Netflix has become a go-to destination for animation in all its forms, with more than 130M members around the world watching a variety of animated titles every month. And anime fandom continues to grow at Netflix where programming topped more than 1.5B views in 2025.

Today’s announcements follow an unprecedented year for Netflix Animation, with the triumphant KPop Demon Hunters taking home a history-making two Oscars® and becoming Netflix’s most popular film of all time, spending over a year in Netflix’s Global Top 10*; 13 Annie Awards wins including three for Love, Death + Robots; and Ultraman: Rising nabbing the Children and Family Emmys for Outstanding Animated Special and Sound Mixing & Sound Editing for an Animated Program.

Film

IN WAVES

IN WAVES – Cr: Courtesy of Netflix © Silex Films – France 3 Cinéma – Gao Shan Pictures – Charades productions – Panique! – 2026

Release date: December 11, 2026

Logline: In Los Angeles, AJ, a shy teenager, meets Kristen. She lives for surfing; he loves skateboarding and drawing. They fall madly in love, and a happy future seems within reach. But everything changes when Kristen faces a sudden illness. Together, they face adversity, driven by the strength of their love, their friends, and their newly shared passion for surfing and the ocean.

Director: Phuong Mai Nguyen
Writers: Fanny Burdino, Samuel Doux (Based on the graphic novel by AJ Dungo)
Producers: Priscilla Bertin, Judith Nora
Cast: Will Sharpe, Stephanie Hsu

RAY GUNN

RAY GUNN – Raymond Gunn (Sam Rockwell) and Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson). Cr: Skydance Animation ©2026

Release date: December 18, 2026

Logline: In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.

Director: Brad Bird
Producers: John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Lisa Beroud
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits
Animation Studio: Skydance Animation

THE RIBBON HERO

Release date: August 8, 2026

LOGLINE: Yuki Igarashi, regarded as one of the industry’s most versatile animators, directs the film. He first drew wide attention for the sophisticated animation he handled alone as key animator on the ending sequence of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1. His directorial debut, Star Wars: Visions – Lop & Ochō, received high praise in Japan and abroad for its delicate storytelling and dynamic action scenes. THE RIBBON HERO marks Igarashi’s first time directing a feature-length film.

Bringing together a team of highly skilled creators, the film depicts the story of a lone hero who chooses to defy a harsh destiny, set in a delicately crafted world and brought to life through polished action.

Director: Yuki Igarashi
Inspired By: “Princess Knight” by Osamu Tezuka
Original Character Design: Kei Mochizuki
Character Design Cooperation: Mai Yoneyama
Animation Character Design: Issei Arakaki
Art Director: Cedric Herole
Production Company: Twin Engine
Animation Studio: Outline

STEPS

STEPS – (Top to Bottom) Lilith (Ali Wong), Cinderella (Amanda Seyfried) and Margot (Stephanie Hsu). Cr: Netflix Animation © 2026

Release date: November 20, 2026

Synopsis: Think you know Cinderella’s “evil” stepsisters? Think again. Sick of living in Cinderella’s shadow, Lilith (Ali Wong) steals the Fairy Godmother (Bette Midler)’s magic wand and hijacks the Royal Ball with her sister Margot (Stephanie Hsu), breaking the Cinderella story as we know it and dooming the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of Priscilla (Nikki Glaser), a villainous schemer who swoops in and snatches the throne. Now, Lilith must team up with Cinderella (Amanda Seyfried) to fight biker trolls, outrun evil henchmen, and escape the Screaming Woods on an epic quest to save the kingdom, but most importantly, their relationship.

Produced by: Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell, Kim Lessing. Poehler and Lessing producing for Paper Kite Productions.
Screenplay By: Ava Tramer, James Madejski, Jen Chuck, Dana Schwartz, Felicia Ho
Story By: Ava Tramer, James Madejski, Dana Schwartz, Felicia Ho, Riki Lindhome, Kate Micucci
Cast: Ali Wong, Amanda Seyfried, Stephanie Hsu, Nikki Glaser, Bette Midler
Animation Studio: Netflix Animation Studios

Series

ALLEY CATS

Alley Cats. (L to R) Jo Hartley as Kitten, Diane Morgan as Olive, Ricky Gervias as Gus, David Earl as Puke, Andrew Brooke as Fang, Tom Basden as Ponce, in Alley Cats. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026

Release date: August 7, 2026

Synopsis: Alley Cats is a sitcom created by and starring the multi-award-winning Ricky Gervais. The adult animation follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of society, who seek companionship while ruminating on everyday life. From the funny to the absurd, the series is packed with Gervais’ signature style of heart and social commentary that audiences have come to expect.

Creator and Director: Ricky Gervais
Co-director: Elliot Dear
Executive Producers: Ricky Gervais of Derek Productions, Steven Hamilton Shaw of Shush Creative. James Stevenson Bretton and Ben Lole for Blink Industries.
Producer: Hugo Donkin
Production Designer: Tang Heng
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Tom Basden, Andrew Brooke, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Jo Hartley, Diane Morgan, and also featuring Natalie Cassidy and Tony Way
Animation Studio: Blink Industries

GHOSTBUSTERS: NIGHT SHIFT

Ghostbusters: Night Shift – Visual Development Art. Cr: Sony Pictures Animation ©2026

Release date: 2027

Logline: New York City, 1994 — Five years after the Ghostbusters took the Statue of Liberty for a walk, a new wave of supernatural terror hits the Big Apple, forcing a group of scrappy, young New Yorkers — untrained, underappreciated, and kinda sorta responsible for the problem — to put on proton packs, face their fears, and bust some ghosts.

Executive Producers: Ben Hibon, Elliott Kalan, Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan, Amie Karp, and Dan Aykroyd

THE ONE PIECE

The One Piece (Image: Netflix)

Release date: February 2027

Original manga by: Eiichiro Oda (Weekly Shonen Jump, Shueisha)

Synopsis: Produced by WIT Studio, THE ONE PIECE is a brand new anime adaptation starting from the very beginning of the original manga’s East Blue saga. Separate from the TV anime series that has charged full speed ahead over the course of more than 25 years, this series taps into the expressive potential of modern technology to offer a familiar yet fresh take on the adventures of Luffy.

Director: Masashi Koizuka
Assistant Director: Hideaki Abe
Series Composition: Taku Kishimoto
Character Design & Chief Animation Directors: Kyoji Asano, Takatoshi Honda
Creature Design & Image Boards: Yasuhiro Kajino
Prop Design: Eri Taguchi
Action Animators: Ken Imaizumi, Shuhei Fukuda
Art Director: Tomonori Kuroda
Animation Producer: Ryoma Kawamura
Animation Studio: WIT STUDIO

*The first non-Disney/Pixar animated film ever to win more than one, and Netflix’s second animated film to win the Oscar in 4 years.

The post Annecy 2026: Netflix previews its animation slate for 2026 and beyond appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

• Showrunner Eric Robles teased, behind closed doors, a world exclusive of the highly anticipated Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 animated series. Welcoming us back to Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, the epic new show sees the original characters fighting new monsters and unraveling a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town. Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 features a cutting-edge animation style by Flying Bark. Robles said: “We’re beyond excited to unveil this years-long secret project. The animated series will present a captivating new mystery, deeply rooted in the Stranger Things universe. It will propel beloved characters into an adventure that will stretch the limits of action, suspense, and horror, perfectly suited for animation.”

IN YOUR DREAMS – In Your Dreams is a comedy adventure about Stevie (12) and her little brother Elliot (8) who journey into the absurd landscape of their own dreams. If the siblings can withstand a snarky stuffed giraffe, zombie breakfast foods, and the queen of nightmares, the Sandman will grant them their ultimate dream come true… the perfect family. Cr: Netflix © 2025

• Emmy® Award-winner and first-time feature director, Alex Woo, production designer Steven Pilcher and VFX supervisor Nicola Lavender enchanted audiences with extensive footage from In Your Dreams. Woo also debuted the teaser trailer a few hours before its global debut. The film releases on Netflix on November 14. Woo said of his first Annecy experience: “I’ve always felt that making a film is like cooking a really special meal for your friends: you pick the best ingredients, pull out your favorite recipes, and set the table with your best china. Being at Annecy and serving up a little amuse-bouche of In Your Dreams has been such a joy—and I can’t wait to share the full meal with you all soon!”

The Twits. (L to R) Margo Martindale as Mrs. Twit, Johnny Vegas as Mr. Twit, in The Twits. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

• Head of Netflix Animation Studios Hannah Minghella spotlighted never before seen clips from the upcoming features slate including KPop Demon Hunters (Coming June 20), Phil Johnston’s new animated film inspired by Roald Dahl’s The Twits (coming this Fall), and Skydance Animation’s Pookoo (coming in 2026)

Netflix

• Howl-arious adult animated film Fixed, which releases globally on August 13, opened to paw-tastic reviews and raised the ruff following its World Premiere. Visionary director Genndy Tartakovsky expressed his excitement: “That. Was. Crazy! What an incredible reception! This is truly one of the reasons that I became an animator, to sit in a theater and watch people laugh and love hand-crafted animation! I’ve always had great experiences in Annecy but this was the most exceptional one.”

Long Story Short (L to R) Lisa Edelstein as Naomi Schwartz, Ben Feldman as Avi Schwooper, Abbi Jacobson as Shira Schwooper, Paul Reiser as Elliot Cooper, Dave Franco as Danny and Max Greenfield as Yoshi Schwooper in Long Story Short. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025

• Writer and producer Raphael Bob-Waksberg delighted audiences with a masterclass that focused on his career from BoJack Horseman and Undone to his upcoming adult comedy series, Long Story Short. He also treated audiences to a preview of the first episode ahead of the series coming to Netflix on August 22. Bob-Waksberg said: “There’s nothing like Annecy when it comes to celebrating the vast, beautiful universe of animation. I’m honored I get to be a part of it. With all my projects I aspire to create something that will make people laugh, make people cry, and make angry dorks on the internet call me dumb and bad. I achieved all three with BoJack Horseman. With my new show I’m hoping to get at least two.”

• The studio held its inaugural studio focus Netflix Series Animation: Get Ready for What’s Next! led by executive John Derderian (Vice President, Animation Series). The team provided an exclusive look at the upcoming shows from visionary storytellers and studios from around the world including sneak peeks from preschool series Dr. Seuss’s Horton! to adult spectacle Blue Eye Samurai Season 2 and Magic: The Gathering, family spectacle Ghostbusters and Minecraft, and adult comedies Mating Season and Haunted Hotel.

• Derderian announced the celebrated French animated series sensation Samuel from Folivari International will be available on Netflix in the US, Canada, Australia, Spain, India and France. The show is the brainchild of director Émilie Tronche, about a 10-year-old boy living in a small town who keeps a diary documenting his life and originally aired on Arte’s platform, is co-produced by Les Valseurs, Arte and Pikkukala.

Ben Hibon, Showrunner and Executive Producer of the Ghosbusters Animated Series. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025

• Another highlight came from a pre-recorded video by showrunner and executive producer Ben Hibon on his high-end animated series based on the beloved Ghostbusters franchise where he delighted the audiences with a peek at concept art from the upcoming series.

• In addition, home crowd favorite Astérix & Obélix: Le Combat des Chef and runaway smash hit Devil May Cry compete in Annecy’s Official TV Films Competition, while Mononoke The Movie: Chapter II – The Ashes of Rage was screened as part of the festival’s Midnight Specials programming, which are held out of competition.

• There was also a Work-in-Progress session for Ubisoft’s popular Tom Clancy game franchise Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, a Making of session for Folivari International’s French preschool series 7 Bears, and a Demo session with the DNEG Animation team and last year’s festive classic, That Christmas

• The festival hosted exhibitions for beloved French titles Arcane and Samuel where visitors were invited to enjoy a treasure trove of visual feasts.

Six years after releasing its first animated feature, Netflix has gone on to receive 11 Oscar®  nominations including two wins across animated features and short categories with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and If Anything Happens I Love You; seven BAFTA nominations including this year’s double BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, plus seven wins at the Annies for fan-favourite juggernaut Arcane.

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In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse –to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discoveryof an ancient artifact unleashes an army of ghosts that cast a death chill upon the city, Ghostbusters, new and old, must join forces to protect theirhome and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Following a prior creative collaboration in 2021, Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan approached Armitage to help break new ground in the Ghostbusters universe in the unveiling of a formidable antagonist: Garraka, the maestro of the death chill. Rising to the challenge, Armitage and his team embarked on the vital task of unravelling Garraka’s origin story to help usher this new villain into the series lore. Kenan and Armitage worked very closely at each stage of the storytelling process, making sure that each detail and movement felt essential. Kenan’s background in animation was a valuable asset in the creative dialogue, allowing Armitage and his team to hit the ground running.

Given Ghostbusters’ cinematic heritage, our mandate from Kenan was to craft a sequence that unveils Garraka’s genesis with clarity and visual allure,all while honouring the franchise’s essence. To deliver this, Armitage and his crew employed a blend of 2D hieroglyphic-style imagery, meticulouslyrendered in grayscale, before being transposed into a three-dimensional realm – as if they had been carved into stone. Realistic textures mimickingrock surfaces and cracks were infused alongside dynamic 3D camera movements, guiding us through the narrative. Armitage, in collaboration with our 3D artists, rigorously tested iterations of this idea until they found an approach that struck the perfect balance between impact and efficiency.

Our collaboration with Sony Pictures has been a delight and an irresistible dive into the ever-developing saga of Ghostbusters. It’s always a pleasure towork alongside Kenan and his team, bringing their ideas to life, and we look forward to the collective thrill of witnessing another spectral showdown onthe silver screen.

-Studio AKA

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now in cinemas.

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Initially developing his style at the National Film Board of Canada, Paul has subsequently produced over twenty-five films both in Canada and the Netherlands. Amongst these are such acclaimed works as An Old Box, Cat’s Cradle, The Killing of an Egg and the Oscar-nominated 3 Misses. His recent NFB film Cat Meets Dog – produced by Marcy Page and Maral Mohammadian and co-produced in The Netherlands and Belgium – embraces several traits of Paul’s signature style, depicting interweaving narratives and realities through use of split screen and manipulating time in a manner evocative of prior work such as The Boy Who Saw the Iceberg and Oedipus.

The film has screened internationally at festivals including HAFF, NFF, Sitges and Animatou, with an upcoming screening at the prestigious Hiroshima International Animation Festival this August.

Also discussed in this episode – Pokémon GO (of course), how Ghostbusters fans ruined their own childhoods, the artifice of progressive subject matter in animated film and television and San Diego Comic Con animation news for Steven Universe, Rick and Morty, The Lego Batman Movie and Batman: The Killing Joke. Stream below, subscribe or direct download:

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In the latest episode of the Skwigly Animation Podcast we welcome Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, directors of the stunning stop-motion feature film Anomalisa, currently out in UK cinemas. Kaufman, a well-established and respected screenwriter whose filmography includes Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and his directorial debut Synecdoche New York, originally created the story of Anomalisa as an avant-garde stage play, later approached by animation producer Dino Stamatopoulos to develop it as a stop-motion animation. Paired with Duke Johnson, whose own work includes the acclaimed Community animated special as well as work on the TV series Moral Orel and Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole, the boldly-realised Anomalisa has been met with near-universal praise and stands out as one of the most fascinating animation projects of the last year.

Also discussed in this episode are the recent British Animation Awards, slightly-less-disappointing new Ghostbusters footage, the strange familiarity of the latest Powerpuff Girls iteration and ‘that’ British Airways video. Stream the latest episode below or direct download here.

To catch up on the podcast so far be sure to visit the Podcasts section of the site and, so as not to miss out on any future episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes!

The post Skwigly Podcast: Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson (‘Anomalisa’) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In the latest episode of the Skwigly Animation Podcast we welcome Tom Brown and Daniel Gray of Holbrooks. The duo began working together as students at University of Wales, Newport where they ultimately produced the multi-award-winning t.o.m., and have since worked on commercial projects together while based in New York and Budapest, Hungary respectively. Their most recent short film teeth, which boasts superb, painterly animation, exquisitely uncomfortable foley work and a narration by Richard E. Grant, recently came off a strong festival run including its premiere at Sundance as well as Annecy, Ottawa, EIFF, Encounters and many more. The film was released online this month through Vice and can be watched below.

For more on the making of the film including an exclusive peek at the development art and early script have a read of our recent feature.

Also discussed in this episode are this year’s Oscar results that left Skwigly readers nonplussed, the upcoming British Animation Awards, Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa, the botching the new Ghostbusters trailer and more! Stream the latest episode below or direct download here.

To catch up on the podcast so far be sure to visit the Podcasts section of the site and, so as not to miss out on any future episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes!

The post Skwigly Podcast: Tom Brown & Daniel Gray (Holbrooks) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

I still haven’t ruled it out as a fallback career

Amongst those touting their Xeroxed wares are occasional comic shop representatives selling proper, for-real titles. While leafing through one such vendor’s offerings I overheard a somewhat painful exchange between the merchant and a pretty young female customer he was trying to impress who – having not registered any discernible interest – briefly skimmed one comic titled GhostBusters.

“There’s an interesting story behind that…” the man lied, then proceeding to inflict it on the young lady who he seemed certain would receive the information he imparted with awe and lust; in reality, she’d have been probably more enthused if he had been rattling off a list of his accrued venereal diseases.

See, you gotta know your audience; If it had been me he was trying to hit on he might’ve gotten somewhere, for his story explained a question I’d half-known the answer to but had never felt compelled to follow up on. That being why the cartoon series based on the movie Ghostbusters was illogically titled The Real Ghostbusters.

Surely, thought adorable, literal, five-year-old me, if the film has real actors and the show’s a cartoon, it should be the other way around? As the comic book guy outlined, it wasn’t some modern-day kōan the creators had come up with to blow our young minds, but rather an act of supreme passive-aggression that could only have been allowed to fly in the far-less litigious wonderland of the 80s. The comic in question was in fact a relic from a prior franchise, also titled GhostBusters which dated back to the 70s and had nil relation to the 1984 masterpiece (yes, it’s a masterpiece. If that George Lucas space-muppet movie can be one, this one is too).  So when the team behind the first GhostBusters rather justifiably went “Hey chaps, what’s the dilly-oh?”  they were essentially pushed down in the sandbox and had their lunch money stolen. As a result we get The Real Ghostbusters, as in “Oh, there was one before? That’s cute. Which one made more money? Exactly. Eat it.”

And so the stronger, more dominant force prevailed. That’s Darwinism, baby.

Now you know the story behind the comic too. Hope you have better luck with it than him next time you’re out on the pull.

I know next to nothing about the earlier GhostBusters other than it had a gorilla in it. The ‘real’ (meow) Ghostbusters were, by contrast, possibly the most important part of my upbringing, just nudging out my immediate family by a lick. Peter Venkman taught me everything a young man needs to know about getting ahead in life as a self-serving douche. And the older I get, the more heartily I approve of his student-electrocution policy. The first film holds up in that rare way films from childhood can – as a kid I loved the spectacle of it, as a teenager I loved the underlying smutty bits and as a sort-of grownup I love the subtleties of what every player brought to the table. One half nod from Bill Murray or eyebrow twitch of Harold Ramis are in and of themselves masterclasses in performance, something all animators can and should appreciate. I’m one of those rare few who likes the film so much I even like Ghostbusters 2 by extension.

Such is the way of the universe, around the 25-year mark the franchise got itself a little booster in the nostalgia regions, with a moderately successful video game released in 2009 and much hubbub about a third film that has circled the same drain of conjecture since the mid-90s. So if you’re one of the few who hasn’t been dragged to a midnight screening or forced to watch the Blu-Ray by the likes of me, the premise is thus: Three parapsychologists – egghead Egon Spengler, earnest Ray Stantz and sex-pest Peter Venkman – are turfed out of their cushy university digs the day they actually encounter their first ghost. They resolve to dedicate their lives to finding more, trapping them and turning a profit. Eventually more ghosts show up, business starts booming, another guy joins them, ghosts ghosts ghosts, guy from the EPA is a sourpuss, more ghosts then marshmallow everywhere “I LOVE THIS TOWN” da-da-da-da-da The End.

Comparing the original pilot pitch to the characters as they’d eventually be known (and heavily merchandised)

The cartoon series essentially picks up where the film ends, disregarding the assumption that by saving the world they’ve rid it of ghosts. In all fairness I suppose it would be kind of a rubbish show if it was 150 animated episodes of procedural drama methodically detailing the ensuing litigation with not a spectre in sight. What we do get is a slightly tweaked serving up of the same premise, albeit with different haircuts, firmer jawlines and more colourful uniforms. The series bible that accompanies the DVD set breaks down the major differences writers familiar with the film need to take on board – like maybe toning down Mr. Venkman’s penchant for blatant sexual advances for the cartoon – though the most explicitly kiddifying element of the show is a stroke of marketing genius, taking Slimer (one of the more memorable ghosts from the film) softening him up and having him now be their ghost pal. It certainly worked on the ungrateful little yuppie larva that was I back in the 80s. The show set a precedent for showing love through consumerism and boy oh boy, did my parents deliver when those commercials told me to whine at them enough. It kept the economy going and made us the close-knit family unit we remain to this day.

Ultimately it’s the overall merchandising of the show that makes up my own nostalgic fondness for it – save for the opening credits I really didn’t remember much of the episodes themselves. Several years back Time Life produced a mammoth, swanky box set of every season which I eventually got my hands on once the price dropped enough for my frugality to be beaten down by my geek within. That was nearly four years ago, and I sh*t ye not, I’m still working my way through it. I mean, I’m definitely on the last set of discs (there are 25 of the effing things) so I can comment on the show fairly enough, but it’s felt a bit like a homework assignment at times.

Holy crap.

The sad truth of the matter is – and I take no pleasure in writing this – it’s hard work. There’s something lacking in its cohesion that a show really needs to stand the test of time, and in this instance I found myself struggling to put my finger on what that something is, precisely. The stories are certainly inventive, with dialogue that could easily be imagined coming off as impressive and witty on paper. The characters and environments are visually original, though the needless detail both dates the design style and forces huge limitations on the animation itself. The voice cast is a truly impressive roster, headed up by Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche and the late Lorenzo Music, a man whose monotone delivery and utter lack of vocal range oddly translates as being hugely charming and a perfect choice to fill Bill Murray’s deadpan boots. Yet more often than not, dialogue gags that are pretty well constructed tend to fall flat when delivered.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some genuinely funny moments and the odd episodes here and there that fit together rather well, but they’re largely buried in a sea of just-passable content. In truth, some of the truly funny bits here and there are accidental, either in their earnestness, weirdness or randomness; In all likelihood said instances wouldn’t have even been intended to be played for laughs. What I appreciate now as much as I appreciated then was the far better treatment of Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall, later Buster Jones), the everyman ‘fourth Ghostbuster’ who always received equal attention as a member of the team but got far less screentime in the films themselves.

At the end of the day there’s a comfort to be had, I suppose, of having it on in the background. That particular collection of voices, the assortment of heavily rotated music cues and sound effects all fondly spark off little synapses. It also starts to become apparent as I work my way through that li’l me actually bailed on the show shortly after the second season and its massive syndication run. I remember being put off by the changes in the voice acting, most notably with Lorenzo Music as Venkman being ousted for Dave Coulier, a man whose major cultural contribution would be indirectly giving the world Jagged Little Pill, so I suppose I can forgive him. Watching the later episodes now I can concede they’re having fun with the way things are progressing – one later episode metaphysically addresses the inconsistencies in the character design of secretary Janine, chalking it down to supernatural intervention, naturally. I also had no recollection of Rick Moranis’s neurotic accountant character Louis Tully (played by Rodger Bumpass in the show) whose entire characterisation seems predicated on jokes about thriftiness, something I’m not sure would play too well in today’s hypercautious era. What the show explains more than anything is the rather noticeable shift in tone between the first and second films – Ghostbusters 2 seems to have been informed by the series and its potential audience in a large way, certainly playing more as a live-action cartoon than the original ever did.

Meh

The only out-and-out unwatchable development is the later seasons in which the original cartoon is paired up with its own spin-off Slimer!, centered on the titular phantom and his own adventures in a completely different cartoon style, aimed at far younger kids. I suppose it must have made sense but from a scheduling point of view it seems a little illogical if they’re catering to different audiences. Later incarnations of the show include a late-90s revamp, the rather embarrassingly-titled Extreme Ghostbusters which, although surprisingly watchable, reeks of tampering from non-creatives attempting too hard to update the premise to that era’s hipper yoof culture innit; It essentially becomes the Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie show of the Ghostbusters franchise. There are also various ongoing comic book series I’ve noticed but I’m a little loathe to pick them up and leaf through them. Sometimes the past can stay the past, it’s not a bad thing.

So with the episodes themselves strangely lacking in appeal, the animation geek in me winds up being sated far more by the impressive collection of supplemental featurettes, mini-docs and extras on each disc. Clearly the folks in charge of the DVD releases worked hard to please the ageing dullard children of the 80s who like their home video releases chock-full of ultimately inconsequential trivia and insight into the cartoon universe that so entranced them as young’uns. I certainly fall into that camp – for all its said lack of consequence, some of it is pretty interesting. One featurette stands out as being particularly fascinating as it indirectly addresses my issue with the show, the one I’d been struggling to pin down: Every department head takes it in turn to rather vaingloriously credit themselves as the director, in spite of – or, very possibly, the cause of – the show’s fundamental lack of direction. Predicating their logic on the rest of the production being dependent on them (such is the nature of…well, everything to do with film and TV), either it’s a case of too many cooks or no cook at all.

Photo courtesy of the esteemed Matt Walker Collection

Whatever personal gripe I have with it now apparently didn’t seem to register at the time. It was – and, I suspect, remains – one of the most popular animated adaptations of a pre-existing property of all time. It provided a gateway for us young’uns to experience some fantastic and engaging cinema in the movies, and the toylines made for some blisteringly fun rainy days. Hollow plastic gadgetry, supernatural noisemakers to enrage parents with, slime that stained furniture and carpets alike, no doubt containing toxins that would be banned in any household now – these are the ingredients of a truly satisfying childhood. To end what’s been a somewhat less-than-complimentary article on a positive note, here’s a photo of my good self visiting the only building I’ve ever owned as a playset:

The first season of The Real Ghostbusters is available in the UK. The Complete Collection is available in the US.

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