{"id":184331,"date":"2025-04-14T14:12:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T14:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/animation\/top-10-casper-the-friendly-ghost-cartoons\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T14:12:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T14:12:20","slug":"top-10-casper-the-friendly-ghost-cartoons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=184331","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 \u201cCasper The Friendly Ghost\u201d Cartoons |"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"\"Seriously? No \u2013 it\u2019s not<\/em> April Fools Day. No \u2013 I didn\u2019t lose a bet. <\/p>\n

I was talking to a colleague about story repetition in certain cartoon series (Pepe LePew, Mighty Mouse, Popeye<\/em>, etc) \u2013 and I rebutted some of that by reminding him that the classic Hollywood theatrical cartoons were produced for viewing under completely different circumstances than what we grew up with; completely different circumstances than we have today. <\/p>\n

Before the late forties, cartoons were seldom reissued (unless they were phenomenally popular \u2013 like Three Little Pigs<\/em>). There were no repeat showings on afternoon television; there was no television. No VHS, no DVDs, no cartoon cable channels, no blu-ray collections, no streaming. You saw a cartoon once \u2013 and never again. <\/p>\n

They were ephemeral \u2013 like a comic strip in a daily newspaper. Read it once and throw the paper away. If you saw a cartoon featuring Tweety once in 1942, you might not see one again for years. If a character (let\u2019s say Pepe) got a strong response from movie audiences \u2013 word would filter back to the studio and instead of re-releasing that cartoon, they\u2019d simply make another one \u2013 another Pepe. Repeating the same situational set up was accepted because no one had seen it previously \u2013 or if they had it was years ago. Repeating the same set up was also accepted because people wanted to enjoy it again. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>That brings us back to Casper (and Audrey, Buzzy, Baby Huey, et al.) \u2013 Famous Studios (and Terrytoons) understood this well. If something worked once \u2013 they had no compunction about repeating the concept again the following year \u2013 year after year after year. Once a \u201ccharacter and scenario\u201d was established \u2013 that was that<\/em>. That\u2019s who that character was. That\u2019s what a \u201cTom & Jerry\u201d cartoon was, a \u201cRoad Runner\u201d, a \u201cMagoo\u201d. It\u2019s a testament to the great talents (particularly the writers and director) that the redundant series from MGM, Warners and UPA were so entertaining, so cleverly diverse \u2013 and so funny, you hardly noticed the formula.<\/p>\n

Not so at Paramount. \u201cIf you\u2019ve seen one Casper, you\u2019ve seen \u2019em all,\u201d said my colleague. \u201cNot really,\u201d I replied. \u201cOh yeah? What are the Top Five Casper<\/em> cartoons? Are<\/em> there a \u201cTop Five\u201d Casper<\/em> cartoons? They\u2019re all the same!\u201d <\/p>\n

Challenge accepted. <\/p>\n

So I quickly concocted a list of favorite Casper cartoons \u2013 and I found that I had at least ten that were worthy of semi-serious consideration. Here are my choices (in release order): <\/p>\n

THE FRIENDLY GHOST<\/strong> (1945)<\/p>\n

The first Casper \u2013 a Noveltoon<\/em> \u2013 is a very nice little story. Though not unique, it is well told \u2013 with great tongue-in-cheek narration by Frank Gallop, beautiful \u201cscenics\u201d by Shane Miller, with an honest attempt at some Avery-esque double takes \u2013 and on top of all that: a suicide gag. The \u201ckid voice\u201d of Casper \u2013 done by an actual kid actor (identity still unconfirmed) \u2013 lends to the urban myth of Casper being a dead child. The intention was that a \u201cghost\u201d \u2013 like a \u201ctroll\u201d, a \u201cfairy\u201d, or a \u201cgoblin\u201d \u2013 was a fantasy figure with no connection to humankind. Here we get nebulous child \u201cghost\u201d who, by earning our sympathy, gives The Friendly Ghost<\/em> some real dramatic weight. The Friendly Ghost<\/em> was certainly a stand out for the studio at the time (dare I say, it was a \u2018risk\u2019) produced at a time when wise-guy knock-offs of Bugs Bunny were the popular thing du jour. <\/p>\n