Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
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The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is a fictional character in the movie Ghostbusters and the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. He was the cartoon mascot of the fictitious Stay Puft marshmallow corporation. According to Sam Delaney of The Guardian, "Stay Puft's familiar mascot combined elements of real life brand ambassadors Bibendum (aka the Michelin Man) and the Pillsbury Dough Boy".[1] Jonah Goldberg of the National Review referenced the Marshmallow man as a popular culture symbol that people assume is harmless, but can be turned to evil in the right circumstances.[2] The costume was created by special effects sculptor Bill Bryan using miniatures, optical compositing and Bryan himself in the latex suit.[3]
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[edit] Appearance in Ghostbusters
In the film, a powerful being (Gozer) arrives atop an apartment building on Central Park West in New York City, where it tells the Ghostbusters that the next thing they think of will be the form the Sumerian god Gozer will assume to destroy their world. Despite their efforts to clear their minds, Ray Stantz imagines the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. As he explains, Mr. Stay Puft "just popped in there" as "something that could never possibly destroy us." Moments later a giant 100 foot tall Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is seen walking towards the apartment building. The Ghostbusters shoot at Stay Puft with their proton packs, setting him on fire, but not stopping his advance. The Ghostbusters eventually stop Stay Puft when Egon suggests that the Ghostbusters cross their proton pack streams as they fire at Gozer's portal—although Egon himself had warned them early in the film that crossing the proton streams "would be bad," he does assure them that there is a very slim chance in this case that they could survive. The plan succeeds in causing "total protonic reversal", destroying the gate. The explosion generated by the event incinerates the Stay Puft man (thus destroying Gozer), raining molten marshmallow down onto the roof of the skyscraper they are on and the street below.
The person inside the Stay Puft costume during shooting was the costume's creator, Bill Bryan. According to the Ghostbusters DVD special features, the ten-second scene of Stay Puft climbing the building while on fire cost almost $100,000. The first take was ruined when the costume caught fire too quickly and had to be extinguished before Bill Bryan was injured. A new suit had to be constructed, at a cost of around $50,000. Originally, when Mr. Stay Puft is destroyed in the movie, there was a scene in which, in addition to the marshmallow goo, Mr. Stay Puft's hat also falls to the ground. The scene was ultimately cut - the "hat" (a large cloth replica that works much like a parachute) was deemed too unrealistic. Early in the film, Dana's groceries include a bag of Stay Puft marshmallows, and in the scene where the containment grid is shut down in the first film, a Stay Puft billboard can be briefly seen on the wall of a neighboring building. The earliest design of Mr. Stay Puft had a different head design. it was the appearance of a cartoon like man with a scary looking face, but was scrapped and replaced with the more recognizable marshmallow-shaped head. Mr. Stay Puft was also featured in several of the Ghostbusters video games and will be a boss character in the upcoming 2008 Ghostbusters video game.
[edit] Other depictions
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man also appears in the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. In the cartoon series, the Ghostbusters used the residual molten marshmallow to create their own Stay Puft Man. They charge it with positive kinetic energy in order to make him good, and they keep him in the Containment Unit because he is too big to fit in the firehouse. Mr. Stay Puft soon became an ally to the team, helping the Ghostbusters defeat enemies too powerful to fight on their own. The character was voiced by John Stocker, and later by Frank Welker.
[edit] Toys
Over the years, a moderate amount of merchandise has focused around the character and has become an icon for the Ghostbusters film. A number of McDonald's Happy Meal toys have featured the character. To coincide with the debut of the animated series The Real Ghostbusters, Kenner released an action figure with limited articulation that included rotation in the head and arms in 1986. A Japanese vinyl kit of the character was also released by Tsukuda as was Kenner's plush Marshmallow Man.
In 2004, company NECA licensed the Ghostbusters franchise to produce a number of modern Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (and other Ghostbusters related) merchandise such as a Bobble-head toy, a resin statue and a 15 inch roto-cast plastic action figure. The NECA version of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man displayed a more menacing and evil version of the character compared to that of Kenner's, which portrayed the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man as a more gentle looking figure. The NECA's figure seems to be based on the original design, or possibly the character when he is on fire, while Kenner's version is based on the final movie and the cartoon version.
[edit] Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in popular culture
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On the television series Lost, one of the nicknames Sawyer gives Hurley is 'Stay Puft', due to his weight. On the MTV Show Viva La Bam, Don Vito is referred to as the Stay Puft Man due to his fatness. In the Homestar Runner Halloween toon "Homestarloween Party", one of the characters, Pom Pom, dressed up as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for his Halloween costume. In the comic Hack/Slash during a flash back to Cassie Hack's Childhood In the Slice Hard issue, a stuffed toy of The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man can be seen in the background sitting on a shelf above Cassie's bed.
His image has been found in a microscopic etching on a 1988 math coprocessor[4], although some have ascribed the image to other origins.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Brand designs. The Guardian (2007-07-26). Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
- ^ Jonah Goldberg (2003-02-03). “Incredible, Unstoppable Titan of Terror!”. National Review. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
- ^ Vince Lambolito (2003-02-03). Our Top 20 FX Suits!. Cardboard Monocle. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
- ^ Chris Oakes (1998-12-28). Silicon, Transistors ... Doodles. Wired Magazine. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
- ^ The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Micro Magnet. Retrieved on 17 August 2007.
