The New Casper Cartoon Show

Casper opening

Casper closing

Casper the Friendly Ghost — 1952

From: toonarific.com
Casper made his television debut in 1950, on the show Casper the Friendly Ghost. Casper was something of an anomaly among the supernatural world; he had little interest in scaring people, haunting houses or doing any of the usual ghostly activities. Instead, Casper just wanted to play and make friends like other children his age, though his inherent spookiness was enough to frighten away any prospective friend.

Usually, Casper would end up making a connection with a small child or a friendly animal, someone who wouldn't run away before getting to know the "real" Casper. Someone who was unconcerned with the fact that their new friend was, indeed, dead.

In the fall of 1963, Casper premiered in a new series entitled The New Casper Cartoon Show. While the character of Casper was essentially the same, the show itself was growing more complex. Taking a clue from the popular Casper comic books, the new show added more characters, including the the older and nastier Ghostly Trio, who never approved of Casper's friendly ways.

But Casper now also had friends-Wendy, the Good Little Witch; the self-proclaimed "tuff" ghost Spooky; and Nightmare, a talking ghost horse - all of whom were on hand to join Casper in his adventures as well as star in their own segments.

This latest version was set in the magical Enchanted Forest, where the sight of a ghost trying to make friends was no big deal. This atmosphere gave the writers more latitude with creating characters, and gave Casper more to do than just accidentally scare people.