One of Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s most heartwarming scenes borrows a sweet moment from a Golden Age episode of The Simpsons. After over a year’s worth of COVID-19 related delays, Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s long-awaited release date finally arrived in November 2021. The much-anticipated reboot received mixed reviews, with some fans calling it a sweet and funny addition to the series and some saying that Ghostbusters: Afterlife offered nothing new or revolutionary for the franchise.
However, one thing that few fans could deny was that Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a nostalgia-fest for established fans. Unlike 2016’s reboot, Ghostbusters: Afterlife did not change the existing canon of the original movies, meaning the surviving cast members made appearances as their old characters near the close of the belated sequel. However, one late cast member, Harold Ramis, was replaced via CGI playing the ghost of his character. The most touching scene in Ghostbusters: Afterlife was an interaction between Egon’s ghost and his daughter, and it owed a creative debt to a classic Simpsons episode.
There were plenty of ghosts seen in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, but the most important in terms of the sequel’s story is that of former Ghostbuster Egon Spengler. Played by the late Ramis, Egon was always the brains of the paranormal investigation outfit and his absence shaped the plot of the new franchise installment, which followed the story of Egon’s estranged daughter and her children inheriting his remote farmhouse home after his death. Early on, Egon’s daughter Callie notes there are no photos of her in her late father’s house, only to later discover that is because he has a wall-sized collage beside his desk to remind him of her despite the distance between them. It is a heart-warming reveal that plays out identically to Homer’s famous “Don’t Forget, You’re Here Forever/ Do it for her” Maggie collage in The Simpsons' “And Maggie Makes Three” (season 6, episode 13).
Like Egon’s ghost in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Homer made his workplace bearable by plastering the walls with photos of his beloved daughter to remind himself why he bothered with the drudgery. Admittedly, Spengler’s work of avoiding the apocalypse was a lot more vital than Homer’s inept safety inspection, but both characters still put the similar collages in place for the same reason and both come as a poignant reveal after earlier scenes implied that the forgetful fathers just never kept any photos of their daughters.
Egon’s ghost ends up playing a larger role in the climax of Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s action and Ramis’ likeness put in an appearance near the sequel’s close. However, amidst all the fast-paced action heroics, character comedy, and appearances from adorable anti-villains like Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s Mini-Pufts, it is this subtle scene that stands out as a sweet, understated moment. Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s Simpsons-borrowed collage is not the movie’s most explosive beat, but it is one with as much heart as its classic sitcom inspiration.