I never thought an old cartoon would bring tears to my eyes! When I first purchased Casper & Friends: Spooking About Africa, I so much wanted to see the very first Casper cartoon entitled The Friendly Ghost (1945), But when I saw the next cartoon, There's Good Boos To-Night (1948), It made me break down! I couldn't believe how sad and tragic it was after seeing Casper's fox get killed! I never saw anything like that in the other Casper cartoons! This is the saddest one of all! It was so depressing, I just couldn't watch it again. It's just like seeing Lassie die at the end of a movie. I know it's a classic,But it's too much for us old cartoon fans to handle like me! If I wanted to watch something old and classic, I rather watch something happy and funny! But when I think about this Casper cartoon, I think about my cats!
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weprin24 July 2005
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filmbuff-3626 August 2004I was about 12 years old when I saw this classic "Casper the Friendly Ghost" cartoon. Figured it was an early one since Casper didn't look *right*, the same way Porky Pig doesn't look *right* in the old 1930's cartoons. But I digress...
Anyway, this episode in the friendly phantom's afterlife concerns him befriending a young fox todd whom he names Ferdie. I remember being happy to see Casper have a friend, as those who have watched the cartoons are wont to know that most people run away from him, screaming "A Ghost!"
Casper and Ferdie have some fun together until someone else shows up... I hate to leave you with a semi-spoiler, but the cartoon is only seven minutes long, so you can't really be too ambiguous. Besides, anyone who reads the IMDb synopsis of the cartoon can deduce what happens next...
The finale is a bit heartbreaking. In fact, it's probably the saddest I've ever felt watching a cartoon. But that only means that it moved me, which probably explains why I decided to write a comment on this particular cartoon and not very many others. Or heck, the fact that I actually REMEMBER this cartoon at all is due to its emotional effect on me -- I haven't seen it since. But the cartoon does end on an upbeat note, and I was pleased to see Casper and Ferdie happy again.
I'd give this cartoon 8 out of 10 stars. Second only to the Warner Bros. cartoon "Peace on Earth," this is the most I've ever been moved by an animated short. -
Popeye-83 April 2002I've often wondered just how much CASPER was meant for children...with all the issues revolving around his identity (in this film we are lead to believe that he is the spirit of a dead child, as his home is a cemetery plot), as well as the disturbing message brought by this particular film. Maybe Casper was meant more as a morality play, or Famous Studios felt like breaking new ground in 'reality' cartoons.
THERE'S GOOD BOOS TONIGHT is a well-animated project-no doubt there. But, the plot development involving the fox (who becomes Casper's friend, but meets a tragic end) is a concern.
Give Famous Studios credit--they tackle death with respect...but, the stark image of Casper's mourning is rather graphic and disturbing for children (though the denouement does offer a happy ending, but I won't give away the ending), and the violence is rather steep, even for 1940's standards.
This might be a good cartoon for parents to use in helping explain death to children--but I wouldn't pop it into the VCR for a perky cartoon break. -
I remember Casper comic books, but don't remember any cartoons. Maybe they weren't memorable; I don't know but at my advanced age, here I am watching this very early Casper animated short yesterday. Afterward, I was shocked to read the user-comments here. Did people miss the ending?
I have to learn all over again that Casper isn't like the other ghosts, who like to go out each night and scare the c--p out of everyone. "He sees no future in that," according to the narrator here. Instead, one night he goes out to the rural section of town, inadvertently scares some animals and can't find any friends. It brings him to tears, until a little fox hears him bawling and befriends him. The two become buddies but soon, the fox is running for his life with a fox hunt in progress.
Other reviews have all mentioned what happens, so I'll touch on that, too. The fox is killed by hunting dogs (not shown) and Casper is in tears for losing "the only friend I ever had." But, nobody mentions the happy ending to this story. "Ferdie" the fox becomes a spirit-figure like Casper, jumps on his lap, licks his face and the narrator comments "they lived happily ever after." Both characters look overjoyed.
What is so sad about that? This is a nice story with a nice, happy ending. -
spencer-w-hensley11 July 2016This remains arguably the most known Casper cartoon, and why that's the case I have no idea. Of the three Famous Studios Casper cartoons the first being 1945's "The Friendly Ghost", the second being this 1948 entry and the last being 1949's "A Haunting we Will Go", this is easily the weakest. The story is essentially the same as it's predecessor and successor except this time Casper aims to be friends specifically with animals, and the ending is downright depressing for a children's cartoon. Casper wanders looking for friends. After frightening a baby calf and skunk, he is about to give up hope, but he catches the attention of a cute little fox cub (whose parents are apparently nowhere to be found). He names the cub Ferdie, and they become best friends. A fox hunter is on the move however and although Casper tries to save his friend,it's too late and he dies. Casper begins mourning in wretched pain, but the little fox comes back as a ghost, therefore giving Casper an eternal friend. The problem with the story aside from the disturbing conclusion is the story told in getting there. We really don't see any evidence of Casper and Ferdie having a friendship. Even though Ferdie is a wild fox, he just acts like a puppy whining like one, playing fetch and constantly licking Casper in the face. In "A Haunting we Will Go" Casper has more of a personality,and teaches the baby duck who becomes his friend how to swim and fly. Why couldn't he have done the same with Ferdie? Teach him how to look for food, and how to survive especially since Ferdie apparently has no parents. (My guess is they were killed before this cartoon in the same tragic fate their son would be here). And why couldn't Casper teach him more how to act like a real fox? This would have been a more satisfying 8 minute cartoon than an adorable fox/puppy getting killed and returning as a ghost. My guess is the writers did that to prove that there is indeed a happy ending in death, or that they felt Ferdie would die anyway so it would be better for Casper to have a ghostly friend rather than a live one. The animation is glorious and so is the score, but the story is underdeveloped, we barely get a chance to get to know Ferdie and Casper is just plain weak in this story, refusing to scare off the hunter so he won't shoot Ferdie and instead just tells him to not shoot him. At least in the next short he scares off the hunter for doing the same thing to his friend. Ferdie is an adorable character but I wanted to see him grow with Casper more like the baby duck did in the following short and he shouldn't have died. None of Casper's friends die in the following shorts, which tells me the writers got some negative feedback from killing off Ferdie and would never do it again. The ending is likely to disturb any adult or kid who has a heart, there were so many better ways to end it than what they did. Yes this is the weakest of Famous Studios Casper despite beautiful animation, great music and a adorable Casper friend in Ferdie Fox.
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ja_kitty_7118 January 2010This is a Casper the Friendly Ghost short from my childhood, and I re-watched it on YouTube. Thank God! Regarding You TubeFollowing that, I adore this short, which is one of my favourite Casper shorts.
I love how the short starts off spooky with Frank Gallop's haunting narration, until we get to see Casper sitting by his tombstone in the cemetery, reading. While every ghost rises from the graves to "boo" people, Casper decides to leave in search of a friend. But in trying to make friends, anyone who sees Casper runs away. Poor Casper sat on a log and wept until a little fox cub came up and nuzzled him. Casper and the little fox quickly bond, and he quickly names the cub Ferdie and considers him to be his very best friend.
Casper and Ferdie's relationship is put in tremendous jeopardy, however, when Casper is not keeping a close eye on Ferdie while they are playing a game of Hide and Seek. While Ferdie is hiding, a hunter and two of his hunting dogs come and try to kill little Ferdie, and Ferdie is running as fast as possible until he is out of breath and starts panting. While the hunter is firing gunshots towards Ferdie, Casper notices they are trying to kill him and flies in the hunter's direction and pleads with the hunter to leave Ferdie alone. And the hunter and his dogs are terrified of Casper. Casper yells to Ferdie that the hunter and the dogs are gone and that everything is fine. But Casper sees that Ferdie's body is not moving and asks if he is OK. When Casper sees that Ferdie has died, he starts mourning in pain because he has lost "the only friend he ever had in his whole life." Casper returns back to the cemetery where he has buried Ferdie and has made a gravestone for him next to Casper's gravestone. Casper continues mourning in pain until he sees that Ferdie has been resurrected as a ghost himself. Ferdie starts licking Casper on his cheek. Casper screams for joy because he has been reunited with Ferdie.
Overall, it is a really good short, though surprisingly disturbing, showing death in a family-oriented cartoon. -
TheLittleSongbird26 August 2015Of the Famous Studios cartoons (whose output is somewhat inconsistent), There's Good Boos To-Night is towards the better half. It does help though that this was made during a period where their cartoons were visually great, and when they weren't as repetitive. As well as being a very early Casper cartoon, only the second in fact), There's Good Boos To-Night is one of the better ones, it's a pity that it's also one of the rarer ones.
The animation is great throughout, it is luscious, beautifully drawn with incredibly atmospheric backgrounds with the standouts being the spooky opening and the arrival of the hunters. Winston Sharples' music is outstanding, melodically it's haunting but also whimsical and gorgeous to listen to. Standing out in particular is the wonderfully creepy music for the opening credits sequence which sets the tone of the cartoon very well indeed. There's Good Boos To-Night is somewhat different for a Casper cartoon, anyone looking for hilarity or fun are better off seeing something else. As far as the Casper cartoons go, There's Good Boos To-Night is by far the most heart-wrenching, the ending is incredibly poignant (complete with a joyous final fifteen seconds or so), without being mawkish or manipulative (the emotion is very genuine), no other Casper cartoon comes close to the emotional impact this one has.
It is also very cute with the friendship between Casper and Ferdie, which there could have been a little more of perhaps, and it's quite intense for a Famous Studios cartoon at the climax (some youngsters may find it a little too disturbing) but incredibly suspenseful at the same time. The opening is very spooky and it certainly does treat the subject of death with respect. It's nicely scripted too, if slightly heavy on the sentimentality. Casper is very endearing, and you really feel his pain and sadness at wanting a friend and then losing him, while Ferdie is adorable. The voice acting is very good, with some very distinguished narration and Casper is very empathetically voiced.
All in all, a great and beautifully done Casper cartoon but may not be to everybody's tastes. 9/10 Bethany Cox -
I remember I saw this cartoon when I was 6 or 7. My grandfather picked up the video of it for free at the mall. I remember that it really sucked. The plot had no sense. I hated the fox that became Casper's friend. He was so stupid! Casper cried his head off if he couldn't find a friend. So what? Get over it! The only good part and I don't want to sound mean-spirited was when the fox got shot and died at the end. I laughed my head off in payback because this cartoon sucked so much. The bad news is the fox resurrects and becomes a ghost. I wish he had stayed dead. I think I even gave the video of this to somebody because I hated it. No wonder they were offering it for free at the mall. If you have a child don't let them watch this. They will probably agree with me that it sucks.
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nealbfinn8 March 2008Famous was "famous" for their tension and release style of cartoon where the semi-main character is in terrible peril, only to be rescued by the hero at the last second. This particular Casper is the only one I can remember where death actually takes a hand. But even in death, there is still a happy ending.
The constant in Famous Studios cartoons is that "virtue always triumphs". Popeye always gets to his spinach in time, Baby Huey always out-foxes the fox, Little Audery always "learns her lesson". And some FS cartoons ARE really dark and depressing.
You have to give them credit. as much as I love Looney Tunes and "Tom and Jerry" I don't think anyone was putting out a better cartoon product at that time than Paramount. Color, animation, music (the great Winston Sharples), editing, voices. They were consistent and a glowing example of the best that the art form had to offer. -
AlsExGal4 June 2016... it was taboo to say the word "pregnant" in films regardless of circumstance in 1948, but THIS was considered suitable for children? This is the saddest thing I've ever seen. I saw it when I was a child, remembered it all of these years because of how sad it was, and just watched it again at age 58 and it still makes me tear up.
As you know, Casper is the ghost of a child. He doesn't want to go out at night with the other ghosts and scare people, he wants to make friends. That's probably because he didn't live to adulthood and learn that most people deserve to be frightened by something that they don't even believe exists. Well, Casper finally finds something alive in this universe that likes him back, even loves him - a little fox. The fox really acts like a dog, wagging his tail, playing fetch, playing hide and seek, licking Casper the way that dogs do. But "Ferdie" is not a dog. He is a fox, and then along comes a hunter and his dogs.
The chase scene is harrowing as you see the little fox struggle to get away, physically exhausted. Casper stops the hunter because, well, he is a ghost! As for the ending, I'll tell you it is happy but in a most unconventional way. And let me just say that the memory of this entire cartoon has "haunted" me for fifty years! The artwork is superb in this one and that score is just perfect for the cartoon. Highly recommended. -
Hitchcoc11 October 2021Casper can't bear the older ghosts flying around, terrifying people. He tries friendship but people are repulsed by him. Eventually, he finds a kindred spirit (who is not a spirit). And he fulfills a need. It's a cut above most cartoons.
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jeremycrimsonfox22 February 2022I remember watching this short as a kid (as I had it on a VHS tape which had three other cartoons, one being another Casper short, and the other two being cartoons with other characters). Yes, Casper the Friendly Ghost actually existed in the 1940's, as this was back before Harvey Comics purchased the character, and therefore, is back when Famous Studios (formerly Fleischer Studios) owned the character.
Basically, this short is the second of fifty-five Casper shorts, and part of the Noveltoon series, There's Good Boos To-Night has Casper going out to make a friend. Not wanting to join his neighbors in scaring the daylights out of people, Casper goes to make a friend, eventually making a friend with a fox he named Ferdie, who comes to comfort him after he fails to make friends with a calf and a skunk. However, a hunter poses a threat.
Yeah, this is one I remember a lot, mainly because of its plot, as it is a story of a ghost and his fox friend. The story is a good one, despite the sad twist of what happens to Ferdie, but the ending turns it around and teaches a good moral: friendship is forever, not ending at death.