The Biggest Easter Eggs in ‘Ghostbusters Frozen Empire’

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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has just released, bringing a fun fourth entry to the franchise. Like its predecessor, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the movie has a lot of subtle (and not so subtle) callbacks, references and in-jokes that fans will be sure to notice. Here are some of the biggest Easter eggs in the movie.

Dana Barrett

Dana Barrett is the first client the Ghostbusters have, when she sees a Terror Gog in her refrigerator and calls in the experts, leading to an on-off romance with Pete Venkman. In the first movie, she’s a cellist in a large orchestra, something she plans to return to in Ghostbusters II once her baby is older.

While Sigourney Weaver doesn’t return in this movie, there’s a tiny “blink and you’ll miss it” reference included. During the scene outside the library, when the stone lion comes to life, there’s a poster in the background advertising an Elgar Cello Concerto, featuring Dana Barrett. It’s only a small reference, but a nice touch considering her importance in the franchise.

Slimer

In the first movie, the Ghostbusters are running out of cash and are ready to call it quits when they get a call from the prestigious Sedgewick Hotel which is experiencing a ghost problem. They investigate and find Slimer, a small green spook that eats any food it finds and covers things in its sticky slime. They successfully capture it but he escapes with all the other ghosts when Walter Peck shuts down the power later in the movie, and is never recaptures.

Over the years, he’s become something of a mascot for the Ghostbusters, living in the firehouse in the second movie. Because the film is set outside of New York, he doesn’t appear in Afterlife, but makes a welcome return here, causing trouble for Trevor Spengler by living in the attic above his bedroom.

The Library

The New York City Public Library is a popular place for Easter eggs in this movie, not only is there the Dana Barrett reference mentioned above, but two other characters from the first Ghostbusters movie appear again in this one.

The first is the Librarian ghost. She is the first spectre that Ray, Peter and Egon see, before they form the Ghostbusters, and convinces them to set up the business. It’s only a small cameo here, but still a nice callback. The second Easter egg is John Rothman who returns as the Library Administrator, a role he played back in 1980, who prompted Venkman to say the immortal line “Back off man, I’m a scientist.”

Stay Puft Marshmallow Men

When the original Ghostbusters are fighting Gozer on top of the high-rise, the god asks them to choose the form of their destruction, meaning whatever they think of will appear to destroy them. While they try to keep their minds empty, Ray accidentally imagines the Stay Puft marshmallow man, making a giant 100-foot tall version appear before them.

He appears again in Afterlife and Frozen Empire, though this time as dozens of tiny versions, just a few inches tall. Despite their size, they’re still a huge amount of trouble, damaging equipment and even stealing a truck in the mid-credits scene.

Gary Quotes the Ghostbusters Song

The original Ghostbusters movie has one of the most memorable theme songs. Ray Parker Jr’s classic song is a real earworm, and is one of the biggest hits from the ’80s.

There’s a big reference to it in Frozen Empire when Callie Spengler is ready to pack in the ghostbusting, Gary Grooberson asking if there was something strange in the neighbourhood, who would people call? If there was something weird that don’t look good, who would they call? And finishing by saying, “Bustin’ makes me feel good!”


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2 responses to “The Biggest Easter Eggs in ‘Ghostbusters Frozen Empire’”

  1. The Next ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie Should Focus on the Spenglers – The Culture Shed Avatar

    […] force behind it. Trevor is reduced to something of a side character, with a sidestory involving his antagonistic relationship with Slimer who’s taken up residence in the firehouse’s attic. Gary is mainly there to tell the […]

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  2. Nostalgia and Self-Reference in Movies – The Culture Shed Avatar

    […] references to the first two movies. What’s more, its sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, continues this trend, failing to cut its own path, and relying entirely upon the fact that it was a Ghostbusters movie […]

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