Ghostbusters’ Stay Puft Marshmallow Man: Examining the Classic Scene

Last Updated on May 25, 2023

When it comes to Ghostbusters, there’s very few films more nostalgic than the 1984 classic. With some of the best working comedians in Hollywood history, and a talented filmmaker like Ivan Reitman- This movie has introduced lovers of comedy, horror, and a good old fashioned ghost adventure to the unique and witty tales of New York City’s infamous paranormal exterminators and has since become a staple in pop culture with a respectable franchise that is still going to this day. 

Ghostbusters follows the story of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zedemeore (Ernie Hudson) as the quartet tracks and captures ghosts all over New York to keep the living safe from annoying pests like Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. For fans of the movie, it’s hard not to smile when the Marshmallow Man makes his first appearance. Everything from the incredible special effects, hilarious acting and reactions from the characters, and of course all the juicy drama that went into creating this memorable sequence.

According to the filmmakers, Columbia Pictures was unhappy with the idea for the Stay Puft scene in the film and originally wanted to replace it with something more grounded. However, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Reitman were stern on their desire to shoot the scene exactly as it was written in their script. Other than a few location switches and some serious investments in the wrong kind of shaving cream, the team ultimately made their scene the way they always imagined it. And as if the scene wasn’t iconic enough already, the legend behind how it got made and how well the sequence was received by test audiences, this scene is nothing short of a miracle.

Did you know that Bill Murray was criticized by his fellow co-stars for being rude to a castmate? It may not be a shock to hear this- but Murray was notoriously hard to reign in and control on the set and his behavior often was laughed off. Well, the Stay Puft Marshmallow scene was especially difficult to get through as the production was already facing a hemorrhaging budget, a tight shooting schedule, and a final scene being picked apart by producers, and when Murray kept making jokes about super model Slavitza Jovan’s accent during the scene, Murray was criticized for his jokes.

Not to mention the long list of other fun facts we cover in Scene Breakdown! Check out the video and see what makes the scene so iconic! And make sure to watch previous Scene Breakdown episodes here!