Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
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The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was the cartoon mascot of the fictitious Stay Puft Corporation which produced marshmallows in the movie Ghostbusters. He was a parody of the real-life Pillsbury Doughboy and slightly resembles Bibendum, the Michelin tire man, as well. The brand name, "Stay Puft", was a pun intended to invoke audience members' childhood memories of eating Jet-Puffed brand marshmallows as children.
In the film, an ancient Sumerian god called 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 Gozer will assume to destroy their world. Despite their efforts to clear their minds, Ray accidentally makes the choice as memories of roasting marshmallows, and as he explains, Mr. Stay Puft "just popped in there" as "something that could never possibly hurt us." Moments later a giant (112 feet 6 inches tall) Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is seen walking towards the apartment building.
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man also appears in the animated series The Real Ghostbusters, even serving as a heroic figure, helping the Ghostbusters defeat an evil grasshopper demon and a stingray demon. The episode "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis" explains that after imprisoning him in the Ghostbusters' containment unit, the Ghostbusters managed to control Mr. Stay Puft through experimentation and to render him harmless, allowing him later to develop a friendly persona. It is even revealed that he is a good friend of Slimer and communicates with him now and then. The character was voiced by John Stocker, and later by Frank Welker.
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 film's release, 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.
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[edit] Parodies and references in popular culture
- On the television series Lost, on of the nicknames Sawyer gives Hurley is 'Stay Puft', due to his weight.
- In the popular Homestar Runner Flash cartoon series, Pom Pom dressed up as "Mr. Stay Puft" during the first Halloween Special.
- On the MTV Show Viva La Bam, Don Vito is referred to as the Stay Puft Man due to his large weight.
- The movie Shrek 2 includes a scene with a giant gingerbread man that is intended as a spoof of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
[edit] Trivia
- The person inside the Stay Puft costume during shooting was the costume's creator, Bill Bryan.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Ghostbusters | |
|---|---|
| Movies: | Ghostbusters | Ghostbusters II |
| Television: | The Real Ghostbusters | Extreme Ghostbusters |
| Video Games: | Ghostbusters (Activision) | Ghostbusters (Sega) | Ghostbusters II |
| Technology: | Proton pack | Ectomobile | Ghostbusters equipment |
| Characters: | Peter Venkman | Egon Spengler | Ray Stantz | Winston Zeddemore | Janine Melnitz | Ivo Shandor |
| Ghosts: | Slimer | Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man | Vigo the Carpathian |
| Misc: | Ghostbusters: Legion | Ghostbusters: The Return | Ghostbusters (role-playing game) | Filmation's Ghostbusters |
