GHOSTBUSTERS II - Card #23 - SPECTRAL ASSAULT - TOPPS 1989 For Sale

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GHOSTBUSTERS II - Card #23 - SPECTRAL ASSAULT - TOPPS 1989:
$8.74

Thislisting is for an individual card from the series issued by Topps in 1989.

GhostbustersIIis a 1989 American supernatural comedy film directed by IvanReitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars BillMurray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis,Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts. It is the sequel to the 1984 filmGhostbusters and the second film in the Ghostbustersfranchise. Set five years after the events of the first film, theGhostbusters have been sued and put out of business after thedestruction caused during their battle with the demi-god Gozer. Whena new paranormal threat emerges, the Ghostbusters re-form to combatit and save the world.

Afterthe phenomenal success of Ghostbusters, Columbia Pictureswanted a sequel but struggled to overcome objections from the castand crew. As with the first film, Aykroyd and Ramis collaborated onthe script, which went through many variations. The pair wanted toconvey a message about the consequences of negative human emotions inlarge cities. They settled on the idea of negative feelings creatinga mass of supernatural slime beneath New York City that empowersmalevolent spirits. With a budget of $30–40 million, filming tookplace between November 1988 and March 1989 in New York City and LosAngeles. Production was rushed compared to the original film\'s13-month cycle; large sections of the film were scrapped after poorlyreceived test screenings. New scenes were written and filmed duringre-shoots between March and April 1989, only two months before itsrelease.

GhostbustersIIwas released on June 16, 1989. As the sequel to thethen-highest-grossing comedy film of all time, GhostbustersIIwas expected to dominate the box office. Instead, the film earned$215.4 million during its theatrical run compared with the original\'s$282.2 million, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of theyear. Columbia Pictures deemed it a financial and critical failure,the effect of which dissuaded Murray from participating in a thirdGhostbusters film. Its soundtrack single, \"On Our Own\"by Bobby Brown, was a success, spending 20 weeks on the United Statesmusic charts.

Thefilm failed to replicate the cultural impact and following ofGhostbusters. Although some retrospective audiences praisedit, GhostbustersII is generally seen as a poor follow-upto Ghostbusters and responsible for stalling the franchise fordecades. The film spawned a series of merchandise including videogames, board games, comic books, music, toys, and haunted houses.Despite the relative failure of Ghostbusters II, a secondsequel was pursued through to the early 2010s. A financiallyunsuccessful and controversial 2016 series reboot led to renewedefforts on a direct sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which isscheduled for release in 2021.

Fiveyears after saving New York City from destruction by the demigodGozer, the Ghostbusters have been sued for the property damageincurred and barred from investigating the supernatural, forcing themout of business. Raymond Stantz owns an occult bookstore and works aside job alongside Winston Zeddemore as unpopular children\'sentertainers. Egon Spengler works in a laboratory experimenting withhuman emotions, and Peter Venkman hosts a television show aboutpsychics.

DanaBarrett, Peter\'s ex-girlfriend, has an infant son named Oscar withher ex-husband and works at an art museum cleaning paintings. Sheturns to the Ghostbusters for help after Oscar\'s baby stroller rolls,seemingly by itself, into a busy road intersection. At the museum, aportrait of Vigo the Carpathian, a brutal, sixteenth-century tyrantand powerful magician, comes to life and enslaves Dana\'s boss JanoszPoha. Vigo orders Janosz to bring him a child to possess, allowinghim to escape the confines of his painting and live again to conquerthe world. Because of his infatuation with Dana, Janosz choosesOscar.

Meanwhile,the Ghostbusters excavate the intersection where Oscar\'s strollerstopped and discover a river of slime running through the abandonedBeach Pneumatic Transit system. Raymond obtains a sample but isattacked by the slime and accidentally breaks a pipe which falls ontoa power line, causing a citywide blackout. The Ghostbusters arearrested and taken to court for the damage and for investigating thesupernatural. In the courtroom, the slime sample is presented asevidence. It responds physically to judge Wexler\'s angry tiradeagainst the Ghostbusters and then explodes, summoning the ghosts oftwo brothers he sentenced to death. The Ghostbusters capture theghosts in exchange for a dismissal of the charges and the revocationof the order banning them from operating.

Onenight, the slime invades Dana\'s apartment, attacking her and Oscar.She seeks refuge with Peter and they rekindle their relationship. TheGhostbusters discover the slime reacts to emotions and suspect it hasamassed from the negative attitudes of New Yorkers. While Peter andDana have dinner, Egon, Raymond, and Winston explore the undergroundriver of slime and are pulled in. They begin fighting until Egonrealizes they are being influenced by the slime. They determine thatthe river of slime flows to the museum.

TheGhostbusters tell the mayor of their suspicions but are dismissed;his assistant Jack Hardemeyer has them committed to a psychiatrichospital to protect the mayor\'s political interests. A spirit in theform of Janosz kidnaps Oscar and Dana pursues them into the museum,which is then covered with impenetrable slime. On New Year\'s Eve, theslime rises to the streets, causing widespread chaos. Learning ofHardemeyer\'s actions, the mayor fires him and has the Ghostbustersreleased.

Determiningthe need for a positive symbol to rally the citizens and weaken theslime, the Ghostbusters use positively charged slime to animate theStatue of Liberty and pilot it through the streets filled withcheering citizens. At the museum, the museum\'s slime coveringpartially recedes and they use the Statue\'s torch to break throughthe ceiling, stopping Vigo from completing his possession of Oscar.

Theghostbusters rappel through the ceiling and neutralize Janosz withpositive slime. Vigo takes on physical form, immobilizes Dana and theGhostbusters, and recaptures Oscar. The gathered crowds outside beginsinging a chorus of \"Auld Lang Syne\", and their positivityweakens Vigo. He is forced to return to the painting and theGhostbusters are freed. Vigo possesses Raymond, but the Ghostbustersuse their weapons to free him and destroy Vigo, his portrait beingreplaced by their likenesses surrounding Oscar. In the aftermath, theGhostbusters are cheered by the city and the Statue of Liberty isreturned to Liberty Island.

• Bill Murray as Peter Venkman

• Dan Aykroyd as Raymond Stantz

• Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett

• Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler

• Rick Moranis as Louis Tully

• Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore

• Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz

• Peter MacNicol as Janosz Poha

• Kurt Fuller as Jack Hardemeyer

• David Margulies as Mayor Lenny Clotch

• Harris Yulin as Judge Stephen Wexler

• Janet Margolin as the Prosecutor

• William T. Deutschendorf and Hank J. Deutschendorf II as Baby Oscar

Aswell as the main cast, GhostbustersII features Wilhelmvon Homburg as Vigo the Carpathian (voiced by Max von Sydow). Severalrelatives of the cast and crew appear in the film; Murray\'s brotherBrian Doyle-Murray plays the Ghostbusters\' psychiatric doctor,Aykroyd\'s niece Karen Humber portrays a schoolchild, and directorIvan Reitman\'s children Jason and Catherine portray, respectively,the rude child at the opening birthday party and a girl that is partof Egon\'s experiments. Reitman cameos as a pedestrian. Judy Ovitz,wife of talent agent Michael Ovitz who represented many of theprincipal cast, appears as a woman in a restaurant who is slimed.

MaryEllen Trainor appears as the host of a children\'s party, Cheech Marinplays a dock supervisor, and Philip Baker Hall portrays the citypolice chief. Bobby Brown (credited as Bobby Baresford Brown), whocontributed to the film\'s soundtrack, cameos as a doorman. Ben Steinplays a public works official for the mayor, and Louise Troy appearsas a woman wearing a possessed fur coat.

Afterthe massive success of Ghostbusters, a sequel was consideredinevitable even though the film had been developed as a stand-aloneproject. The development of GhostbustersII was arduous,and the behind-the-scenes conflicts were given as much coverage inthe press as the film. When David Puttnam became chairman of ColumbiaPictures in June 1986, he was not interested in developing anexpensive sequel to Ghostbusters despite its success. Hefavored smaller films such as the critically acclaimed war film Hopeand Glory (1987) and the comedy film Bloodhounds of Broadway(1989) over big-budget blockbusters. He also greenlit severalforeign-language films by European directors because he preferredmaking films for the \"world market\". Ghostbusterswas part of former Columbia executive Frank Price\'s legacy, andPuttnam would have had no interest in furthering that legacy whilebuilding his own.

Reitmanlater said the delay in development was not Puttnam\'s fault and thatexecutives above Puttnam at Columbia\'s New York branch had attemptedto work around him because they thought he was holding up theproject, but they discovered they could not get the production movingeven after sidelining him. According to Reitman, the delay occurredbecause the main actors did not want to make a sequel for nearlythree years; by the time they decided to go ahead, Murray wascommitted to his starring role in the Christmas comedy film Scrooged(1988). When Murray was finally ready, the script was not. Asco-creators, Reitman, Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis all had control overthe franchise, and their unanimous approval was required to proceed.

InApril 1987, Puttnam announced that GhostbustersII wouldgo into production in November that year without having informedReitman, who had not yet reviewed the unfinished script. Puttnam wasremoved from his job in September 1987. It was reported that this wasin part because he had alienated Murray and his talent agent MichaelOvitz. Puttnam had publicly criticized Murray for making millions ofdollars from Hollywood without giving \"back to his art. He’s ataker.\" He also attacked expensive talent agency packages thatprovided scripts, directors, and stars; Ovitz also representedAykroyd, Ramis, and Reitman.

Puttnamwas replaced as Columbia president by Dawn Steel. When she took thejob, her corporate bosses made it clear that getting the sequel intoproduction was a priority. Columbia had experienced a long series ofbox-office failures since Ghostbusters, and GhostbustersIIwas seen as the best way of reversing their fortunes. By November1987, filming was scheduled to begin in summer the following year. Atthe time, Murray reportedly wanted $10 million to star in the sequeland his co-stars demanded an equal amount.

Themain obstacle was the disputes between the principal cast and crewthat had arisen since Ghostbusters. Ramis later said, \"therewas a little air to clear\" before they could work together. InMarch 1988, Ovitz arranged a private lunch for himself, Murray,Aykroyd, Ramis, Reitman, and Ovitz\'s colleague, CAA head of businessaffairs Ray Kurtzman, at Jimmy\'s, a celebrity restaurant in BeverlyHills, California. Concerns were raised such as whether theprincipals could still carry the sequel because Murray had been awayfrom films for so long and Aykroyd had experienced a series of filmfailures. During the meeting, the group had fun and decided theycould work together.

Monthsof negotiations followed with Reitman, Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis tonegotiate a minimal salary in exchange for a percentage of the boxoffice profits. The deal was reported to be 10% of the box officeprofits each; Reitman denied that the figure was that large but said,\"it\'s a big one\". This was done to keep the budget low,aiming for approximately $30 million, whereas upfront salaries wouldhave raised it closer to $50 million. After this, the film was rushedinto production, with shooting scheduled for summer 1988 inanticipation of a mid-1989 release. Despite the five years it took toproduce a sequel and its necessity for special effects,GhostbustersII had a shorter schedule than itspredecessor\'s one-year turnaround. Michael C. Gross and producer JoeMedjuck returned for the sequel, each being promoted to producer.Michael Chapman replaced László Kovács as cinematographer, and BoWelch replaced John DeCuir as production designer.

Aykroyddescribed his first draft as \"really too far out...tooinaccessible\". He wanted to avoid using New York City, set thefilm overseas, and provide a contrast to the first film\'s climax atopa skyscraper by including a subterranean threat. This draft followedDana Barrett, who is kidnapped and taken to Scotland, where shediscovers a fairy ring—a naturally occurring ring or arc ofmushrooms sometimes linked in folklore to fairies or witches—and anunderground civilization. The Ghostbusters would have had to travelthrough an underground pneumatic tube over 2,000 miles long thatwould have taken three days to traverse. He eventually decided thatretaining the New York setting would allow for continuity and wouldbetter fit the story he wanted to tell while still allowing them toexplore underground.

Aswith Ghostbusters, Aykroyd partnered with Ramis to refine thescript. Early on, they decided GhostbustersII shouldreflect the five-year passage of time between the two films. Ramissuggested the story focus on a baby because he had previouslydeveloped a horror film concept centered on an infant who possessedadult agility and focus. This inspired him to create the characterOscar. Initially, the child was the son of Peter Venkman and Dana,who would have maintained their relationship in the interveningyears. The child would have become possessed as a focal point of thefilm; Murray felt this created an imbalance in the story, placing toomuch emphasis on his and Dana\'s relationship with the child ratherthan the Ghostbusters and their character dynamics. Instead, theychose to have Peter\'s and Dana\'s relationship fail, allowing her tomarry, have a child and be divorced by the events of GhostbustersII.Ramis wanted to show that the Ghostbusters had not remained heroesafter their victory in the previous film; he felt that would havebeen a less original approach.

Theriver of slime was conceived early in their collaboration. Ramiswanted the slime beneath New York to present a moral issue caused bythe build-up of negative human emotions in large cities; heconsidered it a metaphor for urban decay and a call to deliver ahuman solution, though he said this was buried deeply in the script.The pair wanted negative emotions to have consequences and foundhumor in New York City having to be nice or face destruction, thoughat this point they did not know what form that destruction wouldtake. Ramis said; \"Comedically, it suggested, what if everyonein New York City had to be nice for forty-eight hours?\". Aykroydsaid they wanted to show negativity has to go somewhere, potentiallyinto the person the emotion is directed towards. He felt this madethe film more grounded compared with dealings with gods. He said;\"cities everywhere are dangerous. Life has become cheap. You cango to... see a movie and get machine-gunned on the street\".The story evolved far from Ramis\' and Aykroyd\'s combined efforts butretained the core notion of emotions and their impact. By May 1987,Aykroyd and Ramis had been working for over a year, and had completedthe screenplay by March 1988.

Inthe years since the release of the more adult-oriented Ghostbusters,its animated spin-off television series The Real Ghostbustershad become popular with its target child audience. The team weretasked with balancing the needs of Ghostbusters fans and thoseof the cartoon\'s audience. According to Medjuck, the cartoon\'ssuccess was influential in the return of Slimer for the sequel, andthey aimed to avoid contradicting the cartoon where possible; he saidalthough the Ghostbusters have been out of work for five years, theyhad to act as though the cartoon\'s events took place after the film.

Accordingto early reports, Puttnam intended to replace the principal cast withlower-salaried actors, in part because of his disdain for Murray.Puttnam denied this in a 1987 interview and said recasting had neverbeen an option.

GhostbustersIIwas to be the first sequel Reitman had directed, and he was worriedabout being able to surprise the audience without relying onelaborate special effects. He wanted to focus on characterinteraction, believing that was the original film\'s main draw. Ramiswas apprehensive about returning to the franchise because of theoverwhelming success of Ghostbusters. Murray was alsohesitant; he had left acting for four years following the release ofthe previous film. He described Ghostbusters\' success as aphenomenon that would forever be his biggest accomplishment and felt\"radioactive\" after the failure of his personal project TheRazor\'s Edge (1984). He chose to avoid making films until hereturned for Scrooged. Murray was also dismissive of sequelsin general, believing they exist only for \"greed\" or\"business\" reasons, the latter of which he said shouldcarry a death sentence. He said he returned for the sequel because\"working on the first Ghostbusters was the most fun anyof us had\".

Thecharacter of Janosz Poha, portrayed by Peter MacNicol, was originallycalled Jason and serves as a straight man to the Ghostbusters MacNicol said the role could be played by anyone so he opted to givePoha a backstory in which he is Carpathian. He developed the accentfrom his Czech friend and from observations at a Romanian touristagency. MacNicol wanted to wear a black Beatles wig but the idea wasrejected because many of the cast had dark hair. The character\'saccent was inspired by that of Meryl Streep in the film Sophie\'sChoice (1982). In the script, Poha is not described as having anaccent but MacNicol impressed Reitman with it at his audition.

Maxvon Sydow provided the voice of Vigo; he completed his recordings ina single day. Von Homburg reportedly only learned his voice had beendubbed with von Sydow\'s while watching the premiere and stormed outshortly afterward. He later said his slurred voice, which was causedby a split lip, had been a hindrance in securing acting work. EugeneLevy was cast as Louis\' cousin Sherman, an employee at thepsychiatric ward in which the Ghostbusters are imprisoned. Thecharacter was instrumental in their liberation but his scenes werecut.

Reitmanbegan working on GhostbustersII almost immediately afterdirecting the 1988 comedy film Twins. Principal photographybegan in November 1988, in New York City. The budget was reported tobe between $30 million and $40 million. Filming in New York lastedapproximately two weeks and consisted mostly of exterior shoots.

Thecity authorities were supportive of the project and even granted thecrew permission to film on the Manhattan\'s Second Avenue during aperiod in which access for forty city blocks was restricted becauseof the visit of Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union. Otherlocations include the Statue of Liberty and Firehouse, Hook &Ladder Company 8, the latter of which again served as the exterior ofthe Ghostbusters\' headquarters. The updated Ghostbusters\' businesslogo, which was gifted to the firehouse staff after filming, was hungon the outside of the building but eventually fell off.

TheAlexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House served as the exterior of theManhattan Museum of Art, which housed the Vigo painting. The scene ofAykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson\'s characters emerging from a manholecovered in slime was filmed in front of the building. When he wrotethe scene, Ramis expected the production to use a manhole, but theonly available underground location was a telephone conduit. Space inthe hole was limited, and the actors had to squeeze into it whilecovered in slime. Freezing temperatures combined with the liquidslime made the actors uncomfortable. The following day, they learnedthe cameras had been recording at the wrong speed and they would haveto film the scene again. The scene of the Ghostbusters scanning theintersection where Oscar\'s possessed baby carriage is taken wasfilmed on First Avenue.

Filminghad moved to Los Angeles by late December 1988. Fire Station No. 23again served as the interior of the Ghostbusters\' headquarters.Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills was used for the scene in whichthe Ghostbusters visit the mayor at Gracie Mansion. The scene inwhich the Ghostbusters dig a hole to find the river of slime wasfilmed in downtown Los Angeles. The scene in which a fur coat comesto life and runs away was filmed on a Los Angeles street; it waswritten for the original film but was not used and repurposed forGhostbustersII. Filming concluded on March 7, 1989.Medjuck noted that characters are often seen smoking in Ghostbustersbut a societal change in the intervening years meant this was nolonger acceptable; GhostbustersII does not depict anysmoking.

Followingtest screenings, the principal crew realized there were numerousissues with the film. Reitman said that upon watching the testversion he realized the final 25 minutes of the film \"just dieda horrible death\", so he spent four days filming a new 25-minuteending to replace it. The test screenings identified that audiencesliked the film but felt Vigo did not present a real challenge to theGhostbusters and that their victory was too easy. Test audiences alsothought Vigo, the slime, and the associated ghosts were notsufficiently connected. According to Gross, the audiences were notaware that the slime in the film could be charged by negative orpositive emotions, so scenes were added to better explain this.

Extensivere-shoots were conducted throughout March and April 1989, only twomonths before the film\'s release; these included on-location filmingin New York. GhostbustersII had been scheduled forrelease on the July 4th Independence Day holiday weekend but Reitmanfelt June 23 would work better. When they learned the superhero filmBatman was also being released that day, they asked to move tothe 16th. According to Gross, \"Joe Medjuck and I were turningpale... it did not look possible... It was a realkiller\".

Severalnew scenes were added to increase the sense of urgency and threat tothe Ghostbusters, including the underground ghost train sequence andthe associated severed-heads scare. A scene showing the Ghostbusters\'developed photographs of Vigo bursting into flames, threatening toimmolate them, was also added. Reitman wanted these scenes addedbecause he thought his previous cut of the film focused too much onthe relationship between Murray\'s and Weaver\'s characters. The ghosttrain scene was filmed at the Tunnel night club in New York. It wasadded to create a sense of an unseen force trying to keep theGhostbusters away. Medjuck noted that the added scenes did notrequire extensive special effects. Cheech Marin\'s cameo as a docksupervisor was also added in this period.

Theadditional content replaced some scenes and subplots that were farinto completion and contained finished special effects. Furthershooting was done in Washington Square Park, which was used for themonster moving under the Washington Square Arch. The popularity ofthe film was evident at that time when thousands of people arrivedafter hearing GhostbustersII was being filmed there.They took part in filming, screaming on cue and running to escape themonster. The film\'s final battle with Vigo was reshot, and the waythat Vigo left the painting to confront the Ghostbusters changedcompletely.

Oneof the cut scenes included a subplot in which the Raymond Stantzcharacter is possessed by Vigo following his inspection of the Vigopainting. Raymond erratically drives the Ectomobile until he is freedof Vigo\'s control by Winston. This explained Raymond\'s possession inthe finale. Some of this footage was repurposed into a montage. Therewere also scenes of Louis Tully attempting to capture Slimer, whichtest audiences found intrusive, and Slimer was reduced to twoappearances. Gross said they retained some Slimer scenes for childrenbut that audiences generally had no reaction to the character, whichwas not what they had expected. Because the sequence in which Tully\'scousin frees the Ghostbusters from the psychiatric hospital wasremoved, a scene showing a paranormal eclipse from the Mayor\'s officewas added to explain the Mayor securing their release. Other removedscenes showed Raymond and Egon experimenting with the slime, whichexplained how they learned to manipulate it to control the Statue ofLiberty. A ghost was also removed from the sequence in which theslime causes ghosts to rise across New York because Reitman felt itwas not creepy enough.

RayParker, Jr. helped develop an updated version of his hit song\"Ghostbusters\", which was co-written and performed by hiphop group Run-DMC. Aiming to replicate the success of the original,soundtrack producer Peter Afterman wanted to hire Bobby Brown who hada recent succession of hit songs. To secure Brown\'s involvement,Afterman offered Brown\'s music label, MCA Records, the rights to thesoundtrack. Brown agreed in exchange for receiving a role in thefilm. Filming had nearly concluded at that time, but Reitman wroteBrown a cameo as the mayor\'s doorman. The resulting song, \"OnOur Own,\" was written by L.A. Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons.The music video features appearances by Iman, Jane Curtin, Doug E.Fresh, Christopher Reeve, Malcolm Forbes, Rick Moranis, Donald Trump,and Marky and Joey Ramone.

Brownalso worked alone to write and produce \"We\'re Back\". Othersongs on the soundtrack include \"Flip City\" by Glenn Frey,\"Spirit\" by Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, and\"Love is a Cannibal\" by Elton John. Composer Danny Elfmanwrote a song called \"Flesh \'n Blood\" for the film but wasdisappointed only four musical bars of it were used. He thought thesmall usage was an excuse to be able to release it on the soundtrackand said if he had known he would have pulled the song. Randy Edelmanwas responsible for the film\'s original score.

Aswith his work on Ghostbusters, Reitman had little interest inthe technical side of his film. For the sequel, he employed specialeffects studio Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), giving them arough outline of the plot and the freedom to do as they wanted.Columbia had previously helped Richard Edlund found special effectscompany Boss Film Studios for Ghostbusters, but Reitmanwas reported to be unhappy with their work. Edlund\'s former ILMco-worker Dennis Muren served as the visual effects supervisor.Despite the film\'s intentionally rushed schedule, Muren wanted towork on the film because it would let him design new creatures. Murenadmitted that his designs would not be as original as Ghostbusters\',and instead wanted to make them more flexible and \"ghostly\".The team were originally hired to provide 110 effects shots but thisgrew to 180.

ILMwas also working on special effects for other 1989 releases; Backto the Future Part II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,and The Abyss, but had the most difficulty withGhostbustersII because designs and concepts wereconstantly changing and new scenes were being added. ILM eventuallyrefused to accept any further alterations. As the schedule tightened,ILM had nine teams working every day for four weeks to complete theexpanded 180 shots, and had to outsource some of the extra work toVisual Concept Engineering, Available Light, Character Shop, and theuncredited Tippett Studio. Apogee Productions handled many of theeffects for the reshoots.

Methocel,a vegetable-based gel, was used to create the slime. Food coloringwas added; the colors included green (to match Slimer) and blue.Physical effects supervisor Chuck Gaspar mocked up differentlycolored batches and Reitman settled on pink. The film requiredapproximately 100,000 U.S. gallons (380,000 liters) of slime. Fourcement mixers were kept on-site to mix fresh batches daily because itdeteriorated quickly. Mica dust and mineral oil were added for theriver of slime; the dust added depth to the river while the oilcreated varying shapes on its surface.

Theriver of slime in the Van Horne Pneumatic Transit station was aminiature model with a plexiglass trough 1ft (0.30m) wideand 10ft (3.0m) long. It operated in a gravity pump andwas fed from a large tank 15ft (4.6m) above it. Afterreaching the end of the river, the slime fell into another tank, fromwhich it was fed back to the upper tank. Air injectors andpuppeteered baffles were used to create bubbles and manipulate theslime to flow as though something was moving beneath the surface.Small slime tentacles were created using vinyl-covered sticksoperated from below. The large tentacle was plastic and was filmedagainst a blue screen as it fell away from a stand-in\'s boot. Thefootage was then played in reverse so the tentacle would appear to begrabbing at Aykroyd. The Van Horne scene combined the miniatureriver, matte paintings of the station, and a practical set for stairsleading to a tunnel. The scene in which Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudsonfall into the river was considered one of the most difficult effectsto achieve; the actors were filmed falling from the Van Horne set,which was composited with the miniature river. Hudson\'s characterbeing dragged away by the slime\'s current was filmed against a bluescreen so he would appear in the river; his motion in the river hadto be animated by hand against the river\'s natural movements.

Thereturning Slimer ghost was re-developed to be more child-friendlylike his popular The Real Ghostbusters incarnation. His face,which was controlled with wires and cables in Ghostbusters,was now controlled by servo motors and had a pneumatic jaw. BobbyPorter was hired to wear the Slimer costume until the character wasremoved from the film entirely. A few weeks later, Slimer wasreinserted but by this time, Porter was not available and wasreplaced by Robin Shelby.

TheScoleri Brother ghosts, Tony and Nunzio, were inspired by a pair ofbrothers who robbed Ramis\' father\'s store. Creature designer TimLawrence was influenced by the musical comedy film The BluesBrothers (1980), which starred Aykroyd and featured two brothers,one of whom was tall and thin (Tony) and the other short and fat(Nunzio). The brothers were given a cartoonish design to counter thefilm\'s scary moments. Lawrence aimed to represent the characters\'evil rather than their pre-death appearances. Camilla Hennemancreated most of Nunzio using spandex pouches filled with gelatinousmaterials to make him appear impossibly fat. The costume was worn byLawrence. The impossibly thin Tony was designed as a life-size puppetbut Muren thought this approach would impact the filming schedule.Tony was reworked as a costume that was worn by actor Jim Fye; it wasgiven elongated appendages to appear unnaturally thin.

Theghosts\' faces were articulated with motors and pneumatics created bymechanical animator Al Coulter and his team. Lawrence also developedan animation system to allow the masks to lip-sync dialog. Alongsideearly concepts of the ghosts walking and creating explosive ruptureswith each step, most of these features were abandoned in the finalfilm. Lawrence later said without those features the same effectcould have been created with a one-third-scale puppet. The brothers\'electric chairs were miniatures composited into footage of theseated, costumed actors. Distortion effects such as the ghosts beingsqueezed were created using completed effect shots that wererephotographed through mylar material that could be warped to affectthe underlying image. For the scene in which Nunzio carries theprosecutor upside-down from the courtroom, a stuntwoman was hungupside down on a rail. Reitman wanted her to pass through the doorwaywhile seeing above it. Gaspar\'s team created a passage made of foamabove a door that resembled the iron grill. The foam wasspring-loaded so that when the wire passed through, the set sprangback into place quickly; the effect was hidden behind a composite ofNunzio. Full-scale cutouts of the ghosts were used during filming toaid the actors. Ghostbusters storyboard artist Thom Enriquezstoryboarded the scene; he found the process difficult because thelimited schedule meant the courtroom was being built as he worked. Hewas also restricted by the budget, saying he \"could use onlyfourteen chairs. I could also blow up four pillars and one wall ofglass\".

Theanimated Statue of Liberty was conceived by Aykroyd, who liked theidea of taking a static image and making it move about, comparing itwith seeing the Eiffel Tower moving or Victoria Falls flowing inreverse. The statue\'s role was originally written as a weapon forVigo but this idea did not progress the narrative. The effect was acombination of a costume worn by Fye, miniatures, andlarger-than-life-size elements like the statue\'s crown— which inreality was too small to let the Ghostbusters peer out. The crown wasmounted on a gimbal, allowing it to be pivoted as though its wearerwas walking. Reitman ordered the crown be tilted down further thanthe actors were expecting to elicit from them a genuine reaction ofsurprise. The upper body was modeled and filmed at night in amakeshift pool to show it emerging from the ocean. Fye also portrayedthe ghost of a Central Park jogger.

Toportray the possessed Janosz illuminating a hallway with his eyes,MacNicol was filmed walking down a hallway, which was filmed againwithout lights off Michael Chapman holding a light at the height ofMacNicol\'s head while panning it from side-to-side. Several takeswere done to cover MacNicol\'s gaze. Animators added the beamsemanating from Janosz, including particulate matter to enhance therealism. The \"ghost nanny\" version of Janosz that snatchesOscar from Venkman\'s apartment went through many variations. Duringdevelopment, it was conceived of as a two-headed dragon—an ideathat was dismissed as unoriginal—billboard figures, animatedgargoyles, a phantom taxi, and Santa Claus. A possessed item in theapartment was also considered; this idea inspired the possessedbathtub. MacNicol wore drag as the nanny for closeups and a puppetwas used for wide shots. The ghost\'s extending arm was made fromstretchable plastic tubing covered in fabric.

Welchbuilt the exterior walls and ledge of Venkman\'s apartment to scale;it was positioned 10ft (3.0m) in the air. The ledge wassuperimposed over a matte painting of the full building. The infantactor was secured in a rig that helped him to stand up before hisabduction. The possessed bathtub started as a bubble-bath monsterthat would appear to have thousands of eyes in each bubble; it isdestroyed when Dana drops her hairdryer into the bath. Reitmanpreferred the slime to be the monster. A silicone bath that could beeasily bent was used; from below, Tom Floutz puppeteered a tentaclemade of dielectric gel and reinforced with spandex and china silk,which was covered in slime. A fiberglass maw was inserted in front ofa vacuum tube that sucked the material backward when activated,revealing a mouth. An animated tongue was added later.

TheRMS Titanic was one of the first shots ILM completed; theywanted a powerful image for the scene and considered using theHindenburg airship complete with flaming passengers andluggage, a subway train carrying rotting passengers, and a graveyardwith exploding headstones. A miniature model of the Titanicwith slightly modified aspects; the position of the ship\'s name wasaltered to make it clearly identifiable. Extras were filmed wearingperiod costume, seaweed, and dripping water but many of the minordetails were lost in the wide shot. A scale model of the museum wascreated because Reitman wanted to be able to show the slime oozingfrom cracks and seams. Several last-minute effect shots were addeddue to the hectic schedule. The ghost train was intended to be asubway car but there was no time to find a suitable model and anantique train was used. The severed heads were sourced from multipleplaces; poorer quality heads were placed further away from thecamera. The theater ghost took three weeks to build and required fourpuppeteers. The Washington Square monster was animated in stop motionby Phil Tippett, who accepted the job on the condition that theeffect was no longer than 160 frames, was built on an existing model,and could be done in one take. Tippett was seriously injured in a caraccident during development but continued to work and finished hiseffect in time. The slime-possessed fur coat was achieved using fourcoats with parts controlled with servo motors. ILM considered usinglive animals for the segment but abandoned the idea.

Theconcept for the physical form of the central villain Vigo wentthrough many changes, including a plan to transform him into a largemonstrosity. There was difficulty determining how Vigo would interactoutside his painting. Vigo was intended to have heavier creaturemakeup, but after Von Homburg was cast, his distinctive look meantthe extra makeup was largely unnecessary.

Inearly 1989, ILM contacted Glen Eytchison to develop a painting thatcould come to life. Eytchison specialized in Tableau vivants—theuse of static sets and stationary actors to create the illusion of aflat painting. Muren said while they could have figured out theconcept, they did not have enough time and needed an expert. The aimwas to portray what appeared to be a painting of Vigo that would cometo life to shock the audience. ILM spent months producing concepts ofthe painting\'s look but Reitman rejected them for being too similarto \"Conan [the Barbarian]\". Eytchison and his teamresearched the look of a 16th-century warlord and references theperiod\'s painters to match the contemporaneous art styles.

Eytchison\'steam painted a background and individual items including skies,skulls, and trees on acetate. This allowed Reitman to viewcombinations quickly; he chose his favored design in 15 minutes.Local painter Lou Police produced a painting from this concept;Reitman approved it but Eytchison realized a painting would not berealistic enough to allow them to switch between it and the actor.Eytchison\'s team decided to create a small set resembling thepainting; it had structural elements, including styrofoam skulls, inwhich Von Homburg could stand. Von Homburg\'s costume and the set werepainted by the same team to ensure they had the same texture andblended together.

Oncethe set arrived at ILM, Von Homburg was positioned in it wearing fullcostume, makeup, and prosthetics. Lighting was used to eliminateshadows, creating a flat image. A photograph was then taken andenlarged to be used as the painting. Welch\'s department treated thephotograph to make it closely resemble an oil painting. Scenes of VonHomburg on the set delivering his dialog and stepping out of the setas if leaving the painting were filmed; according to Eytchison, theactor struggled with the action and Reitman did not like the effect.The ending was changed completely, eliminating the living pictureconcept. When Vigo interacts from the painting in the finished film,the image is replaced by Von Homburg\'s disembodied head floating overa miniature river-of-slime set built from foam by ILM. When leavingthe painting, Vigo disappears and materializes into the scene.Another concept had him \"peel\" from the canvas, and anotherhad the slime bring other paintings to life to aid him. A molded maskwas created to represent his inner evil; it was worn by Harold Weedas the possessed version of Aykroyd\'s character.

Ghostbusters\'hardware consultant Stephen Dane was responsible for much of theGhostbusters\' equipment and their vehicle, the Ectomobile; hedesigned new equipment for GhostbustersII in anuncredited role. Dane revised the designs of the proton pack weapons,the ghost trap, and also revised the Ectomobile, which became theEctomobile 1A. Dane designed new equipment including the giga-meter,the slime scooper, and the slime blower—a large tank connected to aslime-spewing nozzle. He re-purposed leftover prop warning labels andsymbols from his work on Blade Runner (1982) to make theequipment look more authentic.

Theslime blower weapons were three times heavier than the proton packs;the tanks did not contain slime, which was pumped through the gunsfrom off-camera. The bulky proton packs, which were considered heavyand uncomfortable during the filming of Ghostbusters, wereredesigned to weigh 28lb (13kg) in comparison with the30lb (14kg) and 50lb (23kg) versions used onthe previous film. The new design offered more comfort while removingsome of the powered effects. Muren\'s team redesigned the proton packneutrino wand beams to be multi-functional, allowing them to be usedas lassos or fishing lines to capture ghosts instead of beingstraight beams. Five remotely controlled baby strollers were used tocreate the possessed stroller in the film\'s opening; motors anddriveshafts were concealed with the stroller\'s chrome body, andbrakes that could stop it immediately or slow it gradually were used.Gaspar employed two-time national miniature-car champion Jay Halseyto drive the stroller; he had to weave it between traffic from up to75ft (23m) away.

Inthe late 1980s, film sequels were still quite rare, but the conceptof the media franchise had quickly developed following the success ofthe original Star Wars trilogy. In 1989, more sequels werereleased than in any previous year, including Indiana Jones andthe Last Crusade, The Karate Kid Part III, Star Trek V:The Final Frontier, and Lethal Weapon 2. Also releasedthat year were original hits that would become popular classics likeUncle Buck, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, When Harry MetSally..., and Dead Poets Society. That year\'s mostanticipated film was Batman, which was scheduled for release aweek after GhostbustersII, and whose logo had becomeubiquitous through a significant marketing campaign aided by itsmega-congomlerate owner Time-Warner. Shortly before its release, a\"major theater chain\" executive said they expectedGhostbustersII to make approximately $150 million duringits run, behind Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($225million) and Batman ($175 million), and ahead of LethalWeapon 2 ($100 million).

GhostbustersIIwas originally scheduled for release in July 1989 but less than threemonths before release, it was brought forward to June to avoid directcompetition with Batman. The premiere of GhostbustersIItook place on June 15, 1989, at Grauman\'s Chinese Theater, with anafter-party that required payment to attend at the HollywoodPalladium; the entrance fees collected were donated to Saint John\'sHealth Center.

GhostbustersIIreceived a wide release on June 16, 1989, in 2,410 theaters, comparedwith the original film\'s opening on 1,339. Compared to Ghostbusters\'$13million opening weekend, GhostbustersII filmearned $29.5million—an average of $12,229 per theater—asthe number one film of the weekend, ahead of the action-adventurefilm Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($11.7million)which was in its fourth week of release and drama film Dead PoetsSociety ($9.1million), which was in its third. Based on itsgross and an average increase in ticket price of 22% sinceGhostbusters\' release, an estimated 2million more peoplewent to see the film\'s opening. It broke the all-time record for aone-day opening with approximately $10million on its openingFriday; it was also the biggest non-holiday opening weekend with$29.5million, narrowly beating Indiana Jones and the LastCrusade\'s opening three-day gross of $29.4million.

GhostbustersII\'srevenue was exceeded the following weekend by Batman\'s$15.6million opening day takings, and $43.6millionopening weekend earnings earned from 2,194 theaters. GhostbustersIIearned another $13.8million—a 53% drop from the previousweekend—bringing its 10-day total to $58.8million, putting itin third place behind Batman and another new release, theMoranis-starring comedy film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids($14.3million), which was bolstered by a heavily marketedseven-minute Roger Rabbit short film playing before it. Thisweekend gross saw GhostbustersII contribute to thehighest-grossing weekend ever at the time, with total box officetakings of $92million across all theaters.

Comparedto the original Ghostbusters\' seven-week run at number one,GhostbustersII never regained the top slot, falling tonumber four in its third week behind the debuting drama The KarateKid Part III, and to number 5 in its fourth week behind theaction film Lethal Weapon 2 and black comedy Weekend atBernie\'s, both of which were new releases. GhostbustersIIleft the top-ten-grossing films by its seventh week and was removedfrom cinemas entirely by late-September after fifteen weeks. Intotal, GhostbustersII earned $112.5million inNorth America, less than half that of the original\'s revenue, makingit the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year, behind Back tothe Future Part II ($118.4million), Lethal Weapon 2($147.3million), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids($130.7million), Look Who\'s Talking ($140.1million),and the highest domestic grossing film of that year, Batman($251.2million).

OutsideNorth America, GhostbustersII is estimated to haveearned approximately $102.9million, nearly doubling theoriginal\'s overseas takings and raising its worldwide total to$215.4million. This figure makes it the eighth-highest-grossingfilm worldwide of 1989, falling approximately $67million shortof Ghostbusters\' original theatrical revenue.

GhostbustersIIreceived generally negative reviews from critics, but audiencesresponded much more positively; CinemaScore polls reported thatmoviegoers gave an average rating of \"A-\" on a scale of A+to F.

DaveKehr and USA Today\'s Mike Clark were critical of attempts atmaking the Ghostbusters more mature which made the film feel \"tired\"and lacking in surprises. They said that Ghostbusters hadsucceeded by projecting childlike fantasies onto adult characters whosnubbed authority and bonded in a clubhouse, but by taking a surrealcomedic fantasy and adding humanity to the central characters, thesequel had become \"Four Ghostbusters and a Baby\", areference to the 1987 comedy film Three Men and a Baby. RogerEbert called it a disappointment, saying he reviewed GhostbustersIIin a public screening and heard no laughter during the entire film.

Severalreviewers criticized the film for too closely emulating the structureand story elements of its predecessor. Gene Siskel called it a poorcopy that offered nothing new, as though they \"were filming thefirst draft of a script\". Richard Schickel was critical of theglut of sequels in 1989 in his review. He said that GhostbustersIIoffered only slight variations over the original without furtherdeveloping the characters, and had a \"shamelessly\" similarending. Time Out echoed sentiments that the film largelyretraced the events of its predecessor, and the addition of an infantcame across as a convenience. Desson Thomson said GhostbustersIIfelt like an extended version of its predecessor without as manyimpressive special effects. Writing for Empire, William Thomassaid the script was sharp but certainly aimed towards entertainingyounger audience members.

SheilaBenson praised the film and said its denouement was superior to thatof the original. She appreciated that despite being a sequel, it didnot rely on inside jokes that might alienate audiences and that theinterplay between the actors felt inclusive. Hal Hinson said thatwhile \"big and dumb and clunky\" like the first film,GhostbustersII offered more personality. Hinsonconsidered sequels to be generally lazy and reliant on the success ofthe previous film, but felt that GhostbustersII lookedbetter and was confident enough to experiment with the sourcematerial. He was criticized what he saw as a lack of tension and plotdevelopment. Vincent Canby said the film was funnier and not as\"oppressively extravagant\" as Ghostbusters; hebelieved the plot lacked depth but that the overall tone of the filmwas \"remarkably cheerful\".

Somereviewers found the film to be poorly paced, leaving scenes feelingoverlong, and that its best moments felt both few and infrequent.Others echoed this sentiment, saying that it lacked the energy ofGhostbusters, and was too laid back. Writing for The Globeand Mail, Rick Groen considered the film self-important andmediocre, and criticized Reitman\'s direction for lacking visualimagination. The film\'s special effects generally received praise.Benson called them \"impressive\", and Caroll highlightedmoments like the ghostly, resurrected Titanic, but she feltthat the creatures lacked any real menace. According to Variety,the film\'s slime and visuals would appeal to children, while adultscould appreciate the witty dialogue.

UnlikeGhostbusters, reviewers were more conflicted over Murray\'sperformance in the sequel. Kehr said that his performance retained\"bright\" moments, but he seemed less energetic than in hisprevious film Scrooged. Rosenbaum concurred, stating that theactor\'s trademark comedic indifference seemed to be lackingcommitment, and Caroll said that his well-received performance inGhostbusters had been replaced by a \"smug swagger andconstant smirking\" that she found irritating. Varietyconsidered his character is central to the film because of hisad-libbed dialog, and Groen argued that Murray essentially carriedthe film alone. Hinson said that Murray\'s comedic performance wasvital to tempering the film from becoming over-sentimental whendiscussing battling negativity with positivity.

Thomasclaimed that the previous film had allowed Murray\'s character to bealoof, selfish, and immature, while GhostbustersIIpushed him towards being in a mature relationship and demonstratinggenuine human warmth, which he felt did not work. Benson commentedthat Murray\'s and Weaver\'s characters felt unconnected and more likerivals than lovers. Thomas and Siskel said that the film\'s emphasison this romantic subplot was to its detriment, both occupying toomuch of its runtime and largely removing Murray from the actionscenes. Clark lamented that Weaver was underutilized in astereotypical working mother role.

MacNicol\'sperformance was consistently praised. Groen, who was critical of muchof the cast for lackluster performances, said that his \"wickedlyfunny\" performance was the film\'s sole surprising feature. Canbyand Kehr concurred on MacNicol being a highlight of the film, Thomassaying that his character would be impersonated by childreneverywhere. Carroll called it a \"deliriously over-the-topperformance\". Moranis was also singled out for his comedicperformance. Kehr and Clark appreciated the \"rewarding\"romantic subplot between his character and Potts\'. Thomson said thatthe film\'s best moments, provided by Murray, Moranis, and Aykroyd,were too few, which left him wanting more.

Financially,GhostbustersII was a relative success but it failed tomeet studio expectations as a sequel to the highest-grossing comedyof all time. Despite being predicted to outperform its rival filmsbefore its release it failed to do so. As a part of the mostsuccessful summer for film to that date, GhostbustersIIwas seen as a critical and commercial failure; it also failed togarner the same passionate response from critics and fans as itspredecessor. While Columbia did not comment, industry expertsbelieved the film was undone, at least partly, by the combination ofBatman attracting teenage audiences and Honey, I Shrunk theKids taking family audiences. Another issue was the quantity offilms being released close together and unexpected successes thatmeant films were staying in theaters longer than anticipated. By onlymid-July, one theater was alternating GhostbustersII andThe Karate Kid III on the same screen because of theirdiminishing returns to play Batman and Lethal Weapon 2on other screens.

Reitmanblamed changes in what audiences wanted from films. He said he feltcontemporaneous society was more negative and cynical, and noted thepopularity of Batman, which had a darker tone whereasGhostbustersII is more positive, particularly itsupbeat, optimistic ending that shows New Yorkers coming together tohelp defeat Vigo. Reitman also felt the novelty of Ghostbusterscould not be repeated because big surprises like ghosts and epicfinales were now expected. In 2014, he said, \"It didn\'t all cometogether... we just sort of got off on the wrong footstory-wise on that film\". Reviewers often noted that the filmlargely resembles its predecessor down to the story structure, agiant figure stomping through New York, and a mid-film montage set toa theme song. Some noted that releasing a film set at Christmas inJune may also have worked against it. It has also been suggested thefive-year gap between films worked against it, both losing themomentum generated by the original and setting expectations too high.This period also allowed a potential cultural saturation of the brandthrough the cartoon series and merchandise.

Reitmanwas disappointed with GhostbustersII\'s performance andsaid making the film had not been as much fun an experience asworking on Ghostbusters. He told Columbia he would not be partof a third film, and intended to break from comedies altogether. In a2008 interview, Murray said, \"We did a sequel and it was sort ofrather unsatisfying for me, because the first one to me was...the real thing... They\'d written a whole different movie thanthe one [initially discussed]. And the special-effects guys gotit... There were a few great scenes in it, but it wasn\'t thesame movie.\" Moranis said, \"To have something as offbeat,unusual, and unpredictable [as] the first Ghostbusters, it\'snext to impossible to create something better. [And] with sequels...they want better.\" Much as with the first film, Hudson wasdisappointed his role was relatively small. In Ghostbusters,many of his major scenes had been given to Murray who wasbetter-known, and Hudson felt the sequel continued to marginalize hischaracter. He affirmed that despite this, he appreciated the rolebecause of the positive way in which fans have reacted to it.

GhostbustersIIwas released on VHS on November 22, 1989, only shortly after the endof its theatrical run. Since the early 1980s, home media was normallyreleased at least six months after films launched in theaters, and inthe case of blockbusters like GhostbustersII and Batman,anywhere from nine to twelve months later. To take advantage of theChristmas season, GhostbustersII, Batman, andWhen Harry Met Sally... were all released before the end ofthe year. The GhostbustersII VHS was priced at $90 andaimed towards rentals rather than individual purchases. The filmentered the rental chart at number 10 and by late December it peakedas the second top VHS rental behind Batman. The release wascontroversial for the use of letterboxing—the process oftransferring a film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio tostandard-width video formats while preserving the film\'s originalaspect ratio—which cropped much of the video shown on screen. A DVDversion was released in 1999.

Blu-raydisc editions were released to celebrate the film\'s 25th and 30thanniversaries in 2014 and 2019 respectively; the film was remasteredand the releases feature 4K resolution video, deleted scenes,alternate takes, and an interview with Aykroyd and Reitman. The30th-anniversary version was packaged in a limited-edition steel bookcover, and also included Ghostbusters and commentary byReitman, Aykroyd, and producer Joe Medjuck.

Theoriginal soundtrack of GhostbustersII was first releasedon compact disc in 1989. Brown\'s song \"On Our Own\" was anumber-one song on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songsmusic chart for one week in early August before being replaced byBatman\'s own hit song \"Batdance\" by Prince. \"OnOur Own\" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100chart, again behind Batdance, and later behind \"RightHere Waiting\" by Richard Marx. \"On Our Own\" spent 20weeks on the chart. The Run-DMC version of \"Ghostbusters\"failed to develop the same level of enduring fandom as Parker, Jr.\'soriginal. In 2014, the Run-DMC version was released on aspecial-edition, white vinyl record that was presented in amarshmallow-scented jacket. The record also contains the Parker, Jr.version of the song and was released to celebrate the 30th and 25thanniversaries of Ghostbusters and GhostbustersIIrespectively. The same year, the soundtrack was first released indigital format.

Severalelements of GhostbustersII deal with the consequences ofactions. Instead of being lauded as heroes after defeating Gozer, theGhostbusters are driven out of business because of the associateddestruction they caused. The slime amasses beneath the city as aconsequence of negative emotions projected by New Yorkers. Whenwriting the script, Aykroyd and Ramis wanted to show that negativityhad a lasting impact on the person inflicting it or the one receivingit. Aykroyd noted that, at the time, he considered major cities to beplaces where danger was rife and life held little value. Writing forMashable in 2019, Pravit Chatterjee argues that this theme ismore relevant in the contemporary age of social media and hatespeech.

Similarly,positivity is presented as a uniquely powerful force. Their previouscombined efforts defeated Gozer, a demi-god, but the Ghostbusters arecompletely powerless against Vigo and the accumulated negativityfuelling him. It is only when the citizens gathered outside themuseum unite to sing a chorus of \"Auld Lang Syne\" thattheir positivity overwhelms Vigo, allowing the Ghostbusters to defeathim. In 2016, A. Bowdoin van Riper wrote that while destruction-heavyfilms set in New York made before the September 11 terrorist attackhad taken on darker, unintended meanings, GhostbustersIIwas now more relevant. Its ending, which can be seen as \"hokey\"or false, now seemed \"touchingly real\". Murray described itas a \"story about innocence restored, and good values, and thepower of faith in ordinary people.\" Unlike Ghostbusters,GhostbustersII lauds the values of community and familyover their Ghostbusters\' personal successes. Indeed, theGhostbusters\' involvement in the sequel comes from the threat totheir personal acquaintance Dana Barrett and her son. They are drawnout of retirement and break the rules of their legal settlement withthe city to help, despite the lack of financial rewards and thepersonal risk to themselves.

GhostbustersIIis among many films released during the 1980s and 1990s that dealtwith issues of fatherhood; these included Three Men and a Baby(1987), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Uncle Buck(1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Parenthood (1989),Hook (1991), and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). These filmtypes appeared among their respective release years\' highest-grossingfilms, and focus on redeeming or celebrating the concept offatherhood in different forms from warm and friendly toauthoritarian. These father figures are initially unprepared fortheir responsibility. Nicole Matthews argues that the need to presenta film targeted at both adults and children leads to the centralcharacters being infantilized and immature. These films each share asimilar concept, that female characters are either absent or notimportant to the overall story. GhostbustersII\'s drivingplot is ostensibly about a mother (Dana Barrett) trying to protecther son who is the target of a malevolent force. Instead, it becomesabout Peter Venkman and his relationship to the child, bothrepresenting a surrogate paternal figure and lamenting that he is notthe child\'s biological father. The film focuses on moments ofpaternal tenderness such as Venkman using his treasured footballshirt to clothe Oscar. This focus is evident during the film\'s finalewhere Vigo\'s portrait is replaced by an image of the Ghostbusters asfour paternal figures surrounding Oscar, with no female present.Instead a sword is depicted penetrating a stone; a symbol offertility.

Aswith the previous film, GhostbustersII criticizespolitical institutions. The team actively questions authority in adeteriorating city filled with unhappy people. Governmentrepresentatives are shown to be more concerned with proper processesthan the imminent threat of the ghosts. They are shown to beincompetent or pursuing an agenda of self-interest that means theycannot be trusted to protect the people they represent. TheGhostbusters\' outspokenness results in them being sent to apsychiatric institution to silence them. The Ghostbusters are freedfrom the governmental bonds—the legal requirements barring themfrom operating as paranormal exterminators—but only while they aresolving more problems than they create. Christine Alice Corcosdescribes the courtroom scene, in which the executed Scoleribrothers\' return to wreak havoc, as a demonstration of the failure ofthe legal system. The government must again empower the Ghostbustersto deal with the problem, reaffirming the team\'s personal libertyover government influence. Corcos also analyzed the slime as a symbolof pollution. The human soul is polluted by negativity, which isgiven a physical form as slime beneath the city until there is toomuch for the Earth to handle. Zoila Clark considered the ghosts torepresent immigrants to America. Several antagonists and ghostlyforces are foreign—the Scoleri brothers, the passengers of theTitanic, Janosz, and Vigo. Vigo is compared to Count Dracula, athreatening foreign entity that hypnotizes subjects with his eyes,and aims to take an American woman for his own. The Statue of Libertyis of French origin and although it is described as a symbol ofpurity, Murray\'s character sexualizes it, defining it outside theAmerican stereotype of purity.

Sinceits release, GhostbustersII has been labeled as the filmthat \"killed\" the franchise because it made less money froma larger budget than Ghostbusters and because the filmingexperience and resulting reception dissuaded Murray from involvementin a third film. While some modern critics continue to criticize itas a bad film or inferior to its predecessor, it may only seem thatway in comparison with Ghostbusters and is otherwise aboveaverage. In a 2014 interview, Reitman defended the film, saying whileit was unfairly compared with Batman at the time, he feltGhostbustersII still holds up well against the superherofilm.

DigitalSpy defended the film as being as good as or better thanGhostbusters. It said the plot of GhostbustersIIis arguably better executed than that of the first film, withmultiple threads coming together in a \"seamless\" third actwith a positive ending that works better with modern audiences. Denof Geek compared it to sequels to other genre-specific classics likeBack to the Future Part II and Indiana Jones and the Templeof Doom (1984), which were considered not as good as the originalbut as good films in their own right, while GhostbustersIIis perceived as being a bad film despite a close similarity to theoriginal. Deadspin said that like those aforementioned films,GhostbustersII\'s darker setpieces and comedy made itmore suited for adults than children, but that it is better than mostpeople remember. Uproxx called it the ideal film to watch during theNew Year period because it offers an unsubtle, but simple moralitytale about treating others well.

Contemporaryreview aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes offers a 54% approvalrating from 39 critics—an average rating of 5.34/10. The site\'sconsensus reads, \"Thanks to the cast, Ghostbusters 2 isreasonably amusing, but it lacks the charm, wit, and energy of itspredecessor\". The film has a score of 56 out of 100 onMetacritic based on 14 critical reviews, indicating \"mixed oraverage reviews\". In 2009, Den of Geek listed it as theeighteenth best blockbuster sequel of all time.

Filmmerchandising was a relatively new concept created mainly by thesuccess of the Star Wars series. Merchandising forGhostbusters was unsuccessful; toys in particular sold poorlyuntil the release of the cartoon spin-off The Real Ghostbusters.Sequels were seen as a brighter prospect because they are based onestablished characters. Over 24 tie-in toys were released alongsidethe film including water guns, colored slimes, coloring books,comics, and children\'s meals. Ghostbusters action figures werethe fifth-most in-demand toy for the 1989 Christmas season accordingto a survey of 15,000 retailers. Approximately 2.8 million units of apromotional noisemaker toy called the \"Ghostblaster\", whichwas released across 3,100 outlets of the fast-food restaurantHardee\'s, were recalled in June 1989 because of reports children wereingesting its small batteries. Now Comics released a three-part comicbook miniseries adaptation of the film set in The RealGhostbusters cartoon universe. The story included subplots fromthe film including Ray\'s possession while driving the Ectomobile andTully trying to capture Slimer.

Severalvideo games were released around the release of the film;GhostbustersII in 1989 for personal computers,GhostbustersII (published by Activision) in 1990 for theNintendo Entertainment System (NES), and New Ghostbusters II(as GhostbustersII), also in 1990 for the Nintendo GameBoy. New GhostbustersII was also released for the NES inEurope and Japan but could not be released in America becauseActivision held the rights to the game there.

Sinceits release, GhostbustersII merchandise has includedPlaymobil sets with action figures and a model of the Ectomobile 1A.A board game, Ghostbusters: The Board Game II, was released in2017 by Cryptozoic Entertainment. Based on the film, it casts theplayers as the Ghostbusters and tasks them with defeating Vigo andhis ghostly minions. The game\'s creation was crowdfunded, raisingover $760,000. The 2019 Halloween Horror Nights event at UniversalStudios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida held a\'Ghostbusters-themed haunted maze that featured locations,characters, and ghosts from Ghostbusters, and the ScoleriBrothers.

Discussionabout a sequel took place during filming of GhostbustersII,but Ramis was dismissive because of both the actors\' ages and thedifficulty in getting all of the cast together. DespiteGhostbustersII\'s relative failure, the name recognitionand popularity of the actors and their characters meant a third filmwas still pursued. The concept failed to progress for many yearsbecause Murray was reluctant to participate. The Real Ghostbustersseries continued to air until 1991 and ended after seven seasons;according to Medjuck, the cartoon series technically took place afterthe events of GhostbustersII. The Real Ghostbusterswas followed in 1997 by a sequel series called ExtremeGhostbusters, which aimed to reinvigorate the franchise butlasted for only one season. In the years that followed the release ofGhostbustersII, Aykroyd continued his attempts todevelop a film sequel throughout the 1990s to the early 2010s. By1999, he had completed a 122-page concept for a sequel calledGhostbusters III: Hellbent, which would add several newcharacters and take them to ManHellton—a demonic version ofManhattan—where they would encounter the demon Lucifer.

In2009, Ghostbusters: The Video Game featuring story consultingby Ramis and Aykroyd, and the likenesses and voice acting of Murray,Aykroyd, Ramis, Hudson, Potts, and Atherton, was released. Set twoyears after GhostbustersII, the story follows theGhostbusters training a new recruit (the player) to combat a ghostlythreat related to Gozer. The game was well-received, earning awardnominations for its storytelling. Aykroyd said the game is\"essentially the third movie\". The game establishes thatfollowing the events of GhostbustersII thestill-possessed portrait of Vigo became a decoration at theGhostbusters\' firehouse. Ghostbusters: The Return (2004) wasthe first in a planned series of sequel novels before the publisher,iBooks, went out of business. Several Ghostbusters comic bookshave also continued the original characters\' adventures across theglobe and in other dimensions.

FollowingRamis\'s death in 2014, Reitman chose to no longer serve as directorfor a potential third film. He decided the creative control shared byhimself, Ramis, Aykroyd, and Murray was holding the franchise backand negotiated a deal with the studio to sell the rights. Reitmanspent two weeks persuading Murray. Reitman refused to release detailsabout the deal but said, \"the creators would be enriched for therest of our lives, and for the rest of our children’s lives\".He and Aykroyd set up a production company called Ghost Corps tocontinue and expand the franchise, starting with the 2016 female-ledreboot, Ghostbusters, which was directed by Paul Feig andstarred Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and KateMcKinnon as the Ghostbusters. Before its release, the film was besetby controversies and on release it attracted mixed reviews and waslater considered a box office bomb. A second, direct sequel to theoriginal two films, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, was announced inJanuary 2019, with Reitman\'s son Jason serving as director. Thissequel was written by him and Gil Kenan, and is scheduled for a March2021 release. Several members of the original cast are set to appearin the film alongside new cast members Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard,Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd.

1989 Topps Ghostbusters II Box

$35.00

Ghostbusters II Coca-Cola Pen #1d19d8

$190.88

Giftset Ghostbusters II Movie Murray Aykroyd Ramis view-master viewer & 3 reels

$249.00