History Franchise / Ghostbusters

-->-- The theme song, sung by Ray Parker Jr.

[[WhoYouGonnaCall Who you gonna call?]]\\

-->''"If there's somethin' strange... in the neighborhood\\

If there's something weird... and it don't look good\\

[[https://youtu.be/m9We2XsVZfc?t=25 GHOSTBUSTERS!]]"''
-->- The theme song, sung by Ray Parker Jr.

''"WhoYouGonnaCall"''...'''''[[https://youtu.be/m9We2XsVZfc?t=25 GHOSTBUSTERS!]]'''''

''"WhoYouGonnaCall"''...'''''[[https://youtu.be/m9We2XsVZfc?t=25 GHOSTBUSTERS]]'''''.

A [[http://ghostbustersnews.com/2016/06/20/sony-announces-new-ghostbusters-cartoon-show/ new animated series]], ''Ghostbusters: Ecto Force'', is also in development. An [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ghostbusters-animated-movie-snares-clash-862537 animated film]], to be directed by Fletcher Moules (best known for his ''VideoGame/ClashOfClans'' commercials), is also planned, and ''Ecto Force'' (which was originally scheduled for 2018) has been put on hold until it's completed.

* PortalStatuePairs: Zuul and Vinz Klortho in Ghostbusters; two giant demon dog statues that guard the portal of Gozer; they can also come to life and attack/possess people.

-->'''Ray:''' Two in the box!\\

* [[/index]]Creator/{{Marvel}}[[index]]

* NOW Comics

* 88MPH Studios

* [[/index]]Creator/IDWPublishing[[index]]

** Played with: Peter Venkman. Venkman gets slimed ''once'' very lightly, and is the only Ghostbuster to end up not covered in ectoplasmic toasted marshmallow when Stay Puft is defeated. Winston, Egon, and Ray all get CoveredInGunge repeatedly throughout both movies. [[note]]It's a meta reason in Venkman's case. Bill Murray is the biggest name in both films, so his face doesn't get covered up, nor does he have to deal with dignity-diminishing effects.[[/note]]

** [[spoiler: Gozer returns]] in ''Afterlife.''

* {{Bowdlerise}}: In reverse. In the 80s, commercials for the first movie ended with Venkman saying "We came, we saw, we kicked it's a--" cut to logo. Now on just about any cable channel allows him to say 'ass'. Trailers for the 30th Anniversary keep this, certainly as an homage to the earlier censoring.
* BuiltWithLEGO: In 2014, six years after ''LEGO VideoGame/RockBand'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tl8B4Mb7nE featured the theme song]], an official LEGO set was approved via LEGO Cusoo, featuring Egon, Venkman, Ray, Winston, the Ecto-1, and Slimer.

--> '''Venkman''': Okay, Ray's gone bye-bye. Egon, what've you got left?\\

* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: To the point where it's standard operating procedure...right before arming the proton packs.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu:

-->'''Peter''': Egon, this reminds me of the [[NoodleIncident time you tried to drill a hole through your head.]] Remember that?\\
'''Egon''': [[ThrowItIn That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me.]]

-->'''Venkman''': "Type somethin', will ya? We're payin' ya for this stuff. And don't stare at me, ya got the bug-eyes. …" (pauses) "Janine, sorry about the bug-eyes thing, I'll be in my office."

-->'''Janine''': Hello, Ghostbusters. Yes, of course they're serious. You do? You ''have?... '''WE GOT ONE!'''''

-->'''Peter''': Egon, this reminds me of the [[NoodleIncident time you tried to drill a hole through your head.]] Remember that?\\
'''Egon''': [[ThrowItIn That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me.]]

* MagicVersusScience: Ghosts and gods vs scientists with nuclear accelerators; the scientists win.

---> '''Peter''': Did you choose anything?!\\
'''Egon:''': No.\\
'''Peter''': Did you?!\\
'''Winston''': My mind's a total blank.\\
'''Peter''': ''I'' didn't choose anything! ''[{{Beat}}, then everybody looks at Ray]''

--> '''Ray Stantz:''' He didn't die of old age, either. [[RasputinianDeath He was poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered.]]\\

'''Ray: '''There was a prophecy. Just before his ''head'' died, his last words were "Death is but a door. Time is but a window. I'll be back."

* OffTheShelfFX: Venkman's ghost-sniffer, also known as the "Bacharach Chemical Sniffer," which is used primarily for detecting gas leaks. This also carries over into the guys' HomemadeInventions (a kitchen colander with wires and things on it, for one).

* PunyHumans: Inverted in that ScienceHero mortals scientifically learned about the nature of the supernatural, ranging from simple ghosts to gods, develop practical and easy to use weapons against it and totally ''clean its clock!''
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Ghostbusters themselves; a cynical scientist, a mad scientist, a goof scientist, and someone looking for a steady paycheck.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:

--> '''Ray:''' First of all, Mr. Mayor, it's a great pleasure to see you again. And we'd like to say that [[FalseReassurance almost 50% of us voted for you in the last election.]]\\

** Played with. On one hand the Ghostbusters ''do'' use their tech to make money for themselves, the game has established them as contractors to New York on the verge of franchising, and they obviously help people out with it, but the potential other uses for their tech goes ignored[[note]]Though, given their tech is highly destructive and has no obvious application on anything other than ghosts, it's possible they [[CripplingOverspecialization designed their tech so specifically that there ''are'' no other potential uses]][[/note]].
** In the cartoon, the Ghostbusters temporarily convert their gear to allow them to catch criminals for bounties, but the [[CripplingOverspecialization premise remains the same.]]

** Part I

** Part II

* WhoYouGonnaCall: If there's somethin' strange...in the neighborhood....who you gonna call? [[TropeNamers Trope NAMER!!]] If there's somethin' weird, and it don't look good, who you gonna call? [[TropeNamers Trope NAMER!!]]

* {{Bowdlerise}}: In reverse. In the 80s, commercials for the first movie ended with Venkman saying "We came, we saw, we kicked it's a--" cut to logo. Now on just about any cable channel allows him to say 'ass'.
** Trailers for the 30th Anniversary keep this, certainly as an homage to the earlier censoring.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Oh yes. Gozer the Gozerian gets beaten by [[ForbiddenChekhovsGun crossing the streams]]. They also fight what are expressly described as "Deity" ghosts in the game.

* FantasticScience: Two of the three original characters, Ray and Egon, are legitimate paranormal researchers that channel their knowledge into the business of "paranormal investigations and eliminations." Peter for his part is both a psychologist and parapsychologist, so he contributes the human relations and OnlySaneMan elements.
** WordOfGod is that Egon and Ray are legitimate practitioners of their field (albeit Egon is far better at it) while Peter didn't believe in the supernatural until he was confronted with it.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the "eggs frying on the counter" scene, among Dana's groceries can be seen a bag of "Mr. Stay Puft" marshmallows.

** During the KitschyLocalCommercial, you can see Egon continuously looking down at the marks he's supposed to stand on.
*** Which was an actual mistake made by Harold Ramis, who agreed to [[ThrowItIn keep doing it for subsequent takes when everyone agreed it fit Egon's character.]]

** And based on Ray's mention of it needed new brake pads, it has a front disk brake conversion, too.

* NoodleIncident
** Mentioned in the first film is that time Egon tried to drill a hole through his head. This is an actual procedure, called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trepanning trepanation]], which is sometimes claimed to confer psychic powers. "That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me." (This was allegedly a ThrowItIn by Murray which Ramis seamlessly responded to.)

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Lenny the Mayor fills this role to some extent in the first two movies. He's a rather cynical politician whose public image and chances of re-election / further political office are never far from mind, and is reasonably skeptical of the claims of apocalyptic supernatural phenomena, but when suitably convinced of their claims ultimately proves to be a fairly staunch ally. However, it is suggested that between the first and second movies, he either had them publicly thrown under the bus, or didn't do much to stop it from happening.

%%Though it would be nice if someone added some links to them.

* ThatCameOutWrong: While Peter is checking her apartment, he goes to the bedroom. Dana, without considering the implications, says "Nothing ever happened in there." Peter quips, "What a crime." Dana realizes her mistake, but instead chooses to focus on Peter's atypical attitude for a scientist.

** Gozer dodged the first shot and just vanished the second time. Upon transforming into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, getting shot did little more than knock him down and [[ManOnFire set him on fire]], arguably making him even more dangerous.

** ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters''. An animated SequelSeries to the show above. It owes its existence to the success of the films.

** ''Film/GhostbustersII'' (1989) -- The sequel to the original film.
** ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'' (2021) -- The {{Unreboot}} sequel/spinoff to ''Ghostbusters II''.[[index]]

* Untitled animated ''Ghostbusters'' film -- Release date TBA, handled by Sony Pictures Animation.

The setting[[note]]except for some {{Fan Film}}s and a few episodes of the two animated series[[/note]] is modern day UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, which has become overrun with supernatural creatures of every description. Some ghosts are mere annoyances or even benign, but all too many of them are dangerous, and a few are bent on causing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. There's only one force that can stop them: A RagtagBunchOfMisfits who protect humanity with high-tech weaponry -- and entertain generations of viewers with their [[CloudCuckoolander quirky]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer personalities]] and [[DeadpanSnarker witty]] [[CasualDangerDialog dialogue]].

[[caption-width-right:350:"I ain't afraid of no ghost."]]

Talk about a third film [[DevelopmentHell persisted for decades]], and seemingly ended [[AuthorExistenceFailure with the death of Harold Ramis in February 2014]]. ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|2016}}'', a ContinuityReboot with female leads, was announced in October; it was released on July 22, 2016. In December of that same year, the franchise received its second theme park attraction spin-off, ''Ghostbusters: Battle for New York'', a LightGunGame ride that opened with the Motiongate UsefulNotes/{{Dubai}} theme park.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: It has several of these moments. Arguably the best known one was in the first movie there was that part when a woman is half asleep on her couch. Suddenly she hears strange sounds from the fridge and she says very blatantly, "Oh shit!"
** Not to mention the fairly obvious symbolism of the key and the gate.
** "Bustin' makes me feel good"... Oh.

* FanFilm: Has inspired a whole slew of fan films based on the idea of Ghostbusters becoming a franchise business and organized in other cities. This includes ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy]] Vs. Ghostbusters'', ''The UsefulNotes/{{Denver}} Ghostbusters'' and ''FanFic/GhostbustersSLC''.

* ''FanFic/GhostbustersSLC''. A series of {{Fan Film}}s featuring an all-new cast busting ghosts in [[UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} Salt Lake City]].

The franchise had numerous video games made for it. Practically every video game system that existed in the mid-eighties had an adaptation of the first movie created for it, in addition to at least one adaptation of the second movie, an arcade game and a game with an original story created in 1990 for the Sega Genesis. In 2009, a [[VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame video game adaptation]] was released, written and performed by the original cast, that acts as a third story. Two years after the second movie, the Ghostbusters are doing well. The new mayor rode into office on pro-Ghostbusting legislation: New York directly pays the Ghostbusters for doing their job, and [[HeroInsurance insures all of their collateral damage]]. In addition, their research on paranormal activity has given them enough cash to develop new technology, which allows them to hire a young intern (the player character) to test it out for them. However, a Gozer exhibit at the local museum triggers a reawakening of the forces unleashed in the first movie...

** ''Ghostbusters: Get Real'' (2015) -- [[/index]]A {{Crossover}} with the Ghostbuster meeting their animated counterparts.[[index]]

** ''Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron'' (2019)

** ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': The Ecto-1 has been made into a ''Transformers'' toy, and a comic mini series accompanies it.

** Played straight: Dana Barret. Despite being possessed in the first movie and dealing with empathic slime in the second, the worst she gets is a little dusty and her hair mussed.

** In the first, Dana Barret's high-rise apartment building is essentially a supernatural magnet. Ivo Shandor, the leader of a cult of Gozer worshipers, designed it specifically to give Gozer a doorway into our world. It also neatly explains just where the vast majority of the unleashed ghosts went, since the building used them as a power source.

[Dana Barret looks up confused]\\

** [[spoiler: Rowan North]] in the ContinuityReboot.