big marshmallow man ghostbusters

The Mind-Blowing Way Ghostbuster's Stay Puft Scene Was Actually Filmed

The newly released " Ghostbusters: Afterlife " is as much a continuation of the " Ghostbusters " franchise as it is a love letter to the series as a whole – and with all the Easter eggs and callbacks that director Jason Reitman included in "Afterlife," it's worth taking a look back at the movie that started it all.

When "Ghostbusters" launched in 1984, it became a cultural phenomenon: Proton packs, the Ectomobile, and the iconic Ghostbuster uniform became essential parts of pop culture, and the film's bizarre sense of humor helped establish it as a defining film for an entire generation of moviegoers. There is perhaps no better example of the film's bizarre comedy than the iconic final battle between the Ghostbusters and a gigantic Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man that is terrorizing downtown New York.

The climactic showdown against the giant fluffy marshmallow monster is as intense and action-packed as it is laugh-out-loud silly, and has stuck with audiences for generations after it hit the big screen. It's one of the most memorable and influential scenes in movie history (let alone the "Ghostbuster" franchise itself). In the current age of CGI, it might shock many fans to learn just how difficult it was to film the ambitious battle sequence.

The power of practical special effects

When director Ivan Reitman read Dan Akyroyd's original script, he stated that the movie would be impossible to film due to the ludicrous special effects the story would require — and while it obviously didn't end up being impossible, it was certainly very difficult. In order to correctly represent the scale of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, the set designers actually had to build a 1/18th scale model of downtown New York and fill it with handcrafted model cars built from toys (via CineFix) .

There were several different Marshmallow Man suits constructed for the project, and at least three unique puppeteered Marshmallow heads were sculpted to represent a complete range of emotion on the monster's face. The heads were so complicated that it took four puppeteers to control the monster's face as it lumbered around the set.

As if that weren't complex enough, for the scene where the Marshmallow Man is set on fire and begins scaling a building, the VFX department constructed a fire-retardant version of the suit and a head that could melt realistically in the fire. After the head "melted," the team dumped hundreds of gallons of shaving cream on the life-sized street, enough to a stuntman to the ground.

The emphasis on practical effects and the painstaking detail taken in crafting this scene is a big part of why the final battle continues to hold up remarkably well even to this day.

How The 'Ghostbusters' Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Was Made

By anna green | sep 6, 2016 | updated: jun 7, 2023, 2:35 pm edt.

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is one of the most iconic images from Ghostbusters (1984), but it turns out he almost didn’t make the cut. In the short video above, Cinefix tells the story of Mr. Stay Puft from his original conceptualization by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis to his laborious creation by a team of special effects masters.

Unlike the CGI-heavy movies of today, Mr. Stay Puft is all practical effects. Shooting the climax of Ghostbusters — in which the giant, sinister marshmallow galumphs down Manhattan’s Central Park West, climbs a skyscraper, and ultimately explodes—took four puppeteers, multiple marshmallow suits, and almost 100 pounds of shaving cream. Creating the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, according to the video, was both a struggle and a labor of love—one which paid off when audiences went wild for the creepy, gooey marshmallow monster.

Filmmaking presented a unique set of challenges prior to the computer age. Most practical effects in early films didn't make use of marshmallow suits or shaving cream, but they did require creative props, sets, and camera work. After watching the video above, you can see examples of how special effects artists made movie magic in the silent film era here .

A version of this story ran in 2016; it has been updated for 2023.

Ghostbusters

By ivan reitman, ghostbusters summary and analysis of part 5: the marshmallow man.

Inside the apartment building, the Ghostbusters climb a seemingly-endless number of stairs to get to Dana’s apartment. We see Dana sitting on a bench next to Louis on her roof. As a crack of lightning hits the roof, scary music plays. Finally, the Ghostbusters arrive on Dana’s floor, and walk down the hall to her apartment. They knock down her door, but she is nowhere to be found. Suddenly Ray sees some stairs in a corner of the apartment, and the men venture upstairs hesitantly. Purple rays of lightning encircle the apartment building as the Ghostbusters emerge on the roof where Louis and Dana are conjuring the wrath of Zuul. Both Dana and Louis are reaching up towards the turret of the apartment building while getting shot with purple lightning. Suddenly Dana and Louis turn into the evil four-legged creatures from earlier, the Keymaster and the Gatekeeper. The dog-like creatures look at the Ghostbusters, their eyes flashing red, then gallop up a large staircase towards a pyramid, the same one that Dana saw in her refrigerator at the beginning.

The Ghostbusters run after it, looking up at the pyramid. Suddenly, the doors open slowly to reveal a bright light, and a woman in a skin-tight suit descends the staircase, petting the two creatures. “It’s Gozer,” says Egon, and when Winston says that he thought Gozer was a man, Egon informs him that Gozer can take any form it wants. Ray leads the way up the stairs towards Gozer, insisting that Gozer leave New York and go to a parallel dimension. A horrifying voice emerges from the body of Gozer as she says, “Are you a god?” Ray tells her no and Gozer shoots purple lightning out of her hands at the Ghostbusters, saying, “then…die!” They fall backwards towards the edge of the building, nearly falling to their deaths, but they manage to crawl back up. Winston scolds Ray: “When someone asks if you’re a god, you say yes!” The Ghostbusters assemble again, pulling out their guns and walking towards Gozer. “Let’s show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown,” says Peter. As they fire their own lightning at Gozer, she jumps high into the air, flipping and landing on the other side of them. Egon orders them to “go full stream” and they fire at Gozer again. This time when they shoot, she disappears completely, leaving no trace.

At first, the men think that they have gotten rid of Gozer, that that was all it took, but Egon speaks up to inform them that something bad has happened. The men look up at the tower of the apartment building, which seems to be breaking apart. As chunks of the building begin to fall off, the crowds below run away. The Ghostbusters can hear a voice which says, “Subcreatures, Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volga's Zildrohar, the Traveler has come. Choose and perish.” When Ray asks Gozer what it means, Gozer replies that they are meant to choose the form of the destructor. Peter urges the other Ghostbusters to empty their heads and not think of anything so that the destructor doesn’t come, but it is too late, and Gozer announces that the form it will take has been chosen. Peter is livid, insisting that nobody chose a form for the destroyer, when it suddenly becomes clear that Ray did make a choice. “I couldn’t help it. It just popped in there,” he says.

The men run to see what form it took, and they see a giant version of the “Stay Puft Marshmallow Man” walking down the streets of New York. Crowds of New Yorkers run in fear as the Marshmallow Man stomps down the street, and we hear sirens blaring. Ray explains, “I tried to think of the most harmless thing, something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never, ever possibly destroy us.” Peter asks Egon if he has any ideas, but Egon informs him that he is terrified and we see New Yorkers run screaming from the angry Marshmallow Man. The Ghostbusters fire their ray guns at the giant monster, which sets it on fire. The flaming Marshmallow man grabs onto the apartment building and begins to climb the apartment building as the Ghostbusters desperately try to problem-solve. Egon gets a sudden flash of inspiration, suggesting they “reverse the particle flow through the gate.” When Peter asks him how they will do that, Egon tells him that they will “cross the streams,” which worries Peter and the others. “There’s definitely a very slim chance we’ll survive,” says Egon. The men decide to set about crossing the stream.

The men fire up their guns and blast the entrance to the pyramid, just as the Marshmallow Man pops his head up over the edge of the roof. They cross the lightning coming out of their guns with one another—a send up of "crossing streams" while urinating—and the portal explodes. As they run for cover, the entire roof of the apartment building goes up in flames, including the Marshmallow Man. The ominous clouds that have gathered above the apartment building disappear as people below run from the falling debris, which includes huge piles of marshmallow. Covered in marshmallow, Ray and Winston wake up in the midst of the debris and call for Egon and Peter, who are nearby. Everyone is okay. They walk over to the scorched bodies of the two dog-like creatures—Dana and Louis—and Ray apologizes for not thinking of a way to save Dana. Suddenly, a hand reaches through the crusty scorches dog. The men help break apart the statue-like substance, and inside they find Dana, still alive. Nearby Louis calls for them, and the men help him out. Peter hold Dana as she comes back to consciousness.

Louis asks the men who they are and they tell him they’re the Ghostbusters. The group goes downstairs, as Winston yells “I love this town.” Back on the ground level, a crowd cheers for the Ghostbusters, and Peter kisses Dana as the theme song of the film plays.

Yet again, the clumsy and uncoordinated Ghostbusters find themselves a little out of their element. When they climb to the top of the apartment building to find Dana and Louis, they stumble upon a primordial and terrifying scene. They watch as Dana and Louis turn into strange four-legged creatures and walk towards a brightly-lit pyramid at the top of some stairs. Gozer emerges, looking like a sexy 1980s female pop star in a skin-tight suit. When the men look closer, however, her eyes burn red and her speaking voice is the raspy and terrifying, the voice of a monster. None of the men possess the naturally heroic spirit of a ghost hunter—they are scientists after all—but Ray takes the fall and approaches Gozer, who shoots them all with lightning upon hearing that they are not gods.

Next they try violence, shooting Gozer, but this only angers the entity more. The energy of Gozer compounds and it threatens to take a new form, this time as anything that the Ghostbusters imagine it to be. Peter believes that if they don’t imagine anything at all, Gozer will go away. Unfortunately, Ray thinks of the Marshmallow Man. Yet again, the absurdity and nerdiness of the Ghostbusters gets in their way. Suddenly a giant, angry, demonic Marshmallow Man starts stomping down the street, like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon that’s become possessed by the devil. The Ghostbusters are yet again in over their head, and they have only endangered the city more. Their bumbling incompetence only adds to the suspense of the film.

When they band together and choose to fight evil as a unified front, the Ghostbusters are more effective. Their comical pluck and nerdy conviction make them good Ghostbusters after all, and even after a few stumbling blocks they know how to combat the giant cosmic forces around them. Like true heroes, they are willing to risk everything and try and beat the odds if it means it will save a large group of people. With no other options, the Ghostbusters decide to “cross the streams.” While Peter worries that crossing the stream will be very dangerous and Egon chimes in that they are likely to perish, they all decide to do it. The process of “crossing the stream” involves combining the forces of all of their guns to shoot the portal through which Gozer came. This image is at once comic, like a bunch of adolescent boys urinating—“crossing streams” as its were—and heroic, as it shows them combining forces to stop evil. The Ghostbusters are stronger as a group.

This final section of the film is the most suspenseful and adventure-packed. The Ghostbusters must be resourceful in order to save the city, and there are many stumbling blocks in their way. The forces of evil are unseeable, unknowable, and very large. The onslaught of ghostly happenings in the city seems very similar to a citywide state of emergency, like a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. Innocent New Yorkers run down the street, fleeing for their lives, screaming as unseen horrors pop up everywhere. Comedic and horrific at the same time, the Marshmallow Man is a childhood advertising mascot re-appropriated as an easily angered and vengeful demon. As it climbs the side of an apartment near Central Park West, New Yorkers scream in terror and cheer on the Ghostbusters to help them. When the government, the EPA, and the cops cannot save them, the Ghostbusters certainly can.

The film was notable at the time of its release for its impressive visual effects, its blending of the comedy and horror genres, and its affectionate portrayal of New York. The images of a giant demonic Marshmallow Man climbing the side of an apartment high rise and of a nerdy accountant being chased through Central Park to Tavern on the Green by a demonic dog are not only funny because they are absurd, but because they send up New York City, in which outlandish things happen everyday. When Louis runs out of the apartment building pursued by the demon dog, the doorman of the building seems nonplussed, rolling his eyes at the fact that someone brought a “cougar to a party.” No one will believe anyone else about the ghostly events taking place because to the New Yorkers of the film, anything can happen in New York. This creates a particularly funny and ridiculous setting for the outrageous science fiction with which the Ghostbusters are contending. At the end, after the Ghostbusters have defeated the demons, Winston yells from the roof, “I love this town!” solidifying the film as a love letter to New York City, as much as a ghost story buddy film.

Ghostbusters Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Ghostbusters is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters study guide contains a biography of Ivan Reitman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Ghostbusters
• Ghostbusters Summary
• Character List
• Director's Influence

Essays for Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Ghostbusters by Ivan Reitman.

• The Representation of Gender and Gender Stereotypes in Ghostbusters

Wikipedia Entries for Ghostbusters

• Introduction

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Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (The Real Ghostbusters)

• View history

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man has varied in the series from a villain to a hero but rarely displayed the same level of malevolence as it did in the original film - perhaps due to the fact that it was no longer one of Gozer's forms, the most noticeable examples being in The Real Ghostbusters .

• 1.1 The Real Ghostbusters
• 1.2 Ghostbusters video games
• 1.3 Ghostbusters (2016 film)
• 1.4 Fall Guys
• 1.5 Planet Coaster
• 4 Navigation

Biography [ ]

The real ghostbusters [ ].

Due to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's extreme popularity with fans and his iconic status he was destined to return in the Ghostbusters cartoon series - though this version of Stay Puft was much more benevolent than the movie version, in fact the cartoon version of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was often a heroic figure rather than an antagonist: though there were a few exceptions to this rule where the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was back to his usual villainous ways.

The opening credits of The Real Ghostbusters showed the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man as a central figure amongst the horde of ghosts that were promptly "busted" by the group - this version of Stay Puft was shown as rather menacing despite the fact he was rarely a villain in the actual show (as mentioned above). In fact, he has even assisted the Ghostbusters on two occasions in the episodes Sticky Business , and The Revenge of Murray the Mantis respectively.

Ghostbusters video games [ ]

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is a boss in several Ghostbusters video games including Ghostbusters: The Video Game . In both the stylized and realistic versions of this game, Stay Puft has the ability to spawn smaller marshmallow-based monsters, a power that the original Stay Puft Marshmallow Man never displayed before. Despite this, this version of Stay Puft has been described in-game to be neither as big or as powerful than the one in the film.

Ghostbusters (2016 film) [ ]

In the 2016 reboot Ghostbusters , Stay Puft returned as a parade balloon with the ghosts controlling him, which falls and lands on Abby, Jillian and Patty. It is later popped by Erin.

Fall Guys [ ]

In Fall Guys , a costume of a Fall Guy covered in small Stay Puft Marshmallow Men was added to the game as part of the game's second F2P season, being among one of the five Ghostbusters -themed cosmetics introduced for the its 2022 Halloween event.

Planet Coaster [ ]

In Planet Coaster , a crossover DLC was released, containing Stay Puft Marshmellows, a placeable marshmellow man object, and the Marshmellow Man as an entertainer.

Gallery [ ]

• The video game/anime series Yo-kai Watch features a Yo-kai that is based on the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man named "Whisped Cream", who serves as the main antagonist of Yo-Kai Watch Blasters .

Navigation [ ]

• 1 Tek Knight
• 2 Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• 3 Miss America

A massive 15′ tall Stay Puft Marshmallow Man inflatable is coming this Halloween

• July 26, 2022

We’re just under 100 days until Halloween, and with the spooky season fast approaching, our friends over at Fun.com and HalloweenCostumes.com are finalizing a wide array of must-have Ghostbusters decorations and collectibles.

In today’s news, the company is set to reveal two different inflatable renditions of The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, one for those limited on space, and another, an absolute behemoth that, when erected, will quickly become the talk of your town.

While details are a bit scarce at the moment, here’s what we now know from the listings that just went live :

• 8′ tall inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man – $99 (Release date: September 16th, 2022)
• 15′ tall inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man – $299 (Release date: September 16th, 2022)

While there have been larger inflatable renditions of The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man made available through sometimes questionable third-party sale sites, the upcoming 15′ option is noteworthy, as it will serve as the single largest commercially available inflatable of The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man released to date. While no imagery is available at this time, for a rough idea of scale, back in 2016, we had an opportunity to look at Gemmy’s now discontinued 13′ Stay Puft as part of the yearly Ghostbusters News Halloween Countdown .

As previously reported, Fun.com has a wide array of exclusive items releasing soon, including their upcoming Proton Pack replica , which, a quick reminder, is set to launch next month, upcoming and exclusive offerings will also include a brand new 5′ tall inflatable Slimer along with a Treat Your Trunk decoration kit that features iconic Ghostbusters imagery and branding.

Get ready for Halloween early by browsing all the exclusive Ghostbusters items available from Fun.com and HalloweenCostumes.com .

Upcoming Ghostbusters Proton Pack replica will include “real sounds from the movie”

New Necrohowler skins have been UNLEASHED in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed

‘The Real Ghostbusters’ inspired LEGO minifigures are now available for pre-order

Alamo Drafthouse adds additional screenings of Ghostbusters: The Preview Cut

Unboxing Bradford Exchange’s Ghostbusters Glitter Globe | HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN

Hasbro release teaser hyping “BIG” Ghostbusters reveal

19″ brick-based toy based on the Ghostbusters reboot Ecto-1 is now available

Jason Fitzsimmons

Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s chase scene gets recreated as an interactive experience

Ghostbusters: Afterlife artist introduces fans to the Ecto-1X in new art series

Proton Charging founder Chris Stewart joins this week’s Halloween-fueled episode of Extraplasm Podcast

Samhain is back in new preview of Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Ecto Edition

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Ecto Edition comes to Nintendo Switch next month, pre-orders launch for glow-in-the-dark physical release

New preview of Ghostbusters Ecto-1 and Firehouse Headquarters 3D puzzles

Hasbro teases new Ghostbusters reveal for this weekend

Funko’s Ghostbusters Stay Puft POP! mask now available for $10 at Five Below

We try Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed’s Nintendo Switch port

Extraplasm Podcast kicks off the Halloween season with artist John Yurcaba

Follow ghostbusters news.

Disclaimer: This website receives compensation through the use of third-party affiliate links. "Ghostbusters" and "Ghost-Design" are registered Trademarks of Columbia Pictures Ghost Corps (Sony Pictures)

Ghostbusters Marshmallows (by Campfire/Rocky Mountain)

• View history
• 1 List of Products
• 3 External Links
• 5 References
• 6.1 Product

List of Products [ ]

• 12 oz (340g) bags of "Ghostbusters Marshmallows" by Campfire, sold exclusively at Big Lots.
• 20 oz (566g) bags of "Ghostbusters Marshmallows" by Campfire, sold exclusively at Wal-mart.
• 250g bags of "Ghostbusters Marshmallows" by Rocky Mountain Marshmallows.
• 10 oz (283g) bags of "Stay Puft Marshmallow" by Campfire.
• 10.5 oz (283g) bags of "Mini Stay Puft Marshmallow" by Campfire.
• 2023 - Frontier League's Schaumburg Boomers will host the Windy City Thunderbolts on August 11 and free baseball bat-wielding bobblehead of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man will be given to the first 1000 people to enter Illinois' Wintrust Field. The game ends with a fireworks display hosted by Campfire dubbed the "World's Biggest Marshmallow Fight". [3]
• On page 3 of Ghostbusters 101 #5 , panel 5, on the bag of 2016 " Stay Puft Marshmallows " are the Slimer bits from Campfire's Ghostbusters Marshmallows.

External Links [ ]

• Campfire's official "Stay Puft Marshmallows" page
• Campfire's official "Ghostbusters Marshmallows" page (Archived by Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
• Marshmallow USA - "Rocky Mountain" (Archived by Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

Also See [ ]

• Stay Puft Marshallow Products Line (Kingsway)
• Pascall Limited Edition Ghostbusters: Afterlife Marshmallows

References [ ]

• ↑ campfiremallows Tweet 6/3/2021
• ↑ campfiremallows Tweet 6/11/2021
• ↑ Ghostbusters News "Exclusive Stay Puft Marshmallow Man bobblehead to be handed out at upcoming baseball game" 8/7/2023

Gallery [ ]

Product [ ].

• 3 Vinz Clortho