"Let's go, Ghostbusters!" - The Ghostbusters' rallying cry
Ghostbusters: Volume One Quick Take
Just Like Our Regular Reviews. Only Smurf-sized.
By Jude Clement
Let's get this straight right off the bat: this is not the Bill Murray movie. Nor is it the animated series based on the Bill Murray movie (that one was called The Real Ghostbusters). Instead, Ghostbusters: Volume One is a 1986 animated series based on a live-action 1975 Saturday morning series called The Ghost Busters. In this supernatural comedy, Jake Kong, Jr. and Eddie Spenser, Jr. become Ghostbusters after their fathers decide to retire. Jake is graceful and lithe, Eddie is lumbering and clumsy. Neither is particularly good at busting ghosts. Luckily, they have the help of their fathers' original sidekick, Tracy, a hulking gorilla who is often the group's brawn and brains. He even invents a variety of contraptions (like the Ansabones, the Skelevision, and the flying Ghost Buggy) to help the gang fight baddie Prime Evil. Jake, Eddie, and Tracy hopscotch through time doing battle with Prime Evil's minions, including Apparitia, Airhead the mummy, Sir Trance-A-Lot, and Bratarat.
Ghostbusters, unfortunately, just doesn't gel. It lacks the goofy humor of the similarly monster-themed Groovie Goolies yet also fails to provide realistic chills. It's sometimes difficult to concentrate watching some of the episodes. That's scary.
Video and Audio
As with other "Ink & Paint" releases of Filmation animated series, these episodes look and sound pretty good.
Extras
Disc six is dedicated to special features. Individual interviews with a number of the show's production crew are featured in the "Interview" section. First up is producer Lou Scheimer (2:54). In previous DVD extras for shows he produced, Scheimer always had a lot to say. Here, not so much. The lengthy opening sequence and closing credits are far longer than Scheimer's interview. Writer Robby London (4:29) created Ghostbusters. Here he discusses how he came to work for Filmation. Director Tom Sito (4:10) talks about how the company had to adjust to doing a broad comedy after producing many action adventure hits, and how the show's staff came to realize that they were creating memories that kids would talk about for the rest of their lives. Director Tom Tataranowicz (5:21) reveals that the production staff had a great time working on the series. Individually and as a whole, these interviews are disappointing. They are so brief - they feel like scraps leftover from another project - that they hardly impart any information.
The "Episode 22 Storyboard" is...well...a storyboard for episode 22. Presented in a slideshow format and set to the show's theme song, each slide contains eight panels mapping out how the episode will look. Storyboards always provide an interesting glimpse at how animated shows are planned, but this one would have been more informative had the storyboards been broken down into its individual panels. As it is, the storyboards are difficult to read.
The 1975 live-action series The Ghost Busters followed the adventures of Jake and Eddie's fathers, played by F-Troop's Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker. That earlier series' first episode, "The Maltese Monkey" (22:10), is included here as an extra. The humor is goofy and moronic - just the way we like it. In this episode, the senior Jake and Eddie take on Fat Man (Johnny Brown, Good Times) and Bunny (Billy Barty, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters). If you enjoy this episode, don't worry - the entire series is scheduled to be released on DVD April 17, 2007.
The "Promo Pilot" (8:42) was used to sell the series to TV stations. It sets up the show's premise, introduces its characters, and conveys the basic tone of the series. This is a fun extra that fans are sure to enjoy.
The "Anti Drug Spot" (:31) features the Ghostbusters and a doe-eyed fan teaching us that "when it comes to drugs - friends or not - the only answer is NO!"
Two fully navigable image galleries are included, one featuring "Heroes & Allies Model Sheets" and one with "Promotional Art."
Summary
Ghostbusters: Volume One isn't quite funny or scary enough. It doesn't take itself seriously, and simultaneously doesn't provide too many laughs. Earlier releases in the "Ink & Paint" line have included copious, informative extras, but the extras here are a little disappointing. If you are a fan of the series, by all means scare up a copy (Volume Two is due this summer). If you're unsure, give it a rent first.
3/4/07
