Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Feels Like The '80s Cartoon On Purpose, Says Star
New York's favorite paranormal exterminators are back and anyone who grew up watching "The Real Ghostbusters" on Saturday mornings has a good reason to get hyped. "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" will not only once again reunite the remaining original Ghostbusters — Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, and Ernie Hudson — but it will also take a lot of cues from the "Ghostbusters" spinoff cartoon they inspired, according to one of the film's stars.
Kumail Nanjiani, who appears in the "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" trailer as a currently unknown character, referred to the cartoon as a point of reference for the film on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "The filmmakers wanted to make a long episode of the animated series. So if you love that show as I do, be excited," Nanjiani tweeted.
"The Real Ghostbusters" — not to be confused with "Ghostbusters," an entirely unrelated cartoon that premiered around the same time — ran from 1986 to 1991 and followed the further adventures of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore. None of the film's cast members voiced their cartoon counterparts, but the show was a hit with kids and lasted for seven seasons. Instead of the grimy New York City seen in the movies, "The Real Ghostbusters" live in a fun, technicolor world where any ghouls or goblins are usually more zany than they are scary. In the cartoon, Slimer, once the target of the Ghostbusters, is now more or less a mascot. This more kid-friendly continuation of the movies was such a success that it spawned countless toys and multiple comics, and even got a spinoff cartoon of its own, "Extreme Ghostbusters," in 1997.
What could this mean for Frozen Empire?
While the original "Ghostbusters" movies offered their own brand of comedy, this tease from Kumail Nanjiani could hint at the new movie being the most lighthearted in the franchise to date. If the idea was to make a feature-length live-action version of the cartoon with "Frozen Empire," then you can expect a "Ghostbusters" movie targeting a decidedly younger audience than the '80s originals. However, the trailer makes it clear that "Frozen Empire" will still feature a formidable, seemingly terrifying, paranormal threat to New York.
A mysterious force called the Death Chill is sweeping through the city and we hear Ray describe in gruesome detail the horrifying way it freezes its victims to death as they experience every excruciating moment. Couple that with some fairly disturbing imagery, and it can be difficult to imagine just how kid-friendly the movie will ultimately be, despite the comic relief peppered throughout the preview.
Either way, so far it seems like "Frozen Empire" will be a blast of nostalgia for anyone who grew up on either the original movies or the cartoons. While the surviving original Ghostbusters did appear at the end of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" in 2021, the reunion was brief and confined to one setting. Judging by the trailer, this time around they'll have much more to do back in their original New York stomping grounds alongside the new "Afterlife" additions to the crew.
With multiple generations of Ghostbusters teaming up in a movie aiming to recapture the Saturday morning cartoon vibe, "Frozen Empire" looks like it could bring in a new generation of fans while still satisfying the ones who have been around since the beginning.