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.
After 'Boo Moon' (the last great Casper cartoons), many of the Casper cartoons were at best average, compensated by mainly the always outstanding music but hampered by being too twee and repetitive primarily and by the noticeably lower budget. 'Hooky Spooky', with Cousin Spooky returning from his debut cartoon 'Hide and Shriek' (another one of the better later Casper cartoons), though not among the best of the series.
Spooky's character design here is much more appealing, and much closer to the design anybody who knows the character is familiar with, also significantly less annoying actually having some amusing moments. He still though occasionally grates on the nerves and is a little mean-spirited at times, that one understands why Casper would want to teach him a lesson. The dialogue is cloying and forgettable, and while one understands Casper's actions at the end to me they do go against what he stands for (to be friendly and kind), meaning he does come across as out of character and mean and that he comes close to taking things a little too far.
Best thing about 'Hooky Spooky' is the music score. 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 for much of the cartoon. While there are elements of the usual plot elements in a Casper cartoon and it does share all the strengths and flaws as well as basic idea of 'Hide and Shriek', 'Hooky Spooky' is significantly less repetitive and recycled than most Casper cartoons (and even Famous Studios cartoons in general) of this period. There are some funny and effectively spooky moments, and the voice acting is good enough.
'Hooky Spooky's' animation on the whole was well done, and a vast improvement on the animation in the previous Casper cartoons, where budget and time constraints were clearly starting to show. There is a lack of finesse in the drawing sometimes, but it is significantly less hasty-looking and scrappy than almost all the cartoons before it and after 'Boo Moon', and there are some nice detailed backgrounds and lively and atmospheric colours. Casper and Spooky have nice chemistry, which is wittier and less twee and typical than most of the previous Casper cartoons.
All in all, a decent cartoon and one of the better later Casper cartoons. 7/10 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.
After 'Boo Moon' (the last great Casper cartoons), many of the Casper cartoons were at best average, compensated by mainly the always outstanding music but hampered by being too twee and repetitive primarily and by the noticeably lower budget. 'Hooky Spooky', with Cousin Spooky returning from his debut cartoon 'Hide and Shriek' (another one of the better later Casper cartoons), though not among the best of the series.
Spooky's character design here is much more appealing, and much closer to the design anybody who knows the character is familiar with, also significantly less annoying actually having some amusing moments. He still though occasionally grates on the nerves and is a little mean-spirited at times, that one understands why Casper would want to teach him a lesson. The dialogue is cloying and forgettable, and while one understands Casper's actions at the end to me they do go against what he stands for (to be friendly and kind), meaning he does come across as out of character and mean and that he comes close to taking things a little too far.
Best thing about 'Hooky Spooky' is the music score. 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 for much of the cartoon. While there are elements of the usual plot elements in a Casper cartoon and it does share all the strengths and flaws as well as basic idea of 'Hide and Shriek', 'Hooky Spooky' is significantly less repetitive and recycled than most Casper cartoons (and even Famous Studios cartoons in general) of this period. There are some funny and effectively spooky moments, and the voice acting is good enough.
'Hooky Spooky's' animation on the whole was well done, and a vast improvement on the animation in the previous Casper cartoons, where budget and time constraints were clearly starting to show. There is a lack of finesse in the drawing sometimes, but it is significantly less hasty-looking and scrappy than almost all the cartoons before it and after 'Boo Moon', and there are some nice detailed backgrounds and lively and atmospheric colours. Casper and Spooky have nice chemistry, which is wittier and less twee and typical than most of the previous Casper cartoons.
All in all, a decent cartoon and one of the better later Casper cartoons. 7/10 Bethany Cox
