Pushing the Limits with Slimer for Ghostbusters 2

Exploring the technical improvements and behind-the-scenes tales that introduced Slimer to life in Ghostbusters 2, reaching new heights in animatronics and sensible results at Industrial Mild & Magic.

By Jamie Benning

When Ghostbusters (1984) premiered, it grew to become an prompt traditional. With a star-studded solid—Invoice Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson—alongside Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, and Annie Potts, the movie mixed supernatural parts with groundbreaking visible results and excellent comedic timing, fascinating audiences worldwide. The movie grossed $282 million in its preliminary theatrical run, cementing its place in movie historical past.

Past the favored human solid, one standout ingredient was the ghost initially named “Onionhead.” Particular results artist Steve Johnson, credited because the sculptor, possible drew inspiration for the title from its vegetable-like look. This gluttonous inexperienced ghost, categorised as a Class 5 Full-Roaming Vapor, made a short however memorable look that delighted audiences. Designed to be grotesque and chaotic, Onionhead unexpectedly grew to become a fan favourite. Invoice Murray’s well-known line, “He slimed me!” as Peter Venkman, grew to become one of the quoted phrases of 1984. Onionhead’s reputation solely grew with The Actual Ghostbusters (1986) animated collection, the place he was reimagined as a mischievous but lovable, pet-like character.

Within the eleventh episode of The Actual Ghostbusters, titled “Citizen Ghost,” which first aired in November 1986, Onionhead lastly acquired his new title. The episode’s flashback reveals how the Ghostbusters grew to become pals with the little inexperienced ghost, with Ray Stantz giving him the becoming nickname “Slimer.” The title endured, changing into a everlasting fixture in all subsequent Ghostbusters initiatives.

Ghostbusters 2 (1989) sought to deliver the developed model of Slimer to the large display, balancing the attraction of the unique character with the expectations of youthful followers conversant in the cartoon. With the baton handed from Boss Movie Studios to ILM for the sequel, visible results supervisor Dennis Muren described the duty forward of them to Cinefex. “We had the chance to create an entire new array of ghostly photos,” he defined, utilizing all of the instruments at their disposal. An early concept of utilizing a rod puppet was shortly dismissed, with Muren preferring to go for a contemporary tackle the “man in a swimsuit” method.

With the technological advances made within the 5 years for the reason that authentic movie, the purpose was not simply to seize the unique magic however to push the boundaries of animatronics, puppetry, and sensible results. 

Reimagining Slimer

For the sequel, Slimer wanted to embody the extra playful, cartoonish persona. “[Executive Producer] Michael [C. Gross] needed parts from the cartoon model integrated as effectively, and to this finish he had Thom [Enriquiez] do the brand new collection of drawings – which have been fabulous,” creature and make-up designer Tim Lawrence defined to Cinefex.  

Mark Siegel, a key contributor to Slimer’s authentic creation, was dropped at ILM for Ghostbusters 2 to resculpt the character and adapt him for the movie’s lighter tone. Siegel had been deeply concerned within the creation of the unique Onionhead ghost, sculpting his tooth, tongue, and inside mouth, in addition to the entire substitute head for a second puppet with a wider, extra frightened look to the mouth. He additionally puppeteered the tongue and eyebrows for almost all of the pictures. 

The sculpting course of for the design maquette was a collaborative effort, with Siegel primarily dealing with Slimer’s physique, head, and face whereas fellow crew member and performer Howie Weed centered on the arms and arms. For the full-sized puppet Siegel sculpted the top and the arms.

The character of Onionhead in Ghostbusters wasn’t simply an arbitrary creation. His mannerisms and chaotic power have been immediately impressed by the late John Belushi, particularly his portrayal of Bluto in Animal Home (1978). This connection was not merely symbolic; it was a tangible a part of his design and efficiency. Mark Siegel recollects how Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd made it clear to the crew that Slimer was a illustration of their shut pal Belushi’s comedic spirit.

The crew didn’t simply envision this; they meticulously pored over Belushi’s scenes. “We studied body by body outdated VHS tapes of Belushi’s Animal Home scenes, specializing in his expressions,” Siegel elaborates. This evaluation allowed them to include Belushi’s signature actions and broad, exaggerated physicality into Slimer’s efficiency for the primary movie. Based on Siegel, it was Belushi’s expressive type that actually captured the mix of attraction and grotesqueness that outlined Slimer’s character.

“After I first began sculpting the brand new Slimer, I believed, ‘Properly, that’s cute,’” Siegel admits. However the evolution of the character, from disgusting blob to family-friendly ghost, introduced some challenges. “I felt we have been dropping among the uncooked, chaotic power that made Slimer memorable within the first movie.”

The sculpting course of was a collaborative effort, with Siegel primarily dealing with Slimer’s physique, head and face whereas fellow crew member and performer Howie Weed centered on the arms and arms. 

Scenes initially envisioned for Slimer in Ghostbusters 2 included him consuming numerous sorts of meals across the station home whereas Louis (Rick Moranis) tried in useless to catch him. Then later, when Louis straps on a backpack and tries to assist the Ghostbusters, he finds Slimer driving a bus. Louis hitches a trip and the 2 ultimately grow to be pals. An early storyboard additionally reveals Slimer flying across the Statue of Liberty for the ultimate shot of the film, mirroring the primary movie’s finale. However, as is usually the case in creative pursuits, issues have been tailored, modified, and even eliminated alongside the best way, all for a large number of causes.

Technical Improvements: Pioneering Animatronics

One of many key developments in Ghostbusters 2 was the shift from handbook cable-controlled puppetry to the usage of radio-controlled servos for Slimer’s facial expressions. Al Coulter, an ILM animatronics engineer, led the trouble to remotely automate Slimer’s face, permitting for extra nuanced performances. “Al needed to mechanize Slimer’s expressions,” Siegel says. “The SNARK system (reported as each Serial Networked Actuator Relay Equipment and Artificial Neuro-Animation Repeating Kinetics module) allowed us to manage a number of servos concurrently, that means that expressions could possibly be achieved extra simply, with fewer folks.” This technique was a technological leap ahead, providing new potentialities for nuanced expressions, although it introduced its personal set of challenges.

One of many key motivations for this development was to streamline post-production, which had been a problem within the authentic movie. “In Ghostbusters, we needed to take care of puppeteers within the body, which meant eradicating them throughout post-production,” Siegel recollects. That was each time consuming and dear.

Coulter notes that whereas the servos have been initially designed for client RC airplanes, important customization was required to make them work for Slimer’s facial actions. “The joystick stuff from Interest World prompted loads of issues after we went onstage, as a result of there was a lot interference from all of the lights and the wires and the equipment…that we wanted to have the ability to join our character to one thing direct, hardwired. So we had this man construct management boards which we bundled collectively and plugged right into a PC. And that PC would then have software program on it, customized once more, and it might report our efficiency.” It was a significant development for the time, in a approach following within the footsteps of the leaps ILM had made in motion-control within the mid Seventies for the spaceships in George Lucas’ Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). 

Coulter displays that working with the expertise of the time, significantly the sluggish computing speeds, was a problem in itself. “We have been working with computer systems that ran at 24 MHz—sluggish by at this time’s requirements, however leading edge on the time.” Regardless of this, the SNARK system was a pioneering achievement in real-time, computer-controlled puppetry, permitting for repeatable and detailed performances. “The facial features, eyebrows, eyes, I believe we had a nostril wiggle…being up to date to radio management servos, that was a fantastic concept,” Siegel provides.

Behind-the-scenes movies posted by William Forsche (one other crew member) present the unbelievable vary of facial contortions that could possibly be achieved with the brand new Slimer, from unhappy to completely satisfied to curious in a matter of seconds. Whereas motion-control’s precision was important for the spaceships in Star Wars, it wasn’t but clear how effectively the recording and playback of Slimer’s facial actions would work.

In the end the servos launched their very own set of challenges. Whereas the system allowed for higher management, it restricted among the extra exaggerated actions that outlined the unique Slimer. As Siegel explains, “Within the first movie, Slimer’s jaw was managed manually, permitting for extra exaggerated, chaotic actions. The sculpture was extraordinarily mushy and versatile. There was no construction within the decrease jaw in any respect. Just a bit steel rod within the decrease lip and a puppeteer down beneath may pull it, simply stretch that rubber approach extensive, twist it backward and forward and get an entire number of expressions, make him chew and stuff…. Whereas the servos and pneumatics we utilized in Ghostbusters 2 gave us extra exact management over the facial expressions, in addition they launched limitations when it comes to flexibility and vary.”

The top wasn’t the one problem. In making an attempt to copy the exaggerated, cartoon-like look and actions of Slimer’s physique from the animated collection, the crew encountered extra hurdles.

Innovating Slimer’s Physique Design

Whereas the animatronics used for Slimer’s facial expressions have been groundbreaking, if starting to grow to be troublesome, the crew additionally needed to experiment with new methods to animate Slimer’s physique. Tim Lawrence proposed setting up the physique out of spandex with bean-bag-like filling, aiming to provide Slimer a extra fluid, exaggerated vary of movement just like the stretch-and-squash impact seen in his cartoon kind.

Nevertheless, this concept shortly bumped into sensible points, as Siegel explains. “It might need been a few days earlier than we have been capturing and Dennis Muren got here in and appeared on the complete puppet assembled, and he correctly stated effectively that spandex goes to look totally completely different on digicam than that rubber head. For some motive that had by no means occurred to anybody earlier than. So in a mad rush we took that spandex bean bag physique into our spray air flow sales space, and I needed to combine up large batches of froth latex and we truly spatulated it onto that total physique. And that’s actually onerous to do as a result of the froth latex has a restricted time earlier than it units. After which it needed to be baked in an oven. So it was thrown collectively at quick discover in lower than sooner or later. When the rubber was cured over the bean bag it made the physique rather a lot much less stretchy and versatile than Tim had meant it to be.” The issues have been starting to mount.

Robin Shelby: The Coronary heart Inside Slimer

Whereas ILM envisioned the technological developments to play a key function in bringing the reimagined Slimer to life in Ghostbusters 2, it was Robin Shelby (then Robin Navlyt), the performer contained in the swimsuit, who actually embodied the character’s spirit.

Beforehand identified by ILM for her function as a troll in Ron Howard’s Willow (1988), she took over the function of Slimer for Ghostbusters 2 after the unique actor, Bobby Porter, grew to become unavailable. As Shelby recollects, “They’d somebody solid, then they wrote Slimer out of the script…after which they wrote him again in, however the authentic actor had taken on one other venture.” At simply 20 years outdated, Shelby was tasked with bringing a brand new model of Slimer to life, regardless of the swimsuit’s heavy and cumbersome design. However she was up for the problem!

“I grew up doing musical theater, loads of dance. So I used to be very conscious of my physique…and that helped rather a lot. I didn’t have any stunt expertise on the time, however loads of motion and dance expertise,” remarks Shelby. Reflecting on her first impression of the swimsuit, she provides, “They have been nonetheless constructing it once I got here in. It wasn’t all painted and set. They needed to do a solid of my face and head so they may match it to me. However once I first noticed it with the motors, it was just a little scary. The load was extraordinary. However, the crew was wonderful.”

With Shelby performing contained in the swimsuit and the expressions operated remotely, manufacturing grew to become extra environment friendly. By utilizing a bluescreen and having Shelby put on a black leotard, ILM eradicated the necessity for puppeteer removing in post-production, simply as initially deliberate.

Shelby and the crew had about 5 to 6 weeks of rehearsal to assist her modify to the swimsuit and coordinate with the puppeteers working the animatronic options. The swimsuit itself got here in three interlocking segments: the primary physique, the gloves for the arms and arms, and the top. “I couldn’t see something actually. So what we’d do is rehearse, they’d shoot it, after which they’d have me watch it. So I may see what it was all wanting like. So, I knew in my head what we have been all doing,” Shelby explains.

The bodily calls for of the swimsuit have been intense. Al Coulter praises her resilience, noting that the burden of the swimsuit left marks on her nostril: “As quickly as you stated motion, she was proper again there, simply banging it out each time. Superb!”

“The swimsuit was in all probability over a 3rd of my very own physique weight,” Shelby recollects. “I in all probability weighed like 95 kilos after we shot that, and it was in all probability 35 kilos. Individuals ask, was it sizzling? It was sizzling, however in all probability the worst a part of it was the burden.” 

Michael C. Gross, the chief producer, visited the set to see how Shelby’s efficiency was going. “He stated, ‘Don’t be the dancer that I do know you might be, simply get in there and be gritty and be imply. Simply exit and have enjoyable.’ So I used to be simply making an attempt to tough it up rather a lot on the set, make it not so dainty or good or dance-like, simply to try to make it work for the character. It was a lot enjoyable, they usually actually allowed me to play with it,” Shelby enthuses.

Nonetheless, even enthusiasm has its limits. “We’d labored for about an hour, they usually’d say, okay, we’re gonna take a break. They’d take the top off. I wouldn’t get out of the costume, however they’d take the top off so I may have water, get some air, and sit down. There was a time that I pushed it as a result of we have been in the course of the scene and I didn’t need to cease. They’re like, ‘Are you okay? You’re alright?’ I’d say, ‘Yeah, yeah, let’s simply preserve capturing. We’re virtually performed.’ After which Tim is directing me, ‘Okay, Robin, we’d like you to show round and go left. Robin? Robin!!’ And I wasn’t even answering. ‘Get her out,’ they shouted.

“You attempt to be the trooper…if you’re new and simply need to please all people. However lesson realized, yeah, completely,” Shelby admitted. “However I’d do all of it once more,” she provides.

Regardless of the technical challenges and bodily calls for, there have been loads of lighthearted moments on set as effectively.

Invoice Murray’s Antics

Invoice Murray was identified to be an unpredictable presence on set, offering some much-needed levity through the intense manufacturing course of. At some point, he arrived on the results store. “I didn’t notice how tall Invoice Murray is (he’s 6’ 2”),” says Siegel. “And he was messing round with Robin, who’s tiny (4′ 11″), and he was selecting her up like a toddler, and dancing round along with her. He was hilarious.” For Shelby it was a surreal second, “I used to be a giant Saturday Evening Dwell fan, I nonetheless am. And so he was certainly one of my heroes on the time…so it was fairly wonderful…. He requested if he may choose me up. And he picked me up over his head…. He was truly very candy to me. You simply by no means knew what he was going to do subsequent.”

Effort vs. Consequence

With the crew rehearsals serving to them discover the restrictions of the swimsuit and the animatronic head, they started to hone the efficiency with some spectacular outcomes.

As Tim Lawrence informed Cinefex, “As soon as we noticed the subtlety of the expression that was doable, Slimer immediately had an unbelievable life to him that I had by no means seen in such a personality earlier than. To see his face gentle up from very unhappy to very completely satisfied was a beautiful factor. The scene I used to be most pleased with was one which they only threw at us. I wasn’t positive we may even do it as a result of it was a 30-second shot and not using a cutaway. In it, Louis will get off the bus and heads off down the sidewalk. At this level, Slimer and he are on friendlier phrases. Instantly, Slimer enters body, rushes intently as much as Louis and pats him on the shoulder. From his motions, it’s apparent he needs to go along with Louis actually badly, however Louis tells him he can’t and Slimer will get all unhappy. Then Louis tells him one thing that makes him completely satisfied, and Slimer offers Louis a giant moist kiss along with his tongue popping out and licking him. Then he does a spin and flies off. Properly, we did that multi function lower and it appeared fantastic. I had by no means seen a rubber character do what Slimer had performed.”

“For that scene, they gave me a tape of it as a result of it was shot in New York. And I needed to hearken to the dialogue so I may know the precise timing. I had in all probability listened to that a whole lot of instances simply to get Rick Moranis’ dialogue and timing,” explains Shelby.

“Michael simply flipped – he thought the efficiency was wonderful. However on the similar time, he informed us that they may not be capable to use the shot – and in the end it didn’t make it into the movie,” Lawrence had famous.

Regardless of finishing all the storyboarded pictures, Slimer’s function within the last lower of the movie was certainly scaled again significantly. Gross once more defined in Cinefex: “Every time he was in there, it appeared like he was actually an intrusion. At first we thought the reply was so as to add extra of him, so we had an ongoing confrontation between Louis and Slimer by which Louis was continuously making an attempt to catch him. We thought it might be humorous and at screenings we anticipated the viewers to cheer and chuckle after they noticed him once more. However nothing. No response. The viewers was taking a look at it as a contemporary film. There have been loads of youngsters who beloved to see him, so we knew we couldn’t abandon him utterly, however he by no means actually labored with the viewers the best way we anticipated. In the end we determined much less was higher, and within the last movie we restricted him to 2 very fast pictures.”

Siegel takes a philosophical method, “From my very own expertise working within the enterprise so long as I’ve, I simply assume that among the work’s gonna be lower…. His presence within the film was questionable from the start. So once more, I wasn’t stunned if a few of his pictures have been eliminated.”

The frustration is palpable for Shelby. “I believe that’s in all probability essentially the most bummed out I used to be…. All people simply did such a fantastic job on placing that each one collectively.” However for the 20-year-old, little did she know that sooner or later she’d get a name from Paul Feig to reprise the function within the 2016 reboot Ghostbusters: Reply the Name, this time offering the voice for “Girl Slimer.”

A Legacy of Experimentation

The expertise of engaged on Ghostbusters 2, was all the time concerning the spirit of experimentation. Slimer’s evolution from the chaotic “ugly little spud” within the authentic Ghostbusters to a extra cartoonish, mechanized character in Ghostbusters 2 stands as a testomony to ILM’s relentless pursuit for innovation. Regardless of the technological limitations of the time, Slimer’s creation helped pave the best way for future developments in animatronics and sensible results. As Siegel concludes, “Each venture has its challenges, however the classes you study set the stage for the following large breakthrough.”

Whereas ILM pushed the envelope with cutting-edge animatronics, the method additionally highlighted the enduring significance of human performers. As Coulter displays, “We overreached a bit. The software program itself was very rudimentary. Every part was so experimental again then.” He highlighted that, regardless of the flexibility to program exact facial actions, human performers remained extra adaptable and agile in responding to the inventive wants of a scene. “At one level they introduced the director and he checked out it and sort of went, ‘May you make him incredulous at this one level?’ Er…. We don’t have an incredulous button right here. It’s like flip the pc off, deliver the puppeteers again in, and off we go once more. A pc isn’t going to have any concept convey anger or emotion,” Coulter remarks, noting that even at this time, animators nonetheless rely closely on human actors for movement seize, utilizing them because the supply for animation.

An Ongoing Partnership Between Sensible and Digital

ILM’s present director of analysis and growth Cary Phillips explains that bodily puppets nonetheless maintain an important function in trendy productions. “We frequently get known as on to construct digital fashions of bodily puppets that carry out on set, to execute performances that the bodily fashions can’t. Grogu [from The Mandalorian] is a current instance. Bodily fashions are an inspiration for the actors and everybody on set, in addition to for animators who deliver the digital model to life.”

He provides that some administrators additionally favor digital puppets that retain the motion type of their bodily counterparts. “I believe our human eyes are attuned to sure qualities of motion that we discover interesting and cozy as a result of they counsel a bodily medium at work. However that’s performed by hand; there’s normally no computerized connection between the bodily mannequin and the digital.”

The problem stays make a puppet, digital or bodily, really feel alive. “A frequent criticism of pc animation, generally legit and generally not, is that it could actually look too polished and easy,” says Phillips, “missing the spontaneity of a dwell efficiency, the unintentional quirks that make a personality appear alive. Nice animators can create this, nevertheless it’s onerous. That’s one of many lasting appeals of movement seize, though it additionally introduces a wholly new set of technical challenges and limitations. Ideally, seize units are merely an alternative choice to the keyboard and mouse as a approach of describing motion, to be used when applicable.”

Phillips additional displays on the legacy of those that got here earlier than him and the evolving boundaries, or lack thereof, in trendy visible results. “Discovery is an important a part of the inventive course of. One thing may really feel like a mistake whereas it’s occurring however prove afterwards to have an interesting high quality. One of the best instruments let artists experiment shortly and work iteratively. One of many advantages of a pc graphics mannequin is that it could actually do issues {that a} bodily mannequin can’t, and we regularly get requested to make fashions and characters transfer in ways in which violate the legal guidelines of physics. Leap tall buildings in a single sure. Cheat to get the motion within the body. So, there aren’t any absolute boundaries—you can also make it do something. Even transfer in a approach that may rip an actual particular person aside. It’s an superior energy, nevertheless it takes actual artistry to maintain it wanting believable and interesting, even when it doesn’t look technically ‘actual.’”

At Lucasfilm and ILM’s headquarters on the Presidio in San Francisco are halls lined with artifacts from the corporate’s wealthy historical past—matte work, spaceship fashions, and optical results gear. And round one nook, encased in acrylic, lies Slimer from Ghostbusters 2. His nonetheless vibrant inexperienced latex pores and skin, now shrunken with age, reveals the servos and pneumatic cylinders beneath. It serves as a poignant reminder to all who cross by that character animation has deep roots within the bodily world.

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Jamie Benning is a filmmaker, creator, podcaster and life-long fan of sci-fi and fantasy motion pictures. Go to Filmumentaries.com and hearken to The Filmumentaries podcast for twice-monthly interviews with behind the scenes artists. Discover Jamie on X @jamieswb and as @filmumentaries on Threads, Instagram and Fb.