History WesternAnimation / TheRealGhostbusters

Voice actors include Creator/LorenzoMusic as Venkman, Creator/DaveCoulier as Venkman [[TheOtherDarrin in later seasons]], Creator/ArsenioHall as Winston, and Creator/MauriceLaMarche as Egon, Creator/FrankWelker ([[TalkingToHimself as Ray and Slimer]]), and Creator/LauraSummer as Janine (in early seasons), eventually replaced by Creator/KathSoucie. The writers included Creator/JMichaelStraczynski, Creator/DavidGerrold, Creator/BobSchooley, and Creator/MarkMcCorkle.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: "Play Them Ragtime Boos" features the group being transported back in time to the Cenozoic Era right in the middle of the ocean, where a hungry {{Megalodon}} eyes them for dinner. While the time period is accurate to a point, and the Megalodon does first show up with a giant fin cutting through the water, when the creature is actually shown under the water, it looks less like a giant shark and more like a Mosasaur.

* Poltergeist: There are alot of poltergeists in episodes like "Slimer, Come Home" and "Cry Uncle".

* InformedSpecies: In "Stay Tooned", the Ghostbusters confront an slapstick cartoon character named Sammy K. Ferret. In spite of the SpeciesSurname, Sammy looks more like a fox than a ferret.

* CasualDangerDialog: Occurs several times. One of the most prominent examples takes place during ''The Haunting of Heck House.'' After Ray [[spoiler: uses the house wiring to turn the place into one big ghost trap]], Egon casually points out a problem with the plan while Peter, Winston, and Slimer hold the doors shut against [[spoiler: a legion of ghosts]] battering their way in.

Within a few years, Creator/ColumbiaPictures decided there was money in an AnimatedSeries based on the 1984 supernatural comedy ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' and [[AndTheAdventureContinues the further adventures]] of its four paranormal investigators. Columbia partnered with Creator/DICEntertainment to make it happen.

Voice actors include ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends''[='=] Lorenzo Music as Venkman (it has not escaped comment that Murray would eventually [[Film/{{Garfield}} voice a CGI Garfield]]), ''Series/FullHouse''[='s=] Dave Coulier as Venkman [[TheOtherDarrin in later seasons]], [[Series/TheArsenioHallShow Arsenio Hall]] as Winston, and Creator/MauriceLaMarche (as Egon), Creator/FrankWelker ([[TalkingToHimself as Ray and Slimer]]), and Laura Summer as Janine (in early seasons), eventually replaced by Creator/KathSoucie. The writers included Creator/JMichaelStraczynski, sci-fi author and ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' contributor David Gerrold, and the co-creators of 2002's ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''.

Starting in February 2021 the series is being uploaded to the official Ghostbusters [[Website/YouTube YouTube]] [[https://www.youtube.com/c/Ghostbusters/videos channel]].[[note]]New episodes premiere on Saturdays.[[/note]]

* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: The episode "Poultryergeist" features werechickens, who infect human beings through their bites.

** Peter's love-hate relationship is Slimer is very similar to [[WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends Garfield's]] relationship with Odie. Both Peter and Garfield are voiced by Creator/LorenzoMusic.

The main characters from the film (with the [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse notable exception]] of Creator/SigourneyWeaver's character) are all present. To get around having to buy the rights to Creator/BillMurray's likeness et al., the mortal characters are each given [[{{Expy}} new faces]]: Egon has a spectacular blond pompadour, Ray is a stocky redhead, Winston is clean-shaven, and Venkman is overhauled to make him into a devilish twenty-something instead of a middle-aged, balding Bill Murray. Janine's [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 April O'Neil]]-esque makeover was so steamy, her hair color, makeup, and hipper clothes were [[RetCanon incorporated]] into the live-action ''Film/GhostbustersII''. Aside from their new [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience color-coded uniforms]] and slightly-redesigned equipment (their old ones were [[CoveredInGunge damaged]] in the fight with Gozer), the team retain their personalities, at least in the beginning. Slimer, {{the unintelligible}} green ghost who "slimed" Venkman in the first film,[[note]]His original nickname in the first movie was "Onionhead".[[/note]] was included in the regular cast as a comic relief NonHumanSidekick.

* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification ghost of Halloween]], Samhain, has his name pronounced "Sam-hain" rather than the proper Gaelic pronunciation "Sah-win". This would seem to be a surprising writers' mistake, or perhaps even SadlyMythtaken (i.e. a pagan holiday being demonized for a Christian audience) except that the imagery (jack-o'-lantern head) and overall personality (DarkIsEvil) have more in common with the [[OlderThanTheyThink modern-day]] [[PopculturalOsmosis conception]] of Halloween as a dark, scary, sinister holiday ([[LighterAndSofter when it isn't all about parties and candy]]) than as a pagan holiday in honor of the dead and the ending of the year. [[FridgeBrilliance So the mispronunciation may be intentional--because this is the ghost of what people have come to associate with Halloween, rather than its original meaning.]]
** On the other hand, the later installments of the ''Halloween'' film franchise did the exact same thing and the writers may have been using that as a reference.

* FountainOfYouth: In the episode "Three Men and an Egon," an incident with a ghost causes Egon to begin regressing, and threatens to reduce hi to nothingness unless the process is reversed.

* RealMenWearPink: Egon's shirt, and the salmon-pink trim on his blue overalls.
** His love of opera. He's practically fanboying in "A Fright at the Opera."

* ShipTease: "Janine, You've Changed" is ''packed'' with it for Egon and Janine. This crops up a little earlier as well (carrying forward what was in the original movie) but that episode stops just short of making them an OfficialCouple. It was even the last episode JMS wrote for the show, and you have to wonder if he was trying to give longtime fans some payoff...
** The tease even went on to ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'' as Egon and Janine (as well as Slimer) are the only original members of the group remaining to help with the new blood.
*** ''Extreme Ghostbusters'' had several moments that blatantly imply and Egon and Janine ''are'' in a relationship, but are remaining private about it.

The problem was that there was already a Creator/{{Filmation}} cartoon in development called ''Ghostbusters'', a sequel to the 1975 live-action series ''[[WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters The Ghost Busters]]'' about a pair of noir-style detectives (and their gorilla?) who battle supernatural forces. Filmation's ''Ghostbusters'' was a flop, the victim of mistiming: kids were upset that these guys [[NamesTheSame weren't the 'real' Ghostbusters]]. In response, [=DiC=] launched ''The Real Ghostbusters'', both to [[WritingAroundTrademarks distinguish it]] from the Filmation property and to [[DuelingWorks imply that the Filmation Ghostbusters were phonies]]. The two animated series debuted in the same year, furthering the confusion.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: In "Stay Tooned," Peter and Egon can't help but make some wisecracks when Winston [[BalefulPolymorph got turned into a cartoon dog]]. Winston is not impressed.

* BalefulPolymorph:
** "Poultrygeist" featured Egon turning into a [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent werechicken]].
** In "Short Stuff," a spell accidentally turns Peter into a mouse. The change lasts only a few moments, though.
** In the episode "Stay Tooned", Ray, Egon and Winston are turned into cartoon animals as a result of TV cartoon character Sammy K. Ferret gaining ghost-like powers and entering the real world. Interestingly, in Ray's case, it gets combined with a slow PainfulTransformation, whereas Winston and Egon transform right away.

The cartoon focuses on the day-to-day busting that the movie relegated to a [[HardWorkMontage montage]]; there is no over-arching villain or hint of larger forces at work, although some of the ghosts come back for a second try. Not all the ghosts and other supernatural entities are evil: On occasion, the heroes "bust" the ghosts simply by helping them complete their UnfinishedBusiness, while others enlist the Ghostbusters' help or actually ''want'' to be busted, as the Ghostbusters' containment unit approximates 'resting in peace' enough to satisfy them.