it by ABC. This wasn’t the case with Extreme Ghostbusters.
The syndicated-0nly cartoon went for the creep factor in many episodes. In “Til’ Death Do We Start,” a wealthy young man was terrorized by the ghost of a skinless, screaming bride. In “Killjoys,” the team battled a gang of vampire clowns.
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