# Why weren't there more kenner toys based off the cartoon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ghostbusters Cartoons\ **Created:** [February 3, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497 "2021-02-03T21:52:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bison256](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/bison256/32/186112_2.png) [@bison256](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/bison256)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/1 "2021-02-03T21:52:47Z")
So I’ve been wondering for awhile, why didn’t [Kenner](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/kenner-10410) make ghost busters figures based off tge ghosts from the cartoon? I know that [the Real Ghostbusters](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/games/the-real-ghostbusters-activison) was not as merchandise driven as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In that cartoon characters were created simply to sell toys. Why couldn’t Kenner have done the opposite, create figures from the villian of the weeks? Even some of the back ground ghosts would have made neat figures. Would they of needed to pay the writers and artists of the cartoon? ---
**Author:** ![kingpin](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/kingpin/32/187259_2.png) [@kingpin](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/kingpin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/2 "2021-02-03T22:05:08Z")
South Suburbs GBFan presented an interesting possibility in [this topic](https://www.gbfans.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=47138), that the non-core character designs may’ve been tied up by legal red tape from being the intellectual property of DiC’s animation studios and/or artists: > [@South Suburbs GBFan](#): > > Something else just occurred to me: Why did we never get Boogieman, Sandman, what, _et al_ alongside Banshee Bomber and the others on the shelves? > > Answer: As with all other things, _the ghosts and monsters would have been DiC property too._ Kenner’s license extended to the core Ghostbusters, Slimer, Stay-Puft, ECTO-1 and ECTO-2. (As an amusing aside, this may also be why the Louis figurine looks like Rick Moranis instead of the cartoon version–presumably, as a side character, his likeness rights came cheap.) > > This might be why we got all the Fright Features and Super Fright Features characters as well: Peter in brown; Egon in cool grey; Ray in tan; and Winston in light blue are DiC’s characters. But! Egon in black with purple; Winston in a green spacesuit; Peter in a gray suit with waders and yellow suspenders; and Ray in blue with a silver techno-vest…All of these are _Kenner_ properties. ---
**Author:** ![South\_Suburbs\_GBFan](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@South\_Suburbs\_GBFan](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/South_Suburbs_GBFan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/3 "2021-02-05T18:19:23Z")
It’s about half that and half “[Kenner](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/kenner-10410) just didn’t feel like licensing out the creatures from the show.” The designer from Kenner, who did the panel at Fan Fest, cited the creative freedom with designing the monsters as the best part of the job. EDIT: Rather surprisingly, GBFans’ spell-check doesn’t accept W-A-T even though it’s a proper name. (Is there some kind of Hastur the Unnamable thing going on with him?) ---
**Author:** ![wafflerobot](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/wafflerobot/32/187360_2.png) [@wafflerobot](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/wafflerobot)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/4 "2021-02-05T19:30:06Z")
I always wondered this. Even though I liked the ghosts that [Kenner](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/kenner-10410) made, it would have been nice to have the stand out villains as well. ---
**Author:** ![bison256](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/bison256/32/186112_2.png) [@bison256](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/bison256)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/5 "2021-02-05T19:57:36Z")
The boogie man, [sandman](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/characters/the-sandman), and ghost family from the first episode would have made a perfect figures, nice and chunky. ---
**Author:** ![Coover5](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Coover5](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/Coover5)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/6 "2021-02-05T21:21:09Z")
I’m grateful the ghosts were original because that let me tell original stories with my toys as a kid. That being said sometimes I’d make use of the toys I had to work as ghosts from the show. Did this mock up just for the thread. Can’t say I used these exact figures back in the day but they are appropriate to the era. [![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/4/8/486bb1a682b668064b08a569f3e816fcefb8d078.jpeg)](https://imgflip.com/i/4wvqsa)[via Imgflip Meme Generator](https://imgflip.com/memegenerator) ---
**Author:** ![devilmanozzy](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@devilmanozzy](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/devilmanozzy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 1:23pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/7 "2021-02-07T13:23:08Z")
Again, I find myself at odds with the theories i’ve read so far, as I think this is less of a legal issue and more of a communication issue/influence issue. I currently am working on a ThunderCats Wiki (which has a section for sister series SilverHawks) and watching the dvd extra “Partly Real, Partly Metal, Remembering the Silverhawks”. They do quite a bit of talking about the [Kenner](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/kenner-10410) toys (interviewing Tom McGrath the Kenner’s Marketing Director) and it seems that the writers for the show actually took some ideas from Kenner, mostly those weapon birds/fighting hawks which came with the characters in the toy line. Honestly, considering that they were suggesting stuff to put in episodes is something I couldn’t see flying with JMS there. That might be the real reason. If that be the case, maybe we are better off with the questionable toys we got and the decent episodes that were made without the toy company interference. ---
**Author:** ![South\_Suburbs\_GBFan](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@South\_Suburbs\_GBFan](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/South_Suburbs_GBFan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/8 "2021-02-07T16:25:22Z")
It’s more than likely a “both, and” situation. JMS wanted to be free of Kenner’s influence; [Kenner](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/kenner-10410) didn’t want to pay any more licensing than they had to. Kenner was paying Columbia for the name, [Ray Parker Jr.](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/ray-parker-jr) for the song lyrics, (possibly) Cadillac/Miller-Meteor/GM for ECTO-1; and Volkswagen for Highway Haunter. ---
**Author:** ![winston1986](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/winston1986/32/148051_2.png) [@winston1986](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/winston1986)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/9 "2021-02-09T23:05:51Z")
I will say I wish some of the toys made it into the cartoon. Like the football player Monster, the snake Buggy, and the monster toilet. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Venkman\_Jr](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Peter\_Venkman\_Jr](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/Peter_Venkman_Jr)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/10 "2021-02-10T17:06:52Z")
Actually, the Bug Eye ghost appeared twice on [The Real Ghostbusters](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/games/the-real-ghostbusters-activison). Information about his appearances can be found here:[https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Bug-Eye\_Ghost/Animated](https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Bug-Eye_Ghost/Animated) Also, I don’t know if this was intentional or not, but in the season six episode “[The Slob](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/characters/the-slob)” when the Ghostbusters go to the Bay Bridge Garbage dump [The Glob](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/characters/the-glob) animates some pieces of garbage including a toilet. When I watched this episode the first time, I had wondered if the animated toilet was a reference to Fearsome Flush from the [Kenner](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/kenner-10410) toy line. ---
**Author:** ![fritz](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/fritz/32/10773_2.png) [@fritz](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/fritz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/11 "2021-02-10T22:32:49Z")
> [@Peter Venkman Jr.](#): > > Actually, the Bug Eye ghost appeared twice on The Real Ghostbusters. Information about his appearances can be found here:[https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Bug-Eye\_Ghost/Animated](https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Bug-Eye_Ghost/Animated) > > Also, I don’t know if this was intentional or not, but in the season six episode “The Slob” when the Ghostbusters go to the Bay Bridge Garbage dump The Glob animates some pieces of garbage including a toilet. When I watch this episode the first time, I had wondered if the animated toilet was a reference to Fearsome Flush from the Kenner toy line. In that same episode, the [Ecto-Bomber](https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Ecto-Bomber) appears, to boot. My recollection has [the toy](https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Action_Vehicle:_Ecto-Bomber_Vehicle) coming out first, the episode later. But yeah, cross-polination between the toy line and the show was very sparse, especially for the time. ---
**Author:** ![winston1986](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/winston1986/32/148051_2.png) [@winston1986](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/winston1986)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/12 "2021-03-10T23:07:30Z")
Some of the [Kenner](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/kenner-10410) toys would not be done in the show. Like the Ghost Toilet and the possessed football player. I would have loved the Ghost Toilet in an episode just for the jokes. ---
**Author:** ![joezlo](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@joezlo](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/joezlo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/13 "2021-03-11T17:05:43Z")
Because Ninja Turtles. ---
**Author:** ![Coover5](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Coover5](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/Coover5)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/14 "2022-09-14T00:57:36Z")
Didn’t want to start a new topic just to ask… Was I the only one who thought Granny Gross Ghost was supposed to be the librarian from GB1? ---
**Author:** ![deadderek](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/deadderek/32/98787_2.png) [@deadderek](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/deadderek)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 8:27am UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/15 "2022-09-14T08:27:07Z")
> [@Coover5 post\_id=4972542 time=1663117056 user\_id=17267](#): > > Didn’t want to start a new topic just to ask… > > Was I the only one who thought Granny Gross Ghost was supposed to be the librarian from GB1? As a kid that’s what I had assumed. ---
**Author:** ![joezlo](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@joezlo](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/joezlo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/16 "2022-09-14T16:23:52Z")
It’s crazy that Swamp Thing had 5 episodes and a more comprehensive character line of toys than GB. ---
**Author:** ![Coover5](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Coover5](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/Coover5)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/17 "2022-09-14T19:03:55Z")
Many of the Swamp Thing toys double as Ghostbusters toys for me. Skinman was a ghost, Anton Arcane was [The Phantom](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/characters/the-phantom) of the Opera and the mutated Mantis was Murray the Mantis. ---
**Author:** ![ghoulishfright](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@ghoulishfright](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/ghoulishfright)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/18 "2022-09-17T22:51:51Z")
As a kid, I was always a little bummed we didn’t get a toy version of the Japanese Ecto-Ichi from _[Attack of the B-Movie Monsters](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/real-ghostbusters/attack-of-the-b-movie-monsters)_. That thing was toyetic as heck. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/f/0/f00f2ba029118f68586630b14a1dab805a2a6f06.webp) I also wanted some Peoplebusters action figures. ---
**Author:** ![Spenglers](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@Spenglers](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/Spenglers)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 12:38am UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/19 "2022-09-18T00:38:21Z")
> [@ghoulishfright post\_id=4972674 time=1663455111 user\_id=2936](#): > > As a kid, I was always a little bummed we didn’t get a toy version of the Japanese Ecto-Ichi from _Attack of the B-Movie Monsters_. That thing was toyetic as heck. > > ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/f/0/f00f2ba029118f68586630b14a1dab805a2a6f06.webp) > > I also wanted some Peoplebusters action figures. Cool as heck, plus it might’ve caught the eye of a few Back to the Future fans and gotten a few crossover sales from fans of that trilogy. You can’t tell me the team wasn’t thinking about the flying DeLorean when they drew the Ichi up. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Venkman\_Jr](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Peter\_Venkman\_Jr](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/Peter_Venkman_Jr)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497/20 "2022-09-19T01:05:33Z")
@Golishfright: Yeah, Ecto Ichi would have an amazing toy likewise I would have gladly paid for People Busters action figures. Also, it still surprises me to this day that the toy line never had a boat or any type of watercraft for The Ghostbusters to use. Ironically, when Playmobil was making [the Real Ghostbusters](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/games/the-real-ghostbusters-activison) sets Winston was released with a Wave Runner. [Next page](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/why-werent-there-more-kenner-toys-based-off-the-cartoon/22497.md?page=2)