I recently wrote about the original Ghostbusters film celebrating its 40th anniversary. Well, we can’t leave out Ghostbusters II, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary today! I wasn’t yet alive in 1984, therefore have zero memories of the original film coming out, but when Ghostbusters II was released in the Summer of ’89, I was just a few months shy of turning 4 years old, so my memories are quite clear. Mind you, I didn’t see it right away due to being too young. My earliest memory of actually watching the film would be when it aired as part of the ABC Sunday Night Movie in the Summer of 1994.
Despite not seeing it right away in the Summer of ’89, I do remember the hype, and all of the cool memorabilia that my mother got me to compensate for not being able to go see it.
So, in celebration of 35 years of Ghostbusters II, I’d like to shine a light on these items, which I still have to this day…
Coloring Book (1988, Honey Bear Books)
While it’s not in the best condition, I was happy to recently unearth this original GB2 coloring book from my parents’ basement. I’ve had this since the film’s release, therefore I won’t show photos of the inside pages because it ain’t pretty (remember, I was barely 4 years old, so staying within the lines was a foreign concept to me).
What’s worth mentioning about this particular book is that the publisher did not have the rights to the actors’ likenesses, so NONE of the Ghostbusters look like they do in the movie, and I found this EXTREMELY confusing as a child. I can remember my sister Caroline trying to convince me “That’s Peter, and that’s Egon…“, and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. They didn’t even look like their cartoon counterparts from The Real Ghostbusters! For instance, Ray (originally played by Dan Aykroyd) now inexplicably has a mustache, and Egon (Harold Ramis) kind of looks like an anime character with a full head of hair. They didn’t even bother to give him glasses, which didn’t make sense to me then, and it still doesn’t make sense to me now. Peter (Bill Murray) almost looks like a modern day John Cena. I’m telling you, this book is WILD!
Another interesting thing about this coloring book is that it contains scenes that didn’t make it into the final cut of the film. The book also dates back to 1988, one year before the film’s release, so it’s possible that they were using an early script of the film, before any of those scenes were cut. We’ll address these deleted scenes again a little later. Stay tuned.
Door Handle Hanger
This cool item could be seen hanging on my bedroom door handle from 1989 all the way through the ’90s, and even very early 2000’s. Then, sometime in the mid-2000s, I tucked it away in a box for reasons that aren’t really clear to me. Maybe I thought Ghostbusters II just wasn’t a cool thing to have displayed now that I was in my early 20s? Well, not to worry, because I have rescued it during a recent visit to my parents’ house, and I have brought it home with me. One day, when I can finally afford a house, my plan is to eventually have a room dedicated to my extensive movie collection, and what would be more perfect to hang on the door handle than this bad boy?
Ghostbusters II Button
It’s a bit of a blur (we are going back 35 years after all), but I have a vague memory of my mother buying this GB2 button for me during a family trip to Moncton, New Brunswick (where I actually reside now, funnily enough).
For years, I had it tucked away with the rest of our button collection, but around 2005 or so, I took it out and proudly displayed it on my backpack. So, in the past (almost) 20 years, it’s gotten a bit faded and discolored, but I still love it and find that the wear and tear gives it a bit of a personality…
Trading Card #38 (The Topps Company, Inc.)
In the 1980s, when a big movie was released, you best believe that it was going to get its own series of trading cards. Ghostbusters II was no exception, and they received their own trading card line, released by Topps. I can remember getting a pack of said cards back in ’89. If I remember correctly, each pack came with five cards, a sticker, and a stick of bubble gum. The complete set consisted of 88 cards and 11 stickers.
Somehow, the only card I still have in my possession is card #38, which was actually part 5 of 5 of the “We’re Back!” TV commercial seen in the movie.
What’s funny is that, after all of these years, I can remember some of the other cards I had in that pack (#11 – Janosz’ Secret, #62 – Oscar In a Jam), and I can even remember the sticker I had, which was #4 of 11, “Slimer Happy“, but I couldn’t tell you what happened to them, or how I ended up with just the one card, but I’m happy to at least have that one, even though it’s seen better days.
Comic Book Adaptation by NOW Comics
Unlike all of the items listed so far, I didn’t get these comic books in the Summer of 1989, but rather many years later. Issues 1 & 3 were found at a pawn shop in Bathurst NB is the Spring of 2008, and I wouldn’t get issue #2 until coming across it at The Comic Hunter, Moncton NB, in the Spring of 2011.
This adaptation is cool because, while it also didn’t use the original actors’ likenesses, it instead went with the characters’ counterparts from The Real Ghostbusters animated series, which was a brilliant idea!
Much like the coloring book, it seems to have been adapted from an early version of the script and features scenes that would eventually be cut from the final film. The most notable of these scenes is the one where Ray gets possessed by Vigo after investigating the painting at the museum, and proceeds to drive the Ecto-1A recklessly, almost killing the entire Ghostbusters team. Bits of this scene were eventually spliced into the montage sequence of the film (where the Ecto-1A runs a red light, leaving Egon and Peter with stunned looks on their faces), but the full scene has never been released.
I was hoping that it would be included in The Ultimate Collection 4K box-set released in 2022, but while that set featured many deleted scenes from GB2 (including a long lost scene involving Eugene Levy as Louis’ cousin, Sherman), the possession scene was nowhere to be found, leading me to believe that the original print has been lost forever.
There you have it, folks! My Ghostbusters II memorabilia. I’ve always liked this sequel. Sure, it’s not *as* good as the original, because that film is just impossible to beat, but I see it as being not too far behind. Call it nostalgia, but I always have fun while watching Ghostbusters II, as I love seeing the whole gang back together. Additionally, an actor that I feel doesn’t get enough recognition is Peter MacNicol as museum director Janosz Poha. His performance and accent just add to the humor of the film and he never fails to get a chuckle out of me.
“Everything you are doing is bad. I want you to know this.” – Janosz Poha
As usual, thanks for reading, and if you find yourself with some spare time today, why not pop in Ghostbusters II and give it a watch? Cheers, Ghost-Heads!
Explore more of my Ghostbusters-related content:
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) | Teaser Reaction
Review | The Real Ghostbusters: The Animated Series DVD Set (2017, Sony Pictures Home Ent.)
First Impressions Review | Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
My Real Ghostbusters Toy Collection from Kenner (Past & Present)
“The Real Ghostbusters” Returns to Broadcast Television this Month
Who You Gonna Call? Gremlins. (A 40th Anniversary Retrospective)
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