Can you stream The Real Ghostbusters cartoon on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, or anywhere else? The hit animated series is one of the most beloved of the 1980s and early 1990s, so it should be available just about anywhere. With Ghostbusters: Afterlife on the horizon, one would think that the studio would want the franchise in as many households as possible to get old and new fans excited about the long-awaited sequel. For some fans, The Real Ghostbusters took an even more interesting direction than Ghostbusters 2 did on the big screen.

Netflix had The Real Ghostbusters available to stream from 2017 to late 2019. It is unclear why the streaming giant took the series down, though it was more than likely over licensing expirations. This could mean that the Columbia Pictures Television and DIC Enterprises show could be moving to Amazon Prime or even Hulu. With Ghostbusters: Afterlife on the way, the studio could be looking to relaunch the show somewhere other than Netflix.

As with most shows or movies that leave Netflix, there was no explanation when The Real Ghostbusters was taken down. For now, the only way to watch the Real Ghostbusters online is to purchase digitally from Google Play and Amazon or go the old fashioned route and dig out the DVDs. The series ran from 1986 to 1991 and there has been more than one DVD release over the years, with the 2008 Time Life version being the ultimate, as it contained all 147 episodes. The 2016 DVD sets, which were split into volumes is to be avoided at all costs since it is missing title cues and doesn't come close to collecting every episode.

The Real Ghostbusters could return to Netflix in the coming months, even though it was taken down last year. Basically, we'll just have to wait and see where the family-friendly horror series ends up. It certainly seems like a big missed opportunity not having the show streaming everywhere and being promoted. While the show is predominantly for children, it was the spark that got Ghostbusters 2 (for better or worse) going and it has aged remarkably well over the years. A spin-off series titled Extreme Ghostbusters was released in 1997 and only made it to 40 episodes.

With Ghostbusters: Afterlife on the way, we could even end up seeing a return to The Real Ghostbusters, depending out how well Ghostbusters 2020 does in theaters. Netflix has had great success taking old cartoons from the 80s and rebooting them, so there is always that option too. Ghostbusters fans should get some more information about the beloved animated series in the near future. For now, there is no place to currently stream The Real Ghostbusters in North America, unless you rip your DVDs to your private Plex server for personal use. You can head over to the official Netflix.com streaming app to ask about the possibility of the show's return.