Why Ghostbusters II's Tupperware Slime Scene Took Longer To Film Than It Should Have

As well as the first "Ghostbusters" did, grossing over $230 million worldwide, it was no surprise that Paramount was quick to get a sequel into production. Fans of the original remember that at its conclusion, the paranormal fighters triumph over evil, destroying the Terror Dogs, Gozer, The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and the masses of spectral spooks that came to invade New York. Credits rolled, and we saw our heroes on top of the world. When 1989's "Ghostbusters II" came around, fans rejoined the crew five years after their successful clash with those malicious apparitions. At this time, the Ghostbusters are no longer seen as heroes, as lawsuits for the property damage incurred during their previous battle forced them out of business.

That unemployment didn't last much longer as a new evil force, Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homberg) punched a hole from his dimension into ours, using a classic painting in a museum. As more and more signs point to a possible paranormal apocalypse, the Ghostbusters explore an abandoned transit system that seems to be the source of otherworldly energy. It is here where our heroes find a massive river of flowing pink slime, something that Ray (Dan Aykroyd) manages to snag a sample of before returning to the surface. Later, the team experiments on this slime and the scene itself took longer to film than it should have. This had nothing to do with special effects, but instead was a result of the actors themselves.

In the film "Ghostbusters II," the original team, Ray, Peter (Bill Murray), Egon (Harold Ramis), and Winston (Ernie Hudson), gather in the kitchen to experiment on a Tupperware full of energy-infused pink slime that has been gathered from deep beneath downtown New York City. The experiment, led by Ray and Egon, shows the others that the slime actually reacts to human emotions. The two of them show Peter and Winston that by yelling at the slime, it reacts in a negative, hostile way. On the flip side, the slime is eventually poured into a toaster which then reacts positively by the inanimate object dancing to Jackie Wilson's "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher." And as Bill Murray recalls, the scene took longer than expected to shoot.

Back when Murray spoke with Bobbie Wygant about the upcoming sequel, he explained why that particular slime in the Tupperware scene took so long to complete. "We did blow a lot of takes that day. That's edited together," Murray revealed. Even though this may have taken up valuable production time, it was an important turning point for the stars' attitude toward the movie. "It was a great crew day. It was a day we just sat there and laughed. And we took all day," he said. Murray explained that each performer had their own set of funny bits that continued to make everyone laugh. Of course, Murray himself was guilty of this enjoyed delay. "I just kept saying things that didn't apply to the scene and making people laugh," he recalled. That extra time put into that day of filming paid off, as the slime Tupperware scene is surely a fan favorite.