Hello fellow toy lovers! It is time for another fun edition of Vintage Toy of the Month! In the spirit of Halloween this month, today we will be looking at Mysteria from Filmation’s Ghostbusters! Now there is some history with this Schaper toy. For those not in the know, Filmation was a studio that made some amazing cartoons in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Does He-Man or She-Ra mean anything to you? (It should.)

Anyways pay attention because what I am about to tell you is going to be more convoluted than a soap opera. Back in the ’70s Filmation had a live action kid’s show called The Ghost Busters. It didn’t last very long on air. Well fast forward to the early ’80s, Columbia Pictures released the awesome film Ghostbusters and consequently wanted to make an animated series based off the film. Now Columbia completely forgot that Filmation had the rights to the Ghostbusters name from their old ’70s show.

Filmation sued Columbia and there was this settlement stuff that went on outside of court. So Columbia had to basically rename their Ghostbusters cartoon, and thus The Real Ghostbusters was born. To compete, Filmation quickly made their own updated Ghostbusters cartoon (based from their original ’70s live action show), called Filmation’s Ghostbusters, and also referred to as The Original Ghostbusters. So once upon a time in 1986 there were two Ghostbusters cartoons on TV!

For anyone with a degree in ’80s history, there is no surprise which Ghostbusters cartoon became the most popular. The Real Ghostbusters completely proton zapped Filmation’s Ghostbusters into a containment unit. However for a dorkette like me, I liked both. I thought they were a lot of fun. And, the biggest thing I liked the most out of Filmation’s Ghostbusters was that the show had a larger female cast. Even though it was like 3 females. Whatever, it still beats lonely Janine stuck in a sausage fest. (Still love ya though Janine!)

I remember this whole Ghostbusters drama being a big deal when I was little though. There was serious talk in the neighborhood about which Ghostbusters show was better. There were constant debates about the coolness of the toys for each cartoon as well. I tried to be the voice of reason and play up the strengths of both, and as a result started most of the debates in the first place. My goodness though, what a treat to have two different Ghostbuster cartoons on TV at the same time! Some of those bratty neighborhood kids needed to simply count their blessings, because now there are zero Ghostbuster cartoons on TV.

In terms of the toys, my preference tended to lean towards Filmation’s Ghostbusters, because the girl characters had rooted hair. I loved rooted hair. I also loved the evil Mysteria! I never had the chance to own her when I was little, because this toy line was truly a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it series.

However thanks to the joys of eBay, I snagged one! And isn’t she just fun?!

Her name was Mysteria, and as indicated on her card “Mysteria is a wicked spirit who is extremely vain. She trips up the Ghostbusters with her mystical powers.” I love that she is vain. I mean if I’m going to hang out with a spirit, it had better be a vain one. Right? I also love that she looks like Morticia Addam’s cracked out sister.

I mean look at that face! She is totally related to Morticia Addams. Or Joan Collins. All kidding aside, this was one very cool looking figure. She didn’t have much articulation, but she did contain the spirit of her animated counterpart as well as a minicomic.

The back of the card featured a brief summary of the show as well as a lineup of the figures available. There were also vehicles and a play set that were not shown on the card. Also, every figure came with a mini comic as well.

The Ghostbusters and Allies consisted of Tracy, Futura, Jake, Jessica, Belfry, and Eddie. I always had a crush on Jake. I just thought he was dreamy. Belfry also reminded me of a cross between Piglet and Hordak’s Imp. This line really consisted of a unique cast of characters.

The Ghosts and Villains were Fangster, Brat-a-Rat, Haunter, Prime Evil, Mysteria, Scared Stiff, and Fib Face. I never had the villains. In all reality I only really wanted Mysteria. Wouldn’t you? She is awesome! There was also a lot of color used in this toy line. Part of that was due to the decade, but these characters were also full of personality. Also both the live action and animated versions of Filmation’s Ghostbusters are on dvd, though the prices might be a little steep. Either way, enjoy the Vintage Toy of the Month! Be sure to also come back as a whole new Vintage Toy of the Month hits the 15^th of every month. Until next time!

 

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