Casper saves a Native American boy and the village welcomes him in as a member.Casper saves a Native American boy and the village welcomes him in as a member.Casper saves a Native American boy and the village welcomes him in as a member.
- Directors
- Writer
- Stars
Photos
Jack Mercer
- Mountain Lion
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- …
Mae Questel
- Little Feather
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- …
- Directors
- Seymour Kneitel
- Myron Waldman(uncredited)
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Featured review
Casper the Friendly Ghost and the Indians
The late-40s to the early/mid-50s Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons had a higher budget and overall the overall quality was much better. Onwards, the quality did diminish quite significantly though the overall cartoons varied, some decent, many mediocre.
Famous Studios' cartoons are not for all tastes, but my opinion is that their early stuff and some of the early 50s output are good. While they were very formulaic they were always well animated and voiced with some funny parts, some poignancy and decent characters and their regular composer Winston Sharples could always be relied on to write a great and often outstanding score.
Admittedly though, by the mid-50s through to the late-60s Famous Studios' cartoons did get repetitive. While Sharples' music still shone and the voice actors did their best the animation suffered due to lower budgets and tighter deadlines, the humour became more tired and slow in timing than sharp and funny, the stories became increasingly predictable and rehashed and some characters started losing their initial spark, this is particularly true of most of the later Herman and Katnip cartoons.
There are better Casper The Friendly Ghost cartoons out there than 'Boos and Arrows', especially the cartoons from 'There's Good Boos Tonight' and 'Boo To You Too' (the cartoons from this to 'Boo Moon' varied but mostly decent), the very unique (and the most original Casper cartoon) 'Boo Moon' is also up there. It does have its good things, but Famous Studios were starting to decline from around this period and the difference in quality from the very early Casper cartoons to 'Boos and Arrows' is staggering.
Best thing about 'Boos and Arrows' is the music score. Experimenting more with a more mellow horn and string sound at this point, Winston Sharples' music score here is typically merry and whimsical, it's beautifully orchestrated, energetic and adds so much to the mood, his music has always been one of the best assets of the Famous Studios cartoons and it's not an exception here. In fact how it's composed and how it meshes so well with everything going on in the animation, story and action contributes to it being the best thing about the cartoon.
While he is a character that won't click with everybody, Casper does win me over with his friendly nature and kindness. The little Indian is very sweet, and their chemistry while very typical of other Casper cartoons likewise, while the climax is where 'Boos and Arrows' picks up the pace and there's some real urgency. While more reminiscent of a vulture, the hawk is a good threat. The voice acting is good, with Jack Mercer's noises for the mountain lion being particularly impressive and entertaining.
Do have to agree though that 'Boo and Arrows' is very repetitive plot-wise, and that there is not much at all to the writing which is thin on the ground and what there is of it is frankly unmemorable. Personally thought though that the animation, outside of some lovely colours, was not that great. The animation quality was great in 'Boo Moon' and in a vast majority of the Casper cartoons preceding that, but the quality declined after 'Boo Moon' and was not the same again. Colours aside, the backgrounds and drawings have lost their meticulousness and instead look hastily drawn and scrappy. The reactions to Casper have also been much more imaginative in Casper cartoons, not much special here in this regard.
Characterisation, apart from Casper and to a lesser extent the little Indian he makes friends with and the hawk, is an issue as well. The characters are stereotypes, but also were seemingly so careful and eager not to offend with the Indians that they are portrayed in a somewhat too safe way, all noble, no savage and it is strange for such sincere characters that they would freak out like that at the sight of Casper (though am aware it is because of the oft-repeated formula that 'Boos and Arrows' is following). The mountain lion is little more than a big cat that is only mildly threatening, but at times too goofy and dumb.
In conclusion, has its good points, especially the music, but very repetitive, forgettable at best and the supporting characters are portrayed too safely. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Famous Studios' cartoons are not for all tastes, but my opinion is that their early stuff and some of the early 50s output are good. While they were very formulaic they were always well animated and voiced with some funny parts, some poignancy and decent characters and their regular composer Winston Sharples could always be relied on to write a great and often outstanding score.
Admittedly though, by the mid-50s through to the late-60s Famous Studios' cartoons did get repetitive. While Sharples' music still shone and the voice actors did their best the animation suffered due to lower budgets and tighter deadlines, the humour became more tired and slow in timing than sharp and funny, the stories became increasingly predictable and rehashed and some characters started losing their initial spark, this is particularly true of most of the later Herman and Katnip cartoons.
There are better Casper The Friendly Ghost cartoons out there than 'Boos and Arrows', especially the cartoons from 'There's Good Boos Tonight' and 'Boo To You Too' (the cartoons from this to 'Boo Moon' varied but mostly decent), the very unique (and the most original Casper cartoon) 'Boo Moon' is also up there. It does have its good things, but Famous Studios were starting to decline from around this period and the difference in quality from the very early Casper cartoons to 'Boos and Arrows' is staggering.
Best thing about 'Boos and Arrows' is the music score. Experimenting more with a more mellow horn and string sound at this point, Winston Sharples' music score here is typically merry and whimsical, it's beautifully orchestrated, energetic and adds so much to the mood, his music has always been one of the best assets of the Famous Studios cartoons and it's not an exception here. In fact how it's composed and how it meshes so well with everything going on in the animation, story and action contributes to it being the best thing about the cartoon.
While he is a character that won't click with everybody, Casper does win me over with his friendly nature and kindness. The little Indian is very sweet, and their chemistry while very typical of other Casper cartoons likewise, while the climax is where 'Boos and Arrows' picks up the pace and there's some real urgency. While more reminiscent of a vulture, the hawk is a good threat. The voice acting is good, with Jack Mercer's noises for the mountain lion being particularly impressive and entertaining.
Do have to agree though that 'Boo and Arrows' is very repetitive plot-wise, and that there is not much at all to the writing which is thin on the ground and what there is of it is frankly unmemorable. Personally thought though that the animation, outside of some lovely colours, was not that great. The animation quality was great in 'Boo Moon' and in a vast majority of the Casper cartoons preceding that, but the quality declined after 'Boo Moon' and was not the same again. Colours aside, the backgrounds and drawings have lost their meticulousness and instead look hastily drawn and scrappy. The reactions to Casper have also been much more imaginative in Casper cartoons, not much special here in this regard.
Characterisation, apart from Casper and to a lesser extent the little Indian he makes friends with and the hawk, is an issue as well. The characters are stereotypes, but also were seemingly so careful and eager not to offend with the Indians that they are portrayed in a somewhat too safe way, all noble, no savage and it is strange for such sincere characters that they would freak out like that at the sight of Casper (though am aware it is because of the oft-repeated formula that 'Boos and Arrows' is following). The mountain lion is little more than a big cat that is only mildly threatening, but at times too goofy and dumb.
In conclusion, has its good points, especially the music, but very repetitive, forgettable at best and the supporting characters are portrayed too safely. 5/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 19, 2016
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime6 minutes
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