Have we all recovered from that awful, pandering remake of the Ghostbusters theme song yet? The Fall Out Boy/Missy Elliott re-do of the Ray Parker Jr. hit song from the original 1984 movie is pretty much everything bad about remakes in general—it seems to try to take something that was basically cheesy and kitschy and yes, highly enjoyable, and make it hip and “cool.” But the original song was cheesy even when it first came out, and that’s why it’s always been endearing. The new version misses the point entirely by trying to make it “edgy.”
Thank goodness the Japanese have come to our rescue once again, because they seem to get it at least. Via the folks at Entertainment Weekly, we can now watch J-pop artists Tomochika, Oniyakko Tsubaki, Shizuyo Tamasaki, and Naomi Watanabe covering the original song in a new video from Sony Pictures Japan, which makes this the other official cover of the original song. I think Sony would have had a lot more of a positive response if they had released this version first.
The music video features the women as they do a pretty straightforward reinterpretation of the song, but now with all Japanese lyrics of course. The neon windows and low budget ’80s vibe of the original music video are on full display, although sadly, they couldn’t get Chevy Chase and Danny DeVito to make cameos. The ladies then set their proton packs to maximum and do battle with a duo of poppin’ and lockin’ dancing ghosts, and it’s all ridiculous in the best way. Of course, the video also contains scenes from the upcoming reboot, featuring actors Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon.
You can watch the entire Japanese version of the Ghostbusters theme song in the video above. Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot hits theaters on July 22. Let’s pray to Zuul that the new movie is as awesome as this music video.
What do you think of this second cover of the Ghostbusters theme song? Better or worse? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Featured Image: Sony Pictures
