In Defense of Muncher, The Newest 'Ghostbusters' Abomination

Even though its release date was delayed yet again, the marketing machine behind the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife is hard at work cranking out the usual manufactured hype; there's a new LEGO set, a branded Twinkie promotion, and most recently, we got our first glimpse of the newest Ghostbusters character, the one sure to capture America's hearts, it's, um ... Muncher?

Okay, so the online response was a tad hostile, probably because Muncher looks like just a blue version of Slimer or a Na'vi exhibitionist played by Marlon Brando. Plus, Muncher's expression, full of embarrassment and exhaustion, inadvertently encapsulates how a lot of people feel about this belated sequel. But -- and I can't believe we're saying this -- this isn't totally fair to Muncher.

For starters, the image we all saw online isn't from the movie itself; Muncher made his big debut on a Ghostbusters-themed episode Junior Masterchef: Spain for some insane reason. It wasn't even a clip or CGI; it was literally just a prop on the set of a cooking show resting next to the ECTO-1 and a pool of blue slime for the children to splash around in.

And yes, it looks goofy and kind of depressing, but so do a lot of ghosts in the Ghostbusters franchise. The same people crapping on poor Muncher likely grew up with the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, a great show that still gave us its fair share of creatively-bankrupt ghouls, such as these janky monsterfied versions of The Simpsons.

 And no one should be allowed to criticize Muncher if they ever owned the Fearsome Flush action figure ...

Muncher may not be great, but at least he's not a literal toilet with bloodshot eyes and a slobbering Gene Simmons tongue.

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Top Image: Sony