It was the summer of 1984. I had just ended my junior year in high school and was ready for some summer movies. A little Ivan Reitman movie titled Ghostbusters hit cinemas, and comedy films were forever changed. A fun premise, a great cast, and an unforgettable soundtrack helped cement this movie as not just my favorite film of that year but an evergreen classic that has gone on to spawn sequels, video games, and more.
One of the cast members who helped make Ghostbusters so memorable wasn’t even a human being. It’s the hot dog-eating ghost, Slimer. He has been a franchise mainstay, and most recently appeared in this year’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Slimer is pretty much the mascot of the Ghostbusters franchise, and this year, HalloweenCostumes.com has introduced a lifesize animatronic of the “ugly little spud.”
“He slimed me.”
The 5-ft Animated Ghostbusters Slimer Halloween Decoration weighs approximately 24 lbs. It includes the following:
- Base
- Support Pole
- Body
- 2 Arms
- Cover
- Assembly Screws
- Adapter
- Instructions
Slimer retails for $299.99 and is available exclusively from HalloweenCostumes.com. Readers of GeekDad will get 15% off their purchase now through November 1st, 2024 by using this link.
Putting Slimer together is a quick, easy process. You start with assembling the base. This simply entails connecting the support pole to the base. As with most larger Halloween decorations, the metal pole is secured by a simple snap lock. An additional wing screw is used to reinforce the connection.
Next up, you place Slimer’s body onto the support pole, again locking it securely into place.
Next up are the arms. These attach to the horizontal metal bar via snap locks.
Once the arms are connected, all you have to do is attach the rear cover.
Slimer comes with eight screws, which you’ll use to attach the cover to the prop’s body. Once you’ve tightened all the screws, it’s a pretty good fit.
Once Slimer is sealed up, you can plug him in and use him. There are two different modes you can choose from: an always-on setting or one where he only activates when the motion sensor is tripped. There’s also a much-appreciated volume control.
And here’s a look at the completed prop:
5-ft Animated Ghostbusters Slimer Halloween Decoration — The Verdict
As you can tell from the video below, this is a relatively simple animated prop. Slimer’s arms move and he gives some ghostly groans.
But you don’t need much more than that, thanks to the fabulous sculpt and paint job on the prop. Before I even switched him on, just looking at a lifesize Slimer “floating” in mid-air brought a grin to my face. All the details are spot-on, down to his surprisingly sizeable badonkadonk.
While there are the inevitable seam lines because of the all-plastic body, they are well hidden. You won’t really notice them at a glance, especially the ones on the body.
There’s a lot to love about Slimer, but that doesn’t mean he’s perfect. First, there are a couple of minor issues. The overall paint job is fantastic, but, sadly, mine had some paint that had gotten onto one of the eyeballs.
On my prop, the right arm didn’t attach as close to the body as the left arm. Again, it’s a small thing, but it’s noticeable.
While those two issues are pretty small, there are a couple of choices that the designers made with Slimer that I found frustrating. First off, there’s a very noticeable screw and washer at the top of Slimer’s head where the body is attached to the support pole:
I wish that there had been some effort to disguise that screw, even if it had just been painted the same green as Slimer’s body. Perhaps an attempt was made, and it drew even more attention to the screw than there already was. Thankfully, at night it won’t be nearly as visible.
The final issue I have with the prop is the biggest, and it may be a deal breaker for some. If you read through the stages of assembly above, you may recall that the rear cover is attached to the body with screws. These screws will literally screw into the plastic of the body. That wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that to disassemble Slimer, you have to remove that rear cover. Doing so will widen the drilled holes in the body, making it harder to reattach the cover. I wish that they had instead gone with a system to bolt or latch the cover to the body, something which wouldn’t degrade the plastic. As things stand, I’ll probably end up keeping Slimer assembled year-round, which is not an ideal solution for those who want to optimize their holiday storage space.
Of course, on the flip side of things, many people (myself included) won’t have a problem displaying a movie-accurate prop from a beloved film outside of Halloween. And despite those issues that I just mentioned, the 5-ft Animated Ghostbusters Slimer Halloween Decoration is a joy that’s sure to bring a smile to any fan of Ghostbusters.
Perhaps the best recommendation I can make about the animated Slimer doesn’t even come from me. I had taken the prop out onto my porch one night to try him out in the dark, and the eight-year-old girl from next door was fascinated. She came over, checking him out and taking photos and videos with her phone. The fact that she was so drawn to this animatronic prop attests to how well HalloweenCostumes.com did with Slimer’s creation.
For more information or to purchase the 5-ft Animated Ghostbusters Slimer Halloween Decoration, head over to the HalloweenCostumes.com website. As a reminder, clicking on that link will also give GeekDad readers a 15% discount on their entire purchase.
HalloweenCostumes.com sent a unit for evaluation but had no input into this review.
