Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons

[Arnoldpaperboy]

I have alway had an appreciation for this character.
When I was kid I loved the comic books and I would always watch the Casper cartoons when I found them on the boob tube.
I am glad to hear that a Harveytoons box set is on its way. I have always found the Harvey cartoons under-rated when people talk about the classic cartoons.
One on my questions is which form was Casper the most entertaining? Would it be the theatrical shorts, the comic books, or the shorts made specifically for televison?
Also how many theatrical shorts were there? and who were the main directors of these shorts? How many seasons did the "New Cartoon Casper Show" last?
In my opinion I thought the comic books were Casper at his very best. I loved the whole Enchanted Forest set up. I liked the Ghostly Trio, Wendy, Spooky and Nightmare co stars. I know the televison cartoons were based on the stories from the comic books but for some reason they are disappointing. I didnt particualry care for the animation and the voices. I would say the theatrical shorts were the second best way to experience Casper.
By the way, one last question. Does anyone know if the cartoons in the box set will have the Harvey Jack in the Box opening and closings or will they restore the original Paramount titles?

:)

[J Lee]

I have alway had an appreciation for this character.
When I was kid I loved the comic books and I would always watch the Casper cartoons when I found them on the boob tube.
I am glad to hear that a Harveytoons box set is on its way. I have always found the Harvey cartoons under-rated when people talk about the classic cartoons.
One on my questions is which form was Casper the most entertaining? Would it be the theatrical shorts, the comic books, or the shorts made specifically for televison?
Also how many theatrical shorts were there? and who were the main directors of these shorts? How many seasons did the "New Cartoon Casper Show" last?
In my opinion I thought the comic books were Casper at his very best. I loved the whole Enchanted Forest set up. I liked the Ghostly Trio, Wendy, Spooky and Nightmare co stars. I know the televison cartoons were based on the stories from the comic books but for some reason they are disappointing. I didnt particualry care for the animation and the voices. I would say the theatrical shorts were the second best way to experience Casper.
By the way, one last question. Does anyone know if the cartoons in the box set will have the Harvey Jack in the Box opening and closings or will they restore the original Paramount titles?

:)

The theatrical shorts suffered from repetition, though in the final three years, the studio began coming up with more inventive plots, some of which incorporated the characters created for the comic books, such as Spooky, Wendy and the Ghostly Trio.

Harvey owns all but the first three of the 52 Capser theatricals, which are owned by Viacom. Seymour Knietel, Izzy Sparber and Bill Tytla were technically the directors of the Casper shorts, but for all intents and purposes, head animator Myron Waldman was the one who handled the bulk of the series during its most repetative years, from 1949 through 1957.

"The New Casper Cartoon Show" lasted through the mid-1960s on ABC, but only one season of new episodes were produced, and the show was filled out with Noveltoons and Modern Madcaps from the 1960-62 period. The made-for-TV Caspers were targeted even more towards young kids than the theatrical shorts had been, and that, combined with the limited animation and excess dialogue, made most of them pretty dull to watch more than once.

As for the titles, as much as I would like to see the original Paramount openings and closings restored, since Classic Media owns Harvey, there's really nothing in it for them to put the original titles back on, other than to use the original Technicolor negatives, instead of the duplicates they have had in circulation since 1959.

[Ray Pointer]

Recent theatrical prints of Noveltoons reveal the origin of the Harvey Jack-In-the-Box coming from the original openings of the Paramount/Famous theatricals. The Paramount trademark was seen up close, then the camera pulled back to reveal the box with the Jack popping holding the letters, "Noveltoon." The "Jack" was redesigned, and spiced onto the negatives for all of the television prints, titled "Harveytoons."

I was fortunate to see the CASPER "Boo Moon" last year at the 3-D festival held
at The American Cinemateque. It was in its entire theatrical format with Paramount trademarks on the beginning and end. Now if only they had had the other "stereo-toon," POPEYE, THE ACE OF SPACE!"