This article tells the story of the Ghostbusters, the franchise that began with the incredible 80s movie and, excluding some embarrassments like that ridiculous and shameful disaster from 2016, has been bringing us joy ever since.
The text is mainly based on a video originally published on the Coleção em Ação Show channel on June 30, 2019, so some information may be a bit outdated, especially regarding new releases such as Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) and the games Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (October 2019), Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (2022), and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord (2023).
Still, we’ll do our best to make this post as useful as possible, full of nostalgia and trivia. With such a long history, there’s a lot of cool material related to Ghostbusters beyond the feature films—like toys, cartoons, comic books, games, and much more—and you’ll find at least a bit of all of that here.
An 80s classic
The Ghostbusters franchise was created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, with the first film released in 1984. Initially, Aykroyd envisioned a different story, involving time travel and a SWAT-like tactical team, with John Belushi as Peter Venkman. However, after Belushi’s death from an overdose, Bill Murray took over the role. The late John Candy and Eddie Murphy were also considered, but this didn’t go forward.
Filming began in 1983, and, one year later, the movie became one of the biggest hits of the year, telling the story of parapsychologists Peter, Ray, and Egon, who, after losing university funding, open a ghost-hunting company in New York. They refit an old fire station, create proton packs, and transform a Cadillac ambulance into the iconic Ecto-1.
Its release marked not only a commercial triumph, earning $370 million in the box office against a budget of $25–30 million, but also an immediate cultural moment. Audiences embraced the film’s blend of humor, supernatural elements, and practical effects, and the chemistry between the cast helped solidify its place among the standout hits of the decade. The instantly recognizable logo, the catchy theme song, and the film’s inventive take on paranormal comedy quickly turned Ghostbusters into one of the defining movies of the 80s, and that’s for sure opened the door for sequels, animated series, and a wave of merchandise in the years that followed.
The hotel scene
Some consider this one of the all-time best scenes. Imagine the Ghostbusters at the Overlook? They would solve the problem there way easier:
Xentrix – Ghostbusters
The Ghostbusters‘ theme is one of those songs that became part of our worldview. To give you an idea of how far it went, it even inspired a UK thrash metal band to record a cover of it (if you’re false, don’t play it):
From success to the terrible remake
After the resounding success and cultural impact of the original, Ghostbusters II (1989) brought the team back for another adventure. The film may not have hit with the same force as the first one, but it’s still a very entertaining sequel, with the group facing a more supernatural and psychological threat. This time, the villain is Mr. Vigga Vigo the Carpathian, a diabolical figure loosely inspired by historical tyrants like Prince Vlad III (the same dude who inspired Dracula). Vigo’s intriguing and mysterious painting, the river of slime beneath New York, and the comedy chemistry of the cast all help make the movie memorable, even if it didn’t reach the blockbuster heights of its predecessor.
Then came one of the most unfortunate chapters in the history of the universe, that disgraceful 2016 remake. The morons responsible for this thought it would be a huge hit, maybe thinking that pandering to the lunatics with just a full female new cast would be enough. However, it didn’t appeal to the fans at all, not even the modern audiences, with an absurd dumb level of humor and being terrible in every aspect. Luckily, this garbage isn’t part of the classic Ghostbusters continuity, and the nonsense they tried to push stayed there.
Some years later, the anticipation for the 2020 film (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) emerges with a teaser of Ecto-1 that generated excitement, although without Harold Ramis, who passed away in 2014, the original quartet would not reunite. Indeed, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) recaptured the nostalgia, connecting the new generation to the originals, and was a pretty good film (one of the saving graces of that year). Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), on the other hand, continued the saga, but was quite weak, formulaic, and forgettable, despite also featuring more appearances from the original cast than its predecessor.
Vigo the Carpathian
This character is way too cool. We don’t know why some people didn’t like him. Anyway, Ghostbusters II is also great:
Spin-offs
There are several products that spawned from this franchise. We’ll try to cover some here. The animated series The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991), for instance, was a success, with 140 episodes, aired in Brazil by the Record and Globo networks. That one was really cool, but there was also Ghostbusters, based on a 1975 live-action series called The Ghost Busters. I think in Brazil, the cartoon aired first on SBT. It’s said that it’s also part of the Ghostbusters multiverse and, in some aspects, was even more fun than The Real Ghostbusters.
Later, we also had Extreme Ghostbusters (1997), with less prominence, but bringing new characters and concepts to the franchise. The show followed a new generation trained by Egon Spengler himself, mixing a darker tone with late-90s style and surprisingly memorable episodes. Despite being short-lived, it developed a small but loyal fanbase over the years. It’s toys, released by Kenner starting in 1986, included 10 waves with creative figures, vehicles, and ghosts. In Brazil, Estrela released quality versions in 1987, such as the Ecto-1, an item adored by collectors. Other lines, such as Trendmasters, NECA, Funko, Playmobil, and Lego, keep the franchise alive.
Extreme Ghostbusters HD intro
Comic books, like those from IDW, have also expanded the Ghostbusters universe, with epic crossovers such as the one with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The X-Files, and the mega-event Infestation, with Transformers and Star Trek. These comics show that the franchise goes beyond the films, spreading the heroes around the world and into other worlds.
There are also the games, which brought the thrill of hunting ghosts with proton packs into a fun and accessible format. The franchise quickly found its way into the 8-bit era, with cartridges such as Ghostbusters (1984) on Master System, NES, Commodore 64, and others. Later, we had Ghostbusters II (1990) and, years after the films, the acclaimed Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), widely praised as an unofficial “Ghostbusters 3” for reuniting the original cast. More recent releases like Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (2019), Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (2022), and the VR title Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord (2023) show how the series keeps reinventing itself. So, across consoles, PCs, animation, and even comic books, Ghostbusters continues to win over new generations.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game trailer
Oh! And we can’t forget that there are even mods for Doom, such as Ghostbusters DOOM 2 Total Conversion and Ghostbusters: Hell on Earth, each with its own approach, but both being very cool as well.
Ghostbusters DOOM 2 Total Conversion showcase
Legacy
Ghostbusters is a cultural phenomenon that extended far beyond the box office. The logo, the theme song, and the team’s dynamic became instantly iconic, spawning cartoons, toys, video games, comic books, and a devoted fanbase that spans generations. Its mix of comedy, science-fiction, and supernatural adventure helped redefine genre hybrids in the 80s and set a blueprint for countless films and series that followed. Even decades later, Ghostbusters remains one of the most recognizable and beloved franchises in pop culture — proof that bustin’ still makes people feel good.
Let’s just hope they don’t keep trying to butcher it with more lousy productions.
If this post brought back good memories or introduced you to something new about the franchise, tell us what Ghostbusters means to you — a favorite toy, a scene, a game, anything. In fact, there’s always more to uncover. Also, drop any Ghostbusters facts, games, or mods I missed here in the comments as well.
Maybe your thoughts will help bring another fan back into the Ecto-1. Who knows?
Thanks!
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