Hasbro's Kenner Classics: Bug-Eye Ghost Review

Hasbro's Kenner Classics line continues with the Kenner Classics: Bug-Eye Ghost. Read on to find out more about it...

The Kenner Classics: Bug-Eye Ghost (henceforth only referred to as the Bug-Eye Ghost) brings back one of the Kenner line's most iconic original ghosts.

GHOSTBUSTERS KENNER CLASSICS THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS GHOSTS
(Ages 4 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $14.99/ Available: April 2021)
It's a (proton) blast from the past with The Real Ghostbusters ghosts from Hasbro's Ghostbusters Kenner Classics line! Inspired by The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, the packaging features design and deco influenced by the toys from the 80s. Kids can imagine eerie encounters with The Real Ghostbusters ghosts toys as it showcases fun action features, including cyclops eye-popping action from Bug-Eye and rolling action to reveal a fearsome ghost inside from Fearsome Flush.

The Real Ghostbusters Bug-Eye and Fearsome Flush toys from Hasbro's Ghostbusters Kenner Classics line are perfect for those wanting to relive the glory days of Saturday morning cartoons and ghostly green juice boxes or those who want to introduce a new generation of fans to the Ghostbusters.

The retro nostalgia starts with the packaging, which replicates the iconic look from the 1980s, but with a few modern-day accommodations. Hasbro has taken great care to make the new packaging look as close to the original as possible. I won't detail all of the changes, but the most notable is the removal of the "Who You Gonna Call?" song lyric from above The Real Ghostbusters logo. This allows Hasbro to avoid paying a royalty to Ray Parker Jr. (and Huey Lewis).


Both of the backs have the same instruction panel. The back of the original shows most of the toys that were produced up until that point. On the new back, only the three toys from this wave are shown.


If you owned this toy when you were a child, you already know how it works. For the benefit of everyone else, it's really simple. It starts off with a large plastic eyeball wedged inside his massive forehead. Walton Goggins has nothing on 'ole Bug-Eye here.


Operation is very simple. Just give a karate chop to Bug-Eye's back, and out pops his eyeball! He can even hold it in his hand.


I don't have the original Kenner toy anymore, but Ghostbusters News reports some differences. The most obvious is that the size of the eyeball has increased. The reason for the change was due to safety regulations and that was because the original eyeball is now considered a choking hazard. Another significant difference is the length of the cord that the eyeball is attached to. The original one from Kenner is much, much longer and thicker. Again, this has likely been changed due to safety regulations, as the original cord is probably considered a strangulation hazard now. That said, even though they did have to change a few things here and there, I do feel that, overall, Hasbro has done a great job in recreating the Bug-Eye Ghost. It looks fantastic!

Kenner Classics: Bug-Eye Ghost carries a MSRP of $14.99.

Original Kenner images courtesy of the Ghostbusters Wiki. Other images scanned and/or photographed by me or provided by Hasbro. This item has been provided by Hasbro for review on this site.