Discussion: ideas for modern Ghostbusters cartoon

With the recent passing of Harold Ramis (RIP good sir) last month, there’s one question on every GB Fans minds. What will the future hold for the franchise?

My littlest brother told me that in his (Ramis) last will, he wants the franchise to live on after he was gone. Sure we still have the IDW comics (I haven’t read them, but I’ve heard good things about them) and GB3 is STILL going to get made. (which I have mixed feelings about it) Then one day, I thought to myself “What the Ghostbusters franchise needs is a new animated series!” My reasons why are as follows…

    1)      Like some fans, I watched the animated series first before the movie. While I haven’t watched all the episodes yet, I can safely say it was one of my favourite shows in the 80’s.

    2)      I think a new animated series for a modern audience would be both interesting and what the franchise really needs (and long overdue) at this point.

So with that being said, let’s discuss the potential of how a modern Ghostbusters cartoon could work.

DIRECTION
It would be a retelling/reboot of the GB mythos. If there’s one direction I would take this series, it would be something similar to Transformers: Animated. I would take elements like the first 2 movies, the 1986 animated series, its spin-off series Extreme Ghostbusters, the IDW comics and some of the games. (Mainly the 2009 video game & the Megadrive game) Hell if I’m very lucky, I’ll also add in some elements from the filmation’s Ghost Busters. (Both the 1975 live-action show & animated series) But of course, I would also add in some original material of my own.

ART STYLE
In terms of art style, it would be a mixture of the 1986 animated show & the IDW comicbook series. I’m still flipping coins whether to make the animation traditional 2D or CGI.

CAST & CHARACTERS
Even though some of the GB/fGB/XGB voice cast are still alive and are still do some voice work, I think some new blood will be need for a modern GB cartoon to succeed. For now, I’ll only focus on the core 4 GBs, some of the supporting cast & the main villain of the series.

Peter Venkman
At first, I was thinking of having Rino Romano (who previously voiced Eduardo Rivera in XGB) to play as him. But now I’m thinking Billy West might do Peter some justice.

Ray Stantz
If for whatever reason Frank Welker declines to reprise his role as Ray and decides to pass the torch to some else, then I nominate Roger Craig Smith to voice him. His voice for Ray could be something like Sonic the Hedgehog’s with a few tweaks.

Egon Spengler
I honestly just can’t think of anyone who better to voice Egon than Maurice LaMarche. I have heard that he has expressed interest in voicing him again. So if there’s one cast member from the 86 animated series I think should return for a new animated series, its Maurice. Unless you guys have some ideas on who should/might voice Egon, let me know in the comments.

Winston Zeddemore
That’s an easy one, Kevin Michael Richardson. He’d make a decent Winston.

Tracy the Gorilla
For some reason I’m thinking Richard Newman might be a good pick. He has voiced some wise old characters. But if they get Gary Chalk, that’s fine too.

Slimer
Either Billy West (who voiced him in XGB) or Tom Kenny.

Prime Evil
Unlike his Filmation counterpart, he will be a far more serious threat to the Ghostbusters. I think Clancy Brown with his Gorrath (from Megas XLR) voice might do the trick.

STORY
Unlike the other cartoons, since most of them had standalone episodes, this one will be more story driven. The first season would begin with a retelling of the first movie in a 2 (or possibly 3) parter story. Then after that, Prime Evil would appear though out most of the series. In the second season, Mallow (my reimagining of Stay Puff Marshmallow Man) will be introduced, a retelling of the second movie and the second season ends with a loose adaptation of the Megadrive game. Season 3 will introduce fan favourite Kylie Griffin (Tara Strong would reprise her role) from XGB, a robot Ghostbuster called GBR and the season ends with Prime Evil defeated. Season 4 would have Tiamat (from the IDW comics) as a temporary antagonist for the GBs and a loose adaptation of the 2009 videogame. Then finally, season 5 would serve as the series finale. With the return of Gozer and the Ghostbusters face off against Gozer, Prime Evil, Janna & Tiamat in the final showdown.

That’s all I can think of for now. That is my idea for a modern day Ghostbusters cartoon. I might edit this journal later, if I think of more ideas. Do you agree/disagree? Do you like/dislike my ideas? Do you find any of them questionable? Do you have any ideas that you like to share?

Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear them. Just to try and be civil about it.