Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Casper: The Friendly Ghost" is an animated short film from 1945, so this one is already over 70 years old and it was the very first Casper the Ghost film. Many many more should follow later, not just many cartoons, but even full feature films. As for this one here, Casper is sick of his fellow ghosts' shenanigans and leaves the castle looking for friends. This is probably the best part of the film. Not necessarily the cock scene, but the mole scene plus the cast/mouse scene were fairly funny. Sadly the introduction with the other ghost I mentioned earlier did not impress me that much. The ending again is pretty much the core story, so I was a bit surprised how short it was because it is basically once again about Casper scaring people (the mother this time), but when he scares the evil landlord she ends up liking him just like the kids always did. At 9 minutes almost, it is slightly longer than the average cartoon. Famous Studios may not necessarily be as famous as the title suggests because these really were the days of Warner Bros (LooneyToons) and Disney, but they have their fair share of solid works too. This is one example and Izzy Sparber was among the most prolific filmmakers of his time. Writer Bill Turner was not unknown either and co-writer Otto Messmer was really an animation pioneer in America thanks to his success with Felix the cat from the 1920s already. In the 1940s, he did not direct anymore, but focuses on writing. I recommend "The Friendly Ghost", a solid introduction to the Casper cartoons.

TheLittleSongbird The Friendly Ghost may not be the best of the Casper cartoons, there is understandably a not-quite-found its feet yet. However, this still manages to be a good start, and made room for better to follow.The Friendly Ghost is not the best-looking of the series, it's not quite as lush or colourful, the grainy picture quality doesn't help and Casper did look odd and as if his design was still developing (understandable). Overall however, it is still quite good, most of the characters are well drawn and move well, some of the colours are beautiful and the backgrounds are very detailed and have a lot of atmosphere in the early parts of the cartoon. Winston Sharples' music as always is outstanding and often one of the best assets of all the cartoons they feature in. It's beautifully orchestrated, lively, poignant-sounding without being saccharine and in the early parts it's also quite spooky.Dialogue here is sweet and moving (this is not the sort of cartoon that's particularly funny, the man at the end's fright at seeing Casper is wonderfully exaggerated), though Casper feeling sorry for himself doesn't quite avoid being too sentimental. The story, while not particularly innovative, is incredibly cute, with the befriending of the children, has a lot of charm and atmosphere and is quite poignant (if not as heart-wrenching as the cartoon made afterwards). I do agree that the family's acceptance of Casper was too rushed and too quickly introduced. The moral does avoid being laid on too thick or heavy-handed. The characters are engaging, and the voice acting is very solid.All in all, there is better in the Casper the Friendly Ghost series but this is a good start. 7/10 Bethany Cox

WakenPayne First and foremost, this little cartoon I only watched because I said that I was more scared by Casper The Friendly Ghost than Friday The 13th.This cartoon is about a ghost who, unlike dozens of others prefers to stay home and read "How To Win Friends" instead of scaring people. He decides to leave and try and be something else other than an object of horror. But that is easier said than done in this world because in here everyone believes in ghosts and they all are scared of him. He then meets 2 friends and their mother. Then when a banker with a mortgage comes along his disappearance is faster than his appearance when he sees Casper.Now, this cartoon was made in 1945 so you know exactly what to expect. This sort of "Gee-Whiz" attitude that occupied most screens when the film is targeted at children. If you can't stand that (which I can't) then do not watch this movie unless you like stories with a good moral. Now with this moral, you've heard it about a million times before in stuff like fairy tales and other (better) kids films "It's what's on the inside that counts." So in the long run there is nothing new or innovative about this one, I could think of about a million better ways to spend 10 minutes.The way he gets accepted into the family is about 200 times too fast. If you look away from your screen for thirty seconds you'll only get as far as "She's scared of Casper" and after you look away for thirty seconds your thoughts will be "He's in the family, How did that happen?". I don't suggest you watch it unless you like the "Gee Whiz" attitude from kids films around that time. If you don't like that then you won't like this.

tavm Just rewatched this public domain Famous Studios cartoon on YouTube. This is the one that introduced a little ghost named Casper to movie audiences in the last year of World War II. It's message of tolerance to anyone different-whether physically or otherwise-seemed quite relevant to anyone wanting to understand other nationalities and cultures. Well, actually, this was probably just a cute story meant to amuse and maybe scare children a little for a brief six minutes before the main feature but like that tale of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, does address in some way how ignorant prejudice is. Anyway, while the syrup seemed to be laid a little thick concerning Casper's sadness and seeing him trying to kill himself by laying on the tracks might not be something you'd want your child to witness, this is still just a harmless tale of how useful one is despite shortcomings you think you have.