Note: This classic review page preserves the original review links. Once all classic reviews have been updated, we will update the links.
Click here to go back to the new Minimates Central
Courtroom Peter Venkman and Washington Square Ghost
The Toys R Us exclusive Ghostbusters Minimates have been flying off the shelves. Here is a review of the wave 1 set of Courtroom Peter Venkman and the Washington Square Ghost, taken from Ghostbusters II.
Packaging
Packaging for this pack is the same as other Toys R Us and Marvel 2-pack releases with plastic windows and control art on the front, action photos on the side, group shot on back. This pack was chosen to have the "Exclusive" sticker applied to it.
The Figures
Courtroom Peter Venkman
This is one of two Venkman variants released in this wave, and is his look from the beginning of Ghostbusters 2, when the Ghostbusters were being sued for property damage caused fighting Gozer in the first film. Some have commented that the Murray likeness in this figure is the best of all versions of Venkman. I don’t know if I agree (I don’t see too much of Murray in any of these), but there is some Murray in there, and this is a pretty cool face regardless. He’s got a happy, open-mouthed expression. Knowing Venkman/Murray, we can safely assume that he is making a joke of some kind - probably a disparaging comment about poor Walter Peck. This figure has the same receding hairline hairpiece that the other Venkman figures have.
Since he was the defendant in court in this scene, Venkman is wearing a suit. This is a power-house piece, but differs from previous power-house suit pieces as it has proton pack straps and belt sculpted on (painted in gray). Also, the proton pack is attached to the back of this piece. You can see the various wires and electronic parts in incredible detail given the size of this thing. Some details are highlighted with red and silver paint. The proton packs on these figures are really nice, and unlike the one that comes with Gooey Ray, you can really tell how cool and movie-accurate it is on this figure. The Neutrona Wand connects to the side of the proton pack, and as with other figures, is packaged facing upward, but can be switched around to be more movie accurate. Venkman’s chest block is white with tie/collar/wrinkles tampos. The wrinkles are a pretty cool little detail since there is no way that you would see these unless you took his power-house piece off. You could take off the powerhouse piece and give him white arms to make him a jacket-less Venkman, and he would look really nice because of this attention to detail. His legs/feet/arms/crotch pieces are all plain black.
The only accessory Venkman comes with (not including the proton pack) is the proton stream, which is precisely the same as the proton streams that is packaged alongside every other proton pack-wearing figure released thus far.
In conclusion, this is a decent Minimate. It represents a memorable scene from the second film and looks nice and distinctive enough. Also, if the Scolari brothers are ever released as Minimates, you will want this figure to pose with them. However, this figure just doesn’t "pop" in the way that some of the nicer Minimates do, in that it isn’t particularly colorful or iconic. So, he is good but not great.
MMC Score - 6 out of 10
More pictures
Washington Square Ghost
The Washington Square Ghost appears briefly in Ghostbusters 2, tearing through Washington Square in New York after being summoned by Vigo. In the film, he is huge, possibly as large as Mr. Stay Puft, so the Minimate is slightly out of scale. However, I doubt very seriously that we will be getting the bank treatment for an obscure ghost like this, so the 2 inch version will have to suffice.
The ghost in the film doesn’t really look much like this figure, as the film version appears more like a giant insect or alien than a blob of goo with legs and arms. But he appears so briefly in the film that I don’t care very much about that. He is a neat, evil-looking transparent ghost that can be displayed with my Ghostbusters, and that is enough for me.
He uses Slimer’s body, Lady Deathstrike’s hands (with cuffs), and the Terror Dog’s feet. He is completely sculpted in translucent yellow plastic, with only his face painted on. As for his face, he has a cool, angry expression with huge, exaggerated mouth, teeth, and eyes. This figure does not come with any other accessories.
In conclusion, this is a cool figure. At first, it might seem surprising that we get this obscure ghost before getting the more well-known Vigo and Scolari brothers from Ghostbusters 2, but then again, those others would probably require new molded parts to do the characters justice, and fans would expect a reasonable degree of accuracy with those better-known characters. With this character, most fans won’t care too much about the re-used parts making him a bit inaccurate, as he probably wouldn’t even be made if new parts were needed. So, he saves DST money by being cheap to make, he looks neat, and he is a nice addition to the growing lineup of Minimate ghosts. Everyone wins!
MMC Score - 7 out of 10
More pictures
Review and pictures by karamazov80
Discuss this review at the Minimate Multiverse
Back to Film/TV Reviews Index Click here to go back to the new Minimates Central