John Candy was supposed to write the script but never finished it.
One of the film's taglines is "You've seen them before, now see them Going Berserk." The director, writers, and principal cast were all alumni of the Canadian sketch comedy improv TV troop Second City TV, whose work is anthologized in SCTV Network (1981). The picture is considered to be SCTV's movie debut.
Elinor Donahue, who plays mother Margaret Anderson in the spoof of Father Knows Best, played the older daughter, Betty, in the original 1950's show.
John Candy was originally offered the Louis role in Ghostbusters but turned it down. He has however worked with nearly all primary cast members of Ghostbusters. Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in Stripes (1981), Dan Aykroyd in several movies, Annie Potts in Who's Harry Crumb (1989) and Ernie Hudson in this. He also made an appearance in the Ghostbusters music video. The sole principal he did not work with was Sigourney Weaver.