From the ’70s well into the ’90s, whenever there was a popular movie or television show in the pop culture consciousness, chances are there was a cheesy, cash-in cartoon to go with it. New Kids on the Block had their own Saturday morning cartoon, as did the characters from sitcoms like Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. Even ’80s icon Mr. T had his own cartoon show, where he traveled around the country in a bus solving mysteries with a group of underage gymnasts (this was a for-real thing. Look, there’s even proof.) But one animated cartoon based on a live-action property stood head and shoulders above the rest: The Real Ghostbusters.

Debuting in syndication some two years after Ghostbusters was a smash hit film, the cartoon series was actually pretty damn good, especially compared to the other cartoons of its day. Due to not wanting to pay likeness rights to Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson, the main characters were all redesigned pretty drastically (Egon has a blonde pompadour for some reason) but somehow they all still retained the essence of the movie characters. Most of the episodes were pretty fun and imaginative.

The show was a huge hit and ran for seven seasons and 140 episodes, keeping the franchise alive in between the first two movies, and even after the second movie had come and gone. In fact, I’m going to be a little bit scandalous and say the average episode of The Real Ghostbusters was probably better than Ghostbusters II was. Now, a YouTube account called Zim Animation has recreated the opening credits of the classic cartoon series in 3D animation, and watching it should give fans of a certain generation all the nostalgic feels. There’s talk lately of an animated Ghostbusters movie in the pipeline, and after watching this video, I’m starting to think it might be a good idea.

HT: Zim Animation

IMAGE: Sony Pictures