The Friendly Ghost (1945)

Let's be realistic.

i must have seen a different film!!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

"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.

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

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.

This cartoon has historic value in that it is the first "Casper" animated short, so they give a short introduction about the main character. The narrator even gives the viewers the option of believing in ghosts, saying if you do, you'll like the story and if you don't well.....just pretend you do! Who says people weren't "tolerant" in the "old days?"The basic premise is that all the ghosts in the haunted house would go out each night and scare people. However, Casper preferred to stay home and NOT scare people. Hence, the title "the friendly ghost." He would even sit and read a book called, "How To Win Friends."The story is about how he gets disgusted with his fellow ghosts and one night decides to leave his house to go out and try to make friends in the world. He finds that easier said than done as people freak out when they see him!This Technicolor cartoon would look really good with a nice restoration job as has been done with Looney Tunes and Popeye cartoons. The color and artwork in this one is excellent.