Extreme Ghostbusters: The Complete Series DVD Review (Sony)

Extreme Ghostbusters is a 1997 animated television series created by Jeff Kline (Transformers franchise, G.I Joe: Renegades, Jackie Chan Adventures, Men in Black: The Series, Godzilla: The Series, and Jumanji) and Richard Raynis (The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, The Critic, Max Steel, ALF, and The Real Ghostbusters). It was directed by Tim Eldred (Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Dragon Tales), Christopher Berkeley (The Batman, Young Justice, Transformers: Animated, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, and Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham), Sam Liu (Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Beware the Batman, Justice League Dark: Apocalypse, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Batman: Year One All Star Superman, and Planet Hulk), and 10 others. It was produced by Joe Medjuck (The Ghostbusters franchise, Disturbia, Hitchcock, Up in the Air, Old School, Road Trip, Euro Trip, Kindergarten Cop, Twins, and Stripes). It’s a follow up to the 1987 animated show. It’s based on The Ghostbusters movie franchise. The original title pitched by the toy company was Super Ghostbusters!!!!

Multiple years after The Real Ghostbusters, a lack of supernatural activity has put the Ghostbusters out of business. The original members have gone their separate ways except for Egon Spengler (played by: Maurice LaMarche from Pinky and The Brain, Futurama, Animaniacs, Taz-Mania, G.I. Joe, The Simpsons, and The Real Ghostbusters). He still lives in the firehouse and takes care of the always hungry Slimer (played by: Billy West from The Ren and Stimpy Show, Futurama, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, The Wacky World of Tex Avery, Space Jam, Scoob!, The Weird Al Show, Doug, and Joe’s Apartment). He is a teacher at a local college where he gives a lesson on the paranormal. When ghosts finally start to show up in the city. Egon is forced to recruit four students as the new Ghostbusters which includes Kylie Griffin (played by: Tara Strong from Batman: The Killing Joke, Loki, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Superman: Red Son, Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Batman Ninja, and Beware the Batman), Eduardo Rivera (played by: Rino Romano from The Super Mario Bros Movie, Curious George, Spaceballs: The Animated Series, The Batman, Godzilla: The Series, Batman vs. Dracula, and Spider-Man Unlimited), Garrett Miller (played by: Jason Marsden from Boy Meets World, Full House, A Goofy Movie, Young Justice, Sonic the Hedgehog, Robot Jox, Step by Step, Tales from the Crypt, and Transformers: Rescue Bots), and Roland Jackson (played by: Alfonso Ribeiro from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, Silver Spoons, Ticks, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and Robot Chicken). Janine Melnitz (played by: Pat Musick from Rugrats, Johnny Bravo, Spacecats, The Smurfs, Where’s Waldo?, and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo) returns to team as their secretary. They are the next generation of Ghostbusters trying to keep New York safe from the supernatural!!!!

This was made 6 years after The Real Ghostbusters. That was one of the greatest animated versions of a popular film franchise. So it was really cool to see them return with this follow up. I really appreciated that Extreme Ghostbusters was darker and the vocal performances were more normal here compared to your typical over the top cartoon stuff. So the material felt more natural and real with that type of style. Maurice LaMarche returns as Egon Spengler. It’s only real return regular from the original Real Ghostbusters show. The main cast for it’s 40 episodes were top notch. It had some of the biggest talent when it comes to voice work in the business. They have all done everything when it comes to the sub-genre. Extreme Ghostbusters had some nice cameos which included Dave Coulier (Full House), Susan Tyrrell (Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker), Xander Berkeley (Heat), Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Frank Welker (Transformers franchise), James Marsden (X-Men franchise), Sherman Howard (Day of the Dead), Steven Weber (Wings), Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Elizabeth EG Daily (Rugrats), Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption), and James Avery (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). There’s some really cool concepts, characters, and episodes during it’s shorter run. This is a unique chapter into the Ghostbusters universe and I kinda feel like this one has been forgotten over the years so hopefully this set gives it more of a life. RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s discuss this standard definition presentation from Sony Pictures! This 480i (1.33:1) transfer is solid on this 9 disc set but don’t expect anything mind blowing here. It can be rough at times but it’s good for being a 90’s cartoon. It has an English: Dolby Digital 2.0 track for all 40 episodes. All of the dialogue is very clean, the supernatural elements are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. There’s no extras on this home video release but it’s really awesome to see something like this on DVD especially for any Ghostbusters fan. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!