Phoebe Spengler - Tumblr Posts
Ghostbusters: Afterlife review (minor spoilers)
My birthday is on Valentine's Day, and, as I do every year, I began pointing out some things my parents could get me, and being an avid Ghostbusters fanboy, I asked for the newly released Ghostbusters: Afterlife. A few days ago, as an early birthday present, my parents got it due to the whole family wanting to see it.
After watching it for the first time on Saturday, I'm super hyped still, and I want to talk about it, so review time.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife follows the estranged family of Egon Spengler, mainly his grandchildren Phoebe and Trevor, played by McKenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard respectively, as they try to solve the mysterious happenings around the small town they find themselves living in after Egon died suddenly. With the help of Podcast, Phoebe's mystery obsessed summer school classmate, and Lucky, Trevor's diner coworker and friend, they must save the world from the coming of Gozer with some of Egon's reworked Ghostbusting gadgets.
The characters are well written and interesting: Phoebe is an autistic mechanical engineer who does not connect with her mother easily and is awkward around everyone, Trevor is your typical angsty teenager who has some knowledge in car mechanics and is awkward around girls, Podcast is an oddball who has a podcast about the mysteries of the world and the occasional restaurant review, and Lucky is your carefree small-town teenager who helps the Spenglers retrieve their ghost gear from the police station. Phoebe and Trevor's mother, Callie, is your typical burnt-out single mother, tired of Phoebe's constant tampering with electronics in the house and Trevor's don't care attitude, and reluctantly moves the whole family into her father's old farmhouse when money becomes tight. Mr. Grooberson, Phoebe's summer school teacher, is a goofy/easily excited seismologist and Ghostbusters mega fan who helped her figure out just what was going on with her grandfather and his disappearance.
The soundtrack of the film is magical; all they do is keep the original soundtrack but update it a bit more for the most exciting parts, which is a fantastic way to go about this, it keeps the tone of the original film, but with a couple modern twists that don't ruin the original.
The effects are wonderfully done, a combination of practical and CG works fantastically for the Ghostbuster's universe, the effects of the traps and packs are a perfect update of the original and the sound design is spot on. The voices of the Terror dogs and Gozer are a bit off compared to the original but doesn't take away from the scenes. Gozer itself is actually pretty amazing; CGI gives Gozer a creepier look with updated spikes and fibrous body, along with an updated look to its face. The Terror dogs are also more updated, being a combination of CGI and physical, practical effects, looking just about identical to the originals.
The gear is amazing, the Proton Packs look fantastic, and I'm assuming they took a few details from the experimental pack from the video game as we get a closeup of the upgraded pack when Phoebe is testing it. The traps are accurately built even if they look weathered and well used, and the old Ecto-goggles are really well made, though the camera built into it is new to me, so either it was never used in any media or Egon made it to archive his progress without an actual camera getting in the way. The Ecto-1 is a beautiful car, and the weathered broken look is made all the better knowing it was the original Ecto-1A from Ghostbusters 2 that was just sitting in storage for the last thirty years, so the damage isn't faked. The Ecto's gear has a cool design, looking like a combination of experimental tech and eighties future, and the remote-controlled trap is actually a really good idea, especially since we know from the game that air bound ghosts are a thing. Combined with the gunner's seat, a feature that I don't think I've seen since the cartoon, is an interesting tool for the Ecto, and is actually really cool; rather than chase a ghost for who knows how long until it stops, the Ghostbusters can try and trap the ghost on the road.
The set design is well thought through as well; Egons house really shows that it was owned by a guy who cared more about his work than keeping his house in good condition, the paint is peeling off, the barn is in the midst of collapsing, and the bedrooms are weathered and yellow from age. The lab has amazing attention to detail, with Egons diplomas, his designs, old computers, and even his mold and spore collection scattered about the area; Egons penchant for snack foods is shown as well, with an old Crunch wrapper in the pocket of Egon's jumpsuit and a Twinkie in the glove box of the Ecto-1 that has most likely been there for the last thirty years.
The action is well done, the first hunt of the movie kept me on the edge of my seat, beautifully combining a ghost hunt and a car chase that goes through the town, utilizing the gunner's seat and the remote trap. The final battle is also extremely well done, with another short car chase and an interesting battle with Gozer.
The actors are also well cast; McKenna Grace plays the awkward autistic really well, and believably portrays an engineering prodigy. Finn Wolfhard is a great actor and has great chemistry with Grace, making the portrayal of the sibling duo very believable. Logan Kim plays Podcast wonderfully, bringing a young boy in wonder of the world's oddities to the unlikely crew. And as always, Paul Rudd is amazing in just about anything.
Knowing Jason Reitman, the son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, co-wrote and directed this film makes the love letter to the franchise all the sweeter; yes, there is a lot of fanservice to the film, but that makes it better since it is a legacy film, it needs to reference the two that came before it, so the new characters understand what happened before and why it's important.
One bit that nearly made me cry was at the end; the camera pans up to the starry sky as "For Harold" fades into view. Harold Ramis wanted to produce a third Ghostbusters film for years, but neither the actors nor the producers ever wanted to get on board; but, in 2005, Ramis and Dan Aykroyd co-wrote the famous Ghostbusters video game that so many consider to be the honorary third film. Knowing that Ghostbusters: Afterlife wasn't written in memory of Harold Ramis, but for him, so that the franchise could have the proper conclusion that he wanted for it, makes this film all the better.
The film isn't perfect; there are many things that could be written better, or the effects could be a bit more polished, there are even a few parts that could have been explored more. But as the ending to a forty-year franchise, it does it well. And, while I know the story has been told, the big bad defeated, and Egon's life lived well, I can't help but wonder if Rietman is going to make another because of the fans, or if he'll leave it be as the proper ending to a franchise that started as a joke concept.
I GOT THIS COMMENT FROM @robin-buck1ey ON ONE OF MY POSTS AND I HAD TO SHARE IT😭😭 TYSM UR MY HERO NOW‼️🤗
SPOILER WARNING KIND OF
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
For those who watched the new Ghostbusters frozen empire can we talk about the way Melody left to her afterlife yes yes I believe that once she was gone phoebe would go to the dinner Melody lead her to the one with Melody's name phoebe goes there when she feels alone when she misses Melody she goes there just to remember her and feel loved to feel the happiness of having a friend who wasn't podcast
💙💙💙💙💜💜💜💜💜💜💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💜💜
hear me out… same people different fonts ‼️‼️‼️
they both have dark and curly hair, they both struggled with making friends as a child, they both fell inlove with a blonde person who they did everything for, that said blonde person betrayed them, they risked their life for the person they fell inlove with, they were both seen as “weird” or “abnormal”,they both have close connections with one of their parents AND they both deserved a kiss scene with their blonde lover which never happened (im delusional ) 😞😞😞
“phoebe had a crush on podcast” sit the FUCK back down you DO NOT get a say on the ghostbusters universe anymore
i know damn well im gonna be listening to so long london for the 5th time today thinkinh about phoebe and melody
so whos gonna tell callie that im inlove with her daughter 😞😞
lets go pookies ive got another edit done !!!
GUYS !!!??????!!?!?!??
GOT IT FROM HMV LETS GOOO
Another day to ponder the Spenglers
if i am not put in the cold hard ground in this just know i’m coming back.
Fellas,,,,
save me girl with magnificent fashion sense and ability to speak to ghosts
girl with magnificent fashion sense and ability to speak to ghosts save me
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE IS TODAY BABY
LET'S GOOOOOOO
I can't look at ANYTHING Ghostbusters related on Tumblr because then I'll spoil the whole movie for myself and I wanna go in completely blind but OH MY GOD
i'm reblogging this after the movie
Minor spoilers in tags
but HOLY FUCKING SHIT
I have so much to say
but I'm gonna hold off.
There's just one complaint from me
WHY CAN'T BILL MURRAY SAY FUCK?? LET PETER VENKMAN SAY FUCK.
All i can say is that it's fucking amazing.
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE IS TODAY BABY
LET'S GOOOOOOO
I can't look at ANYTHING Ghostbusters related on Tumblr because then I'll spoil the whole movie for myself and I wanna go in completely blind but OH MY GOD
i'm reblogging this after the movie
Heeeyy Ghostbusters Fandom
I got a question.
What do we all think ectoplasm taste like? I mean, poor Venkman and Trevor went through it, and we never really get to know how it tastes.
Thoughts?
I know in my heart that Phoebe punched Walter Peck in the face. I know she did.
Phoebe Spengler Headcanons
NO SPOILERS INCLUDED
Her middle name is Elizabeth.
Her birthday is March 30th of 2008
She's autistic with little understanding of peoples feelings, or even her own.
She tried to keep fireflies as pets when she was little.
She gets along pretty well with Trevor, because Callie worked a lot and he'd take care of her.
Her favorite song is "Slipping Through My Fingers" because Callie used to sing it to her as a lullaby, and Trevor used to play it for her when she'd panic.
She has anxiety, but it's not noticeable because of her "blank" state of emotions.
Her favorite color is teal.
She loves polar bears.
It took her a stupidly long amount of time to learn how to tie her shoes
The first thing she learned to rewire was a toy robot that Trevor had.
She had an interest in antique clocks for a while.
For her tenth birthday, Trevor got her a silly little joke book that she carried around for weeks, until she told every single joke in it.
Her mortal enemy (other than ghosts) is the monkey-bars at any playground ever.
She struggles with her feelings towards people (both romantically and platonically)
She doesn't like hugs from strangers, or touch at all.
It took her five years to warm up to Trevor even holding her hand in public.
She leaves her chessboard out with all its pieces sometimes, hoping that her grandpa will come back and play another game with her.
She hates that she never got to meet Egon while he was alive.
Planning my comic con costume is a NIGHTMARE
I can't find a ghostbusters costume anywhere right now that isn't on Amazon, but then I gotta find EVERYTHING ELSE
I wanna make an animatic for ghotbusters frozen empire to the song something stupid by Frank Sinatra, but I CANT DRAW
CAUSE THIS SONG TO ME IS SO MELODY AND PHOEBE