The Friendly Ghost
Encyclopedia
The Friendly Ghost is a cartoon released by Paramount Pictures
on 16 November 1945
under its Noveltoons
series of animated shorts. It is the first cartoon to feature Casper the Friendly Ghost
.
, every night at 12:00 his brothers and sisters scare people, but Casper hates to scare people and stays at home.
Tired of scaring people all the time Casper decides make friends with the living. Casper bids his pet cat goodbye, while his family is of scaring people Casper runs away from home, sack in hand to find the high life.
The next morning he meets a rooster
whom he says hello to but it retreats. Casper later meets a mole
who is blind. At first the mole is happy to meet him but when he puts on eyeglasses, he sees that Casper is a ghost and keeps on digging his hole. Casper later meets a mouse and cat who resemble Herman and Katnip
who flee into the barn upon seeing him. Casper then sees a group of chicken
s who fly away which splatter eggs on him.
Casper realizes that he made a mistake about leaving home as well as living in the high life, but when he hears a train whistle
he decides to kill himself
by having the train run over him, apparently forgetting that he is already dead. When the train passes by Casper he blows away like a piece of paper, he begins crying after remembering that he's a ghost. Casper is approached by two children named Bonnie and Johnny who want to play with him which makes Casper ecstatic.
After a game of ball and jump rope, Bonnie and Johnny introduce Casper to their mother who screams and tells Casper to leave. Casper picks up his sack and is about to go through the door when a banker opens it. The banker orders Casper to tell the mother about her mortgage, but when he realizes that Casper's a ghost, he chokes on his cigar, runs and cancels the mortgage because he doesn't want to have a haunted house on the market. Then he runs off in fright.
Despondent, Casper decides to go home back to his own family, where he will always do the same old thing -- scaring people. He is about to leave when the mother grabs him with a smile on her face. The short concludes with the mother seeing Casper (now clad in schoolboy garb), Bonnie and Johnny off to school. Casper enjoys the life that he was seeking when he left the other ghosts.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
on 16 November 1945
1945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
under its Noveltoons
Noveltoons
Noveltoons was an anthology series of animated cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the close of the studio in 1967. Casper the Friendly Ghost, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, and Baby Huey all got their start from this series...
series of animated shorts. It is the first cartoon to feature Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. As his name indicates, he is a ghost, but is quite personable...
.
Plot
We first see Casper reading a book called How To Win Friends by Dale CarnegieDale Carnegie
Dale Breckenridge Carnegie was an American writer, lecturer, and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills...
, every night at 12:00 his brothers and sisters scare people, but Casper hates to scare people and stays at home.
Tired of scaring people all the time Casper decides make friends with the living. Casper bids his pet cat goodbye, while his family is of scaring people Casper runs away from home, sack in hand to find the high life.
The next morning he meets a rooster
Rooster
A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...
whom he says hello to but it retreats. Casper later meets a mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
who is blind. At first the mole is happy to meet him but when he puts on eyeglasses, he sees that Casper is a ghost and keeps on digging his hole. Casper later meets a mouse and cat who resemble Herman and Katnip
Herman and Katnip
Herman and Katnip are a duo of cartoon characters . From 1944 to September 1950, Herman appeared without Katnip, who made his first appearance in November 1950 with Mice Meeting You. The two characters continued to star in animated cartoons by Famous Studios until 1959...
who flee into the barn upon seeing him. Casper then sees a group of chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s who fly away which splatter eggs on him.
Casper realizes that he made a mistake about leaving home as well as living in the high life, but when he hears a train whistle
Train whistle
A train whistle or air whistle, , is an audible signaling device on a steam locomotive used to warn that the train is approaching, and to communicate with rail workers....
he decides to kill himself
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by having the train run over him, apparently forgetting that he is already dead. When the train passes by Casper he blows away like a piece of paper, he begins crying after remembering that he's a ghost. Casper is approached by two children named Bonnie and Johnny who want to play with him which makes Casper ecstatic.
After a game of ball and jump rope, Bonnie and Johnny introduce Casper to their mother who screams and tells Casper to leave. Casper picks up his sack and is about to go through the door when a banker opens it. The banker orders Casper to tell the mother about her mortgage, but when he realizes that Casper's a ghost, he chokes on his cigar, runs and cancels the mortgage because he doesn't want to have a haunted house on the market. Then he runs off in fright.
Despondent, Casper decides to go home back to his own family, where he will always do the same old thing -- scaring people. He is about to leave when the mother grabs him with a smile on her face. The short concludes with the mother seeing Casper (now clad in schoolboy garb), Bonnie and Johnny off to school. Casper enjoys the life that he was seeking when he left the other ghosts.