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Oscar

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Oscar[1] is the son of Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters II.

History[]

Primary Canon History[]

In late 1989, while on the way back to their apartment, Dana rode Oscar's baby carriage over Psychomagnotheric Slime. Just outside the apartment, she spoke to Frank the Superintendent and took most of her focus away from Oscar. The slime animated the carriage and it rolled away. Despite bystanders coming to Dana's aid, the carriage and Oscar avoided capture. The carriage went right into an intersection on First Avenue and stopped in the middle of the street just before a bus passed by in the next lane. Dana grabbed Oscar and held him close to her. Dana went to see Egon Spengler and he agreed to investigate along with Ray Stantz. Peter Venkman found out and came along with them to examine Oscar. Egon and Ray conducted a precursory medical examination that included the Gamel and Pross Infant Acuity Test and Apgar Score. Egon confessed the only near-pediatric experience he had to this point was on a chimp. He was very healthy and had standard pupillary, auditory, and papillary responses. Egon also used a Grafco fetal stethoscope. While Egon and Ray checked out Oscar's bedroom, Peter was tasked with getting a stool sample. Instead, Peter played with him and sang "Dixie" and got Dana to get the sample.

Vigo commanded Janosz Poha to bring him a child to use as a host body in his resurrection. Janosz went to Dana's apartment the night Ray, Peter, and Egon caused a black out. Dana kindly refused to let him in after he inquired about Oscar. Some time later, when Dana was about to give Oscar a bath, Psychomagnotheric Slime seeped into the bathtub and tried to grab him. Dana took Oscar and ran to Peter's apartment. Peter made an ad hoc diaper from a sweater he got from a girl who got it from Joe Willie Namath. He joked they did want to know how she got it then fashioned it into a diaper. He told Oscar he would appreciate it if he refrained from hosing it down with his own personal rinse. He suggested he start practicing a thing the big guys liked to call "self-control". He declared he was going to stay at "Uncle Pete's" until this thing blew over and it was his place now. Dana and Oscar took his bedroom while Peter slept on the sofa. She was eager to put him down for the night. Peter asked if he could. She obliged him. Peter told Oscar he was short, his belly button stuck out too far and he was a terrible burden on his poor mother. He pointed at Oscar then waved his finger around. Peter soon convinced Dana to go out for dinner with him while Janine Melnitz babysat. Louis Tully helped out. They fed him some French bread pizza and Louis put Oscar to sleep with his take on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Oscar was kidnapped by Janosz on New Years Eve. While out on the window ledge, Oscar was grabbed by Janosz, in an ethereal form and taken to the Manhattan Museum of Art. Dana followed but was captured and Oscar was returned to the altar in front of Vigo. Janosz attempted Dana to be his wife and raise Vigo as their son. As midnight drew near, Vigo began to slowly possess Oscar. Janosz noted it was four minutes until midnight. Dana worried about Oscar. A pinkish red ray shined from Vigo onto Oscar. Vigo's face started to overlay onto Oscar. Janosz was amazed. Fortunately, the Ghostbusters arrived in the Statue of Liberty and intervened. Dana took Oscar from the altar and disrupted the possession. After Janosz was hosed down with positively charged Psychomagnotheric Slime, Dana came out from behind a column. She kissed Peter. Peter hugged them then greeted Oscar. He noted Oscar was "a little bit ripe" and joked he thought he had an accident, too. Vigo refused to give up and attacked. Peter hid Oscar then helped the others confronted Vigo but they were immobilized. Vigo found Oscar's location and used telekinesis to move the boards aside like a sliding door then held him up. Dana was scared and implored the Ghostbusters to do something. Peter decided to heckle Vigo. Luckily, the singing from bystanders outside weakened Vigo. He dropped Oscar and returned to his painting. Peter caught Oscar in time and returned him to Dana. The Ghostbusters made their final stand against Vigo and destroyed him. The painting then showed an image of the Ghostbusters in robes standing over Oscar. Oscar was present at the ceremony for the Ghostbusters on Liberty Island.

Secondary Canon History[]

IDW Comics[]

Oscar began attending PS 9, Sarah Anderson School, located on 100 W 84th Street. One of his teachers was Miss Runyon. He also began taking Karate lessons and was set to participate in a tournament on March 8. He recently won PS 9's "All Star Award" for sportsmanship. Oscar began to spend time with his biological father despite Dana's mother's reservations. At the conclusion of the Tiamat incident, Oscar returned to Dana's apartment from visiting his father. None the wiser about what transpired, Oscar found a birthday card from Peter waiting for him - along with a new Jets jersey.

Personality[]

Oscar appears to be very calm when in the presence of his mother and her friends. He is also very frightened of Vigo, as evidenced by his constant screaming.

Last Name(s)[]

Oscar's last name was never revealed in any official source about Ghostbusters, but fan sites have been known to give him the last name "Wallance" after the Violinist who some fans speculate to be his biological father. While not considered part of the primary canon, the Violinist was named Andre Wallance in Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular, a novelization of the first movie. "Andre Wallance" was only used in that novelization. In Ghostbusters II: Novel, Oscar was referred to as Oscar Barrett. However, none of this has been proven in official Ghostbusters Canon.

Trivia[]

Ghostbusters II Trivia[]

  • In the Ghostbusters II August 5, 1988 draft, Oscar is a baby boy who has no name throughout the script. He is the son of Lane Walker and Jason Locke (Vigo).
    • The baby is stated to be nine months old and in the movie, Oscar is about eight months old.[2]
    • On page 15, Peter saved the baby and carriage from the city bus by jumping on it to propel it forward.
    • Louis. the sole babysitter, gave the baby about 400 milliliters of milk whereas in the movie, Janine and Louis give him French bread pizza.[3]
    • It is a tremor and Jason Locke (Vigo) who influences the baby to pull himself into a standing position, then climb out of his crib and walk across the floor to an open window.[4]
  • In the September 29, 1988 draft:
    • On page 59, Lane Walker takes Mikey, the precursor to Oscar in early drafts, with her to the museum after the slime in bathtub attack.
    • On page 72, Egon, Ray, and Winston pass by Janine and Louis in the hall in their yellow rubber jackets. Peter jokes they were helping change a diaper.
    • On page 73, Peter is okay with Louis helping babysit and tells him he doesn't want to come home and find them humping on his couch.
    • On page 74, Janine watches TV while Louis paces around with a crying Oscar and a bottle of milk. Louis tells a slightly longer version of his take on the Seven Dwarfs ending on them not filing state and federal income taxes which he admits he's not saying is right but they could've gotten into a lot of trouble. He realizes Oscar is asleep and elects to finish his story later.
    • On page 92, Slimer hovers outside Peter's apartment, sentimentally googling over Mikey. Peter comes home, sees Slimer, yells at him to get away, Slimer licks his lips, Peter realizes he made mistake, and he is slimed.
    • On page 96, Slimer gestures a cradling baby. They check and the crib is empty. Slimer beckons them to come outside with him. They discover Mikey is outside on the ledge.
    • On page 97, Peter goes out on the ledge and tells Mikey he has his whole life ahead of him. A nanny ghost materializes and its face looks like Jason's.
    • On page 98, Peter grabs Mikey just in time but the nanny ghost beats Peter with an umbrella then they get into a tug of war over it. Eventually, Peter lets go. The ghost's stretched arms smacks himself. He charged Peter.
    • On page 99, the pram slams into Peter and he drops Mikey who lands in the pram.
    • On page 106, Jason Locke paints symbols on Mikey that are identical to ones seen in the Vigo painting. Jason uses paint from the canvas.
    • On page 107, sunlight shines through the museum skylight and moves up the Vigo painting. Jason holds up Mikey and he glows.
  • In the November 27, 1988 draft:
    • On page 68, Dana brings Oscar to the bathroom. As she lowers Oscar, the tub starts to close around him like a big mouth.
    • On page 106, Egon lays out Vigo's plan to inhabit a living human and believes Dana's psychic vulnerability to hostile entities was passed onto her baby.
    • On page 116, Oscar hovers in mid-air in front of the Vigo painting while it weeps onto Janosz's brush which he then uses to paint mystical symbols on Oscar.
    • On page 117, Dana tries to take Oscar but an unseen force pushes her back into her chair.
  • About five versions of Oscar's examination were filmed.[5]
  • According to Ray, Oscar was 24 inches, approximately 18 pounds and about eight months old when he and Egon examined him.[6]
    • Since he was about eight months old, Oscar was born in the spring of 1989.
  • It has been speculated that the Violinist is the father of Oscar:
  • Oscar is wearing a Winnie the Pooh onesie from the point in Ghostbusters II when Janine and Louis babysit him.
  • The scene of Oscar's kidnapping evolved from Harold Ramis' initial idea about the baby walking like an adult.[10]
  • Thom Enriquez storyboarded an early version of the scene. It involved Slimer trying to warn Louis that Oscar was on the ledge but he was trying to make out with Janine. Louis looks over her shoulder and sees Slimer making a bunch of gestures. Peter and Dana return home and see the baby was missing. They look out the window and see the baby on the ledge with a monster. Peter goes onto the ledge and grabs the baby. Dana hands him a baseball bat and he swings at the monster.[11]
  • The Oscar on the ledge scene was filmed on a set representing the exterior of the building in Stage 16 at Burbank Studios in Los Angeles.[12]
    • Bo Welch built the set - two exterior walls and a 10 foot tall ledge.[13]
    • Chuck Gaspar built a special harness rig for the Deutschendorf twins portraying Oscar. It was a big leather diaper attached to a metal pole bolted down to the ledge. The diaper was hidden in the Deutschendorf's jumpsuit and the pole was hidden if their legs were kept in position. Just in case, several large airbags were placed below. The twins cooperated very well during filming.[14][15]
    • The twins' father Ron Deutschendorf stood on a ladder off-camera and made noises to make it look like the baby was looking out into the distance in the scene.[16]
  • In order of the ledge shot in the kidnapping to be incorporated with the matte painting, Mark Vargo and his plate crew positioned a camera about 40 feet up along one side of the soundstage. The crew had to climb up a wooden ladder and walk along a very narrow catwalk. The Vistavision camera was too heavy to carry so it was pulled up on pulleys.[17]
  • Floating Oscar in the museum took some doing. Chuck Gaspar's crew made a piece of sheet metal hidden in the baby's suit and suspended on four wires attached to an overhead rig. To prevent the baby from moving, the metal pan was attached to the suit with velcro.[18][19]
  • In the deleted scene Peter's Concern, Jack Hardemeyer suggests using the rescue of Oscar for a photo op with Mayor Lenny.
  • In NOW Comics The Real Ghostbusters starring in Ghostbusters II part 1 he is depicted as a toddler in age.

IDW Comics Trivia[]

Miscellaneous Trivia[]

  • When asked in 2011 if they'd be up for playing Oscar again in Ghostbusters III, Will Deutschendorf and Henry Deutschendorf said that they doubt that they'd be able to act well enough, and would bring down the movie as a result. However, they would be up for a cameo appearance. Yahoo! UK Article 2/10/14
  • Dan Aykroyd said that one of his rejected scripts for Ghostbusters III had Peter going on a second honeymoon with Dana, and that the rest of the Ghostbusters were to keep an eye on Oscar, who would have been in his early to mid teens. Oscar would become a junior member of the team. [citation needed]
  • In an interview, Sigourney Weaver mentions that in a copy of a Ghostbusters III script she read, Oscar does join the Ghostbusters. In July 2016, Ivan Reitman corroborated it and stated the new group of Ghostbusters would have been led by Oscar.[20]
  • In an interview with Rolling Stone in July 2016, Ivan Reitman commented Oscar was probably Dana and Peter's son, although it's not made clear in the screenplay.[21]
  • There was a character named Oscar in Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. An early demo of the game sent to IGN in 2010 still included Oscar on the team alongside Bridget Gibbons, Samuel Hazer, and Gabriel Sitter. Later into development, a new character named Alan Crendall took over Oscar's role as the leader of the junior team.[22][23]
  • Sadly, on June 14, 2017, Hank Deutschendorf committed suicide by hanging. He was 29 years old.
  • On page 29 of Egon's Journal, a supplement of the Hasbro Haslab Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler's Proton Pack, it is revealed Oscar moved out and is living a happy, healthy, and unpossessed life.

Appearances[]

Primary Canon Appearances[]


Expanded Universe

Secondary Canon Appearances[]


References[]

  1. ↑ Dana Barrett (1999). Ghostbusters II, Chapter 1: Start (1989) (DVD ts. 01:57). Columbia Pictures. Dana Barrett says: "Oscar!"
  2. ↑ Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1988). Ghostbusters II (August 5, 1988 Draft) (Script p. 10). "Paragraph reads: "Venkman is clowning with a very cute nine-month-old BABY BOY, holding the baby over his head and pressing his nose into the baby's belly, pretending that the baby is attacking him."
  3. ↑ Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1988). Ghostbusters II (August 5, 1988 Draft) (Script p. 66). "Louis Tully says: "He started crying a little so I have him about 400 milliliters f milk and he went right back to sleep."
  4. ↑ Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1988). Ghostbusters II (August 5, 1988 Draft) (Script p. 65). "Paragraph reads: "The tremor sends a slight vibration through the crib. The baby opens it's eyes and miraculously sits up. Then, as if motivated by some powerful and supernatural force, he grabs the safety bars of the crib, pulls himself to a standing position, climbs nimbly over the side and drops silently to the floor. He cranes his neck to cheek for any movement in the hallway, then walks across the floor to the open window."
  5. ↑ Ivan Reitman (2019). Ghostbusters II- Commentary (2019) (Blu-ray ts. 16:49-17:03). Sony Home Entertainment. Ivan Reitman says: "We did about five versions of this scene with this poor child. This is Henry, I think, and—Um, one of the twins was just a little bit more responsive. "
  6. ↑ Dana Barrett (1999). Ghostbusters II, Chapter 5: Investigating Oscar (1989) (DVD ts. 16:47-16:54). Columbia Pictures. Dana Barrett says: "24 inches in length. Subject weighs approximately 18 pounds and is about eight months old."
  7. ↑ Recording of The Arsenio Hall Show 6/14/1989, Sigourney Weaver, 2:04-2:18Sigourney Weaver says: "And I've, um, actually all the characters five years later have sort of been down and out a little bit and, um, I've gotten married, I think, to the guy who used the nose spray in the first Ghostbusters and it didn't work out and so I got a divorce but I have this little baby."
  8. ↑ Joe Medjuck (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 43:10-43:19). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Joe Medjuck says: "I've always presumed this is who Sigourney married - when she has a child in the second one. The Violinist. "
  9. ↑ Ivan Reitman (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 43:15-43:19). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Ivan Reitman says: "Yes, yes, the Violinist. "
  10. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 28-29. Cinefex, USA. Harold Ramis says: "The idea of having the baby out on the ledge was to offshoot of my having a baby walk like an adult. At one point, we were really considering doing that--but it would have involved either a stop-motion puppet or an adult in a baby suit. Neither of those approaches would have worked without it being in really dim light. As soon as Ivan thought about making a baby walk, he was not thrilled. It just seemed like too much--it made the baby too important."
  11. ↑ Wallace, Daniel (2015). Ghostbusters The Ultimate Visual History, p. 141, 144. Insight Editions, San Rafael CA USA, ISBN 9781608875108. Thom Enriquez says: "In the version I storyboarded, Slimer was involved a lot more, so I had Slimer warn Louis that the baby was out on the ledge. Louis is trying to make out with Janine and he looks over her shoulder, and you see Slimer using all these gestures. The sequence was longer. When Bill Murray shows up with Dana and they find out the baby is missing, they look out the window and see the baby on the ledge with a monster, and there's a physical struggle. Bill goes out there, Dana hands him a baseball bat, and he's swinging at this creature."
  12. ↑ Spook Central "California"
  13. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 29. Cinefex, USA. Line reads: "Even though Oscar no longer had to walk, he still had to appear standing on the ledge of the building some ten stories above a crowded New York street. To accomplish this feat, Bo Welch built Venkman's corner loft apartment complete with two exterior walls and a ledge that stood ten feet above the stage floor. Then Chuck Gaspar had the task of devising a foolproof rig so that Oscar--interchangeably played by William T. Deutshcendorf and Henry J. Deutschendorf II--could stand up."
  14. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 25 footnote. Cinefex, USA. Line reads: "On a studio set representing the exterior of the building, physical effects supervisor Chuck Gaspar constructed a harness rig to support the child and prevent him from falling."
  15. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 29. Cinefex, USA. Chuck Gaspar says: "We made a big leather diaper that was attached to a metal pole bolted down to the ledge. The diaper was hidden inside the baby's jumpsuit; and as long as his legs stayed in position, you could not see the pole because it went up the back of his leg and behind his back. For reverse angles, we simply placed it in front of the baby. There was no way the baby could get loose--he was locked in. Of course, down on the floor below we had large air bags for him to fall on, but there was really no way he could get free. Either one of the twins could have become angry or annoyed by the whole thing, but fortunately they both seemed quite content out on the ledge. Ivan got lucky when he chose those twins--they were great."
  16. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 29. Cinefex, USA. Line reads: "To help direct the children, Deutschendorf stood on a ladder off-camera and made noises to try and make the performing infant appear to be looking off into the distance."
  17. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 29. Cinefex, USA. Line reads: "To complete Oscar's dramatic adventure, a plate of the ledge set was photographed and then later reduced and placed into a matte painting by Mark Sullivan featuring the rest of the building and the street below. In order to get the correct angle on the ledge, Mark Vargo and his plate crew had to position a camera some forty feet up in the air along one side of the large soundstage. To reach this location, they had to climb a simple wooden ladder and then walk along a very narrow catwalk to the desired position. The Vistavision camera had to be elevated on pulleys since it was too heavy to be carried up the ladder."
  18. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 34. Cinefex, USA. Chuck Gaspar says: "Floating that little baby was a bit hair-raising. I don't mind floating a grownup, because it they fall, at least they can protect themselves. But a baby doesn't know how to do that. The gag worried me, but we did it in such a way that the baby could possibly get out of the harness. The unit we made was a piece of sheet metal hidden inside his suit and suspended on four wire attached to an overhead rig. The metal pan was attached to the suit with velcro so there was no way the baby could move. It was so tight, in fact, that at one point the baby started fussing and we had to loosen the velcro a little bit. Even so, he could not roll off the pan because it was inside his suit. During the takes, we had everybody standing around watching pretty closely, and as soon as the baby traveled from point A to point B there were people right there to grab him. Once again, the baby was amazing. He never cried or did anything. For the straight pull-through across the room, the rig was controlled by a rope that I pulled myself because I was kind of nervous. The turn was so delicate that to make it nice and smooth we did it with a radio-controlled servo. For that move, I once again brought in Jay Halsey. At the beginning of the shot, I just pulled the rope and walked the baby along the straight path. When we got to the point where he had to turn, Jay radio-controlled the move. Then we simply lowered the baby down onto the podium."
  19. ↑ Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 34. Cinefex, USA. Line reads: "For additional close-ups where the wires would have been visible, the metal pan was concealed under the baby's suit. Depending on the angle, the pole was either held by hand or placed on a cart underneath the camera."
  20. ↑ Rolling Stone "Ivan Reitman: Why We're Still Talking About 'Ghostbusters' 30 Years Later" 7/6/16 "Ivan Reitman says: "Aykroyd, Ramis, and I worked on another draft of the film with two other writers, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. We had a very good script that was a more traditional sequel idea. It was the passing of the torch from the original Ghostbusters to a new group led by Oscar, the little baby in the second movie."
  21. ↑ Rolling Stone "Ivan Reitman: Why We're Still Talking About 'Ghostbusters' 30 Years Later" 7/6/16 "Ivan Reitman says: "I loved the sequences between Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray and what's probably their baby, Oscar, although it's not made clear in the screenplay."
  22. ↑ Spook Central "Exclusive Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime Developer Q&A" 3/19/11 "Atari Representative says: "We had originally named him Oscar, but that name and the story we'd crafted for him didn't fit with other things that may be happening in the Ghostbusters lore."
  23. ↑ IGN "Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime Preview" 7/12/2010 "Article reads: "For starters, the Ghostbusters -- Sam, Oscar, Bridget and Gabriel -- all look really sharp."
  24. ↑ Dana Barrett (2022). Ghostbusters Ultimate Edition (2022), Ghostbusters II, He's Asleep (1989) (Blu-ray ts. 00:03-00:04). Columbia Pictures. Dana Barrett says: "He's asleep."
  25. ↑ Louis Tully (2022). Ghostbusters Ultimate Edition (2022), Ghostbusters II, You're My Cousin (1989) (Blu-ray ts. 00:50-00:56). Columbia Pictures. Louis Tully says: "We're gonna be in real big trouble if we don't move fast. That ghost guy came in and took that little baby away. It was just a scared little baby."
  26. ↑ Janine Melnitz (2014). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #14" (2014) (Comic p.5). Janine says: "I got the card last Christmas. With the photo of Oscar... It seems like yesterday he was the cutest little baby..."
  27. ↑ Dana Barrett (2014). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #14" (2014) (Comic p.10). Dana says: "Yes, well, the second time it was my son, but--"
  28. ↑ Peter Venkman (2014). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #18" (2014) (Comic p.16). Peter says: "Anytime the guys and I took something big down, the Paparazzi would, like, descend... and that wasn't good for you, and it wasn't good for the kid. How's he doin', by the way? Did he get the jersey?"
  29. ↑ Dana Barrett (2014). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #18" (2014) (Comic p.17). Dana says: "Of course. I--he misses you."
  30. ↑ Bob Douglas (2020). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Year One Issue #2" (2020) (Comic p.1). Bob Douglas says: "Like just last night I dreamed this giant painting was trying to kidnap a baby, and – wait, you're still paying me for this interview, right?"
  31. ↑ Narrator (2016). Insight Editions- "Tobin's Spirit Guide" (2016) (Book p.64). Paragraph reads: "Vigo's initial plan was to inhabit the physical form of museum employee Dana Barrett's infant son, Oscar."

Gallery[]

Primary Canon Images[]

Secondary Canon Images[]

NOW Comics images provided by Ectocontainment (Fan Site) and NOW Comics Deleted pages images provided by Alex Newborn (Original Source: James Van Hise).

Behind the Scenes Images[]

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