Slimer (originally referred to as the Onionhead and sometimes the Mean Green Ghost and the Ugly Little Spud) is a character from the Ghostbusters franchise. Slimer is a green, gluttonous ghost that is the first successful catch of the newly formed Ghostbusters.
He appears in the films Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), the remake Ghostbusters (2016), and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), in the animated television series: The Real Ghostbusters, Slimer! and Extreme Ghostbusters, and in the video games: Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), Beeline's Ghostbusters (2013), Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (2022) and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord (2024). Slimer was voiced by Ivan Reitman and Adam Ray in the films and by Frank Welker in the animated series. In The Real Ghostbusters, he is the Ghostbusters' mascot and friend.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) instead features a similar ghost named "Muncher".
Creation and conception Ghostbusters During the pre-production of Ghostbusters, Ivan Reitman remarked Slimer was sort of like Bluto in the film Animal House, like the ghost of John Belushi.Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 78 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York, USA, . Joe Medjuck says: "One day, during preproduction, we were all sitting around talking about the Onionhead concept, and Ivan remarked that the character was sort of like Bluto in Animal House – like the ghost of John Belushi, in a way, Danny, who was obviously a good friend of John's, never argued with that. Even so, we never officially said that and we never mentioned it in the script. It was just one way to look at the character because Onionhead's grossness is like Bluto's in Animal House. We certainly never expected anyone to recognize him as such, although somehow the word did get out and we received some calls from a few newspapers saying they'd heard we had the ghost of John Belushi in our movie."
Special effects artist Steve Johnson sculpted the gluttonous, slimy, green ghost then known only as the "Onion Head ghost" on set due to the puppet's unpleasant smell. Now commonly known as "Slimer", it was not called that until the 1986 animated television series The Real Ghostbusters. The Slimer design took six months, and approximately $300,000 to develop. It went through many variations, which Johnson blamed on executive interference through micromanagement, constant adjustments, and conflicting notes on how to modify each detail. He said: "In the beginning, they asked for a 'smile with arms' but before I knew it ... 'give him 13% more pathos, put ears on him, take his ears off, less pathos, more pathos, make his nose bigger, now his nose is too big, make his nose smaller ... Make him more cartoony, make him less cartoony."
The day before his deadline, Johnson learned Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis had wanted Slimer to be an homage to John Belushi's likeness. With that information and a series of Belushi headshots, Johnson took at least three grams of cocaine and believed that Belushi's ghost was visiting him to provide encouragement. It was during this episode that he sculpted the final Slimer design that appears in the film. Aykroyd admitted the character was inspired by Belushi, particularly his body. Ramis said the comparison was not malicious, explaining that Belushi was the person most likely to trip over a coffee table and knock a bookcase over. The model had three interchangeable faces for larger expressions, while smaller features like blinking were controlled by cables and rods by a team of puppeteers. Smaller, egg-size models were made for less animated movements like flying around the ceiling of the Sedgewick Hotel ballroom. The full-size Slimer puppet was performed by Mark Bryan Wilson, who wore the foam rubber suit reinforced with spandex while being filmed against a black background. As Wilson's movement was restricted by the puppet's cables, the camera was moved around him to simulate movement. Wilson worked with oversized props so the ghost would appear smaller after composited into live-action.Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 75 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, . Paragraph reads: "During effects photography, the Onionhead suit was worn by Mark Wilson. Full-figure shots required that his legs – which extended out from beneath the legless torso – be draped with black velvet for maximum concealment. Although Wilson provided the major movements for Onionhead, a team of puppeteers – wearing helmets or behind plexiglass in this food-throwing scene – produced the more subtle, cable-actuated expressions. Oversized props were used so that when composited with live-action, the ghost could be made to appear smaller than human-size."
For the live-action set, in the scene where Ray spooks Slimer, a room service cart trailed after him. The cart was motorized and piloted from underneath by one of Chuck Gaspar's crew. Naturally, when the cart crashes, the driver is not present. The shot of Slimer phasing through the wall was shot at Entertainment Effects Group and incorporated optically later on.Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 78 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York, USA, . "The room service cart which trails along behind the Onionhead as it flies through the hotel corridors was actually a motorized vehicle, piloted from underneath by one of Chuck Gaspar's crew members. For the scene where it crashes and overturns, the driver was removed and the cart merely pushed into the wall. The ghost itself – which passes through the solid surface leaving a slimy, dripping residue behind – was shot on stage at Entertainment Effects Group and incorporated optically in the live-action photography."
Ghostbusters II
Slimer was not always a definite part of the Ghostbusters II script. It was a matter of considerable debate if he should appear at all. Slimer's appeal was widespread among children thanks in part to the first movie and The Real Ghostbusters. Slimer was given a subplot and written into the movie: Slimer would eat various foods in the Firehouse while Louis Tully would try to trap him, then they would become friends. Michael Gross requested that elements of the animated version of Slimer be incorporated into the movie. Tim Lawrence and Thom Enriquez worked on a new design. Meanwhile, Bobby Porter was called in to portray Slimer. Some of the technology and techniques used for Nunzio Scoleri were used for Slimer – the divided head construct, pneumatic jaws, SNARK, and a fat suit – a departure from the first movie where he was hand puppeteered. Then Slimer was removed from the script. Porter was released.Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 21. Cinefex, USA.
Two weeks later, Slimer was back in the script and had a bigger role. However, Porter was no longer available. Effects coordinator Ned Gorman remembered working with Robin Navlyt on Willow and she was brought in. Navlyt was the same height as Porter and fit into the suit very well. Chris Goehe and his mold shop crew made a full lifecast on her and Al Coulter worked on a new skullcap. The Slimer shoot was finished close to the first day of shooting. Michael Gross was on hand to push the crew to keep Slimer subtle and reduce any complicated approaches to moving him. Slimer's segments were deemed intrusive by preview audiences.Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 18 footnote. Cinefex, USA. During editing, Ivan Reitman decided to limit Slimer's role even though all scripted scenes were filmed and completed. Ultimately, Slimer's scenes were trimmed to two brief shots plus one during the end titles.
Origin of name In the script for Ghostbusters, and in the film itself, Slimer is never actually called by any name (the term "slimers" is used to identify a kind of ghost). The creature was called "The Onionhead Ghost" by the film crew, and in the film's closing credits, Steve Johnson is credited as the sculptor for "Onionhead". Slimer was marketed as "the Green Ghost" in initial merchandise for The Real Ghostbusters. When the cartoon series was produced, and in response to the name much given to the character by audiences, the writers renamed the green ghost "Slimer", and the name stuck on all subsequent Ghostbusters properties, including Ghostbusters II and Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, despite the character never actually being referred to as Slimer within either film. Although Slimer was referred to as "The Green Ghost" early in the related toy line, in later releases of his first figure, an extra label was applied, specifying "Known as 'Slimer' in the Real Ghostbusters TV show".
In the in-narrative explanation for The Real Ghostbusters Slimer's name was revealed in the eleventh episode of The Real Ghostbusters, "Citizen Ghost" (first broadcast on November 22, 1986). A flashback depicting how the Ghostbusters made friends with Slimer reveals the ghost was so nicknamed by Ray Stantz.
In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, according to its Tobin's Spirit Guide, Stantz named the green ghost Slimer to annoy Venkman, who still nurses a grudge against the creature.
Character Throughout the first film, Slimer appears to lack intelligence, only caring about gaining food to eat (such as hot dogs). In the second movie, Slimer appears fatter and more intelligent and could drive a bus, and in The Real Ghostbusters, showing compassion from Ray Stantz, and kissing Janine, though always annoying and teasing Peter Venkman (who sometimes nicknames him "Spud"). The 2016 reboot features a different incarnation of Slimer, who savages a hot dog cart and, after an attack by the Ghostbusters, steals the Ecto-1 to go on a joyride with his girlfriend, Lady Slimer, and other ghosts.
His origins were told by the Marvel UK comic book The Real Ghostbusters #22, though it is non-canonical to the film series and the animated television series. It is explained that he was King Remils ("Slimer" backwards), an obese king who died of heart failure, while a deleted scene from the 2016 Ghostbusters film was meant to expand on Slimer's rebooted continuity origins: when he was alive, Slimer was a gangster who killed a restaurant waiter that got his order incorrect, resulting in his imprisonment and execution. After his death, the Ghostbusters encounter him haunting the same restaurant, but due to the experimental nature of their equipment, they inadvertently disfigure him, destroying his legs and turning him green, before he escapes. In Erik Burnham's Tobin's Spirit Guide, it is believed by the Ghostbusters that Slimer was conjured by the Sedgewick Hotel's owner Godfrey M. Sedgewick (who was one of Ivo Shandor's disciples) in the early 1920s after a rite went awry.
Appearances Film Original continuity Ghostbusters (1984)
Voiced by Ivan Reitman, Slimer (not named until The Real Ghostbusters) was a legendary ghost to all on the original staff of the Sedgewick Hotel. His usual territory was the twelfth floor, but his outings were usually non-violent and simply involved gorging himself on food from room service carts. As a result, the hotel was able to keep a lid on the supernatural problems for a while. For some reason, Gozer's approaching time of arrival provoked Slimer (and many other ghosts) into being much more active than usual. Eventually, the staff could no longer keep the ghost a secret and called the Ghostbusters. However, the team had not yet fully tested their equipment and were not completely prepared for a full capture. Ray Stantz attempted to hold Slimer by himself, but the ghost escaped through a wall, charged at Peter Venkman, and covered him in ectoplasmic residue.