Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control ...

theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles,

the Ghostly Trio The Ghostly Trio (consisting of Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie, formerly Fatso, Fusso, and Lazo) are fictional characters appearing in Harvey Comics. They are well known for being the uncles of Casper the Friendly Ghost. Their first animated appeara ...

. The character was featured in 55 theatrical cartoons titled ''The Friendly Ghost'' from 1945 to 1959. The character has been featured in comic books published by

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...

since 1952, and Harvey purchased the character outright in 1959. Casper became one of Harvey's most popular characters, headlining dozens of comic book titles. Following Harvey's purchase of the character, he appeared in five television series: '' Matty's Funday Funnies'' (1959–1961), '' The New Casper Cartoon Show'' (1963–1970), '' Casper and the Angels'' (1979–1980), ''

The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper ''The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper'' is an animated television spin-off and a sequel of the feature film ''Casper'', which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character of Casper the Friendly Ghost. Production At the time ...

'' (1996–1998) and ''

Casper's Scare School ''Casper's Scare School'' (also known as ''Casper's Scare School: The Movie'') is a 2006 computer animated television film based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. The film premiered on Cartoon Network on October 2 ...

'' (2009–2012). The character made a theatrical-film appearance in a live-action adaptation released by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, ''

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * Da ...

'' (1995), becoming the first ever computer-generated character to star in a film, and he would later appear in four

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...

and

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

follow-up films.

Creation of Casper the Friendly Ghost

Casper was created by

Seymour Reit Seymour Victory Reit (11 November 1918 – 21 November 2001) was an American author of over 80 children's books as well as several works for adults. Reit was the creator, with cartoonist Joe Oriolo, of the character Casper the Friendly Ghost. Re ...

and Joe Oriolo, the former devising the idea for the character and the latter providing illustrations. Initially intended as the basis for a children's storybook, there was at first little interest in their idea. When Reit was away on military service during World War II before the book was released, Oriolo sold the rights to the book to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

animation division for a total of $175. This one-time payment was all that he received, missing out on a share of the revenue earned from the films, comic books and merchandise to come. ''

The Friendly Ghost ''The Friendly Ghost'' is a Famous Studios cartoon released on 16 November 1945 as part of its ''Noveltoons'' series of animated short movies. It is the first cartoon to feature the character Casper the Friendly Ghost. Plot Casper is seen readi ...

'', the first

Noveltoon ''Noveltoons'' is a series of cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the end of the studio during 1967. The series was known for bringing to life characters from Harvey Comics, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wen ...

to feature Casper, was released by Paramount in 1945 with a few differences from the book. In the cartoon adaptation, Casper is a cute ghost-child with a New York accent who inhabits a haunted house along with a community of adult ghosts who delight in scaring the living. Casper, however, is a nonconformist among ghosts: He would prefer to make friends with people. He packs up his belongings and goes out into the world, hoping to find friends. However, the animals that he meets (a rooster, a mole, a cat, a mouse named Herman, and a group of hens) take one horrified look at him, scream: "A ghost!" and run off in the other direction. Distraught, Casper unsuccessfully attempts to commit suicide (apparently forgetting that he is already dead) by lying down on a railway track before an oncoming train, before he meets two children named Bonnie and Johnny who become his friends. The children's mother, apparently widowed and impoverished, at first is frightened of Casper, but later welcomes him into the family after he unintentionally frightens off a greedy landlord, who, unwilling to own a "haunted" house, tears up the mortgage and gives her the house outright. The short ends with the mother kissing Bonnie, Johnny, and Casper as she sends them off to school, with Casper wearing clothing as if he were a living child. Casper appeared in two more subsequent cartoons, '' There's Good Boos To-Night'' and '' A Haunting We Will Go''. ''There's Good Boos To-Night'' differs wildly from later Casper cartoons: although the theme of Casper trying to find a friend and failing in these attempts before succeeding also occurs in later cartoons, the tone of this short turns remarkably dark when a hunter and his dogs appear, chasing the little fox cub named Ferdie that Casper has befriended. Although Casper scares the hunter and dogs away, Casper discovers Ferdie dead after a harrowing chase scene. Happily, however, Ferdie returns as a ghost to join his friend Casper in the

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving es ...

. These were later adapted into

Noveltoons ''Noveltoons'' is a series of cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the end of the studio during 1967. The series was known for bringing to life characters from Harvey Comics, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wend ...

before Paramount started a ''Casper the Friendly Ghost'' series in 1950, and ran the theatrical releases until summer 1959. Although having much success, the series was later criticized by animation historians and viewers, mainly due to the story of each entry of the series as being largely the same: Casper (now slightly thinner than the pudgy figure that appeared in the earlier cartoons) escapes from the afterlife of a regular ghost because he finds that scaring people can be tiresome year after year, tries to find friends but inadvertently scares almost everyone, and finally finds a (cute little) friend, whom he saves from some sort of fate, leading to his acceptance by those initially scared of him. In 1955, composer

Winston Sharples Winston Singleton Sharples (March 1, 1909 – April 3, 1978) was an American composer known for his work with animated short subjects, especially those created by the animation department at Paramount Pictures. In his 35-year career, Sharples s ...

composed an instrumental theme for Casper's cartoons.

Harvey Comics

Casper was first published in comics form in August 1949 by St. John Publications, running for five issues until September 1951. In 1952,

Alfred Harvey Alfred Harvey (born Alfred Harvey Wiernikoff; October 6, 1913 – July 4, 1994), was the founder of comic book publisher Harvey Comics and the creator of the comic book characters Little Dot, Richie Rich, and Adam Awards. He was born to Russian ...

, founder and publisher of

began producing ''Casper'' comic books. Casper first appeared in ''Harvey Comics Hits'' #61 (Oct 1952), and then moved to a solo book with ''Casper the Friendly Ghost'' #7 (December 1952). In 1959, Harvey purchased the rights to the character outright. Casper went on to headline a large number of comic book series, as well as appearing in back up stories and guest appearances in other titles. The ''Casper'' series inspired three popular spinoffs: '' Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost'', ''

Wendy the Good Little Witch Wendy the Good Little Witch is a fictional comic book character from Harvey Comics. Like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Wendy is an opposite-type character, a girl witch who does good deeds. Publication history Wend ...

'', and ''

The Ghostly Trio The Ghostly Trio (consisting of Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie, formerly Fatso, Fusso, and Lazo) are fictional characters appearing in Harvey Comics. They are well known for being the uncles of Casper the Friendly Ghost. Their first animated appeara ...

''. Casper's titles include: * ''Casper'' * ''Casper Adventure Digest'' * ''Casper and...'' * ''Casper and Friends'' * ''Casper and Friends Magazine'' * ''Casper and Nightmare'' * ''Casper and Spooky'' * ''Casper and The Ghostly Trio'' * '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'' (film adaptation) * ''Casper Big Book'' * ''Casper Digest'' * ''Casper Digest Stories'' * ''Casper Digest Winners'' * ''Casper Enchanted Tales Digest'' * ''Casper Ghostland'' * ''Casper Giant Size'' * ''Casper Halloween Trick or Treat'' * ''Casper in Space'' * ''Casper in 3-D'' * ''Casper Magazine'' * ''Casper Movie Adaptation'' * ''Casper Space Ship'' * ''Casper's Ghostland'' * ''Casper's Scare School'' * ''Casper's Haunted Christmas'' * ''Casper Special'' * ''Casper Strange Ghost Stories'' * ''Casper, the Friendly Ghost'' * ''Casper TV Showtime'' * ''Famous TV Funday Funnies'' * ''The Friendly Ghost, Casper'' * ''Harvey Two-Pack'' * ''Nightmare and Casper'' * ''Richie Rich and Casper'' * ''Richie Rich, Casper, and Wendy'' * '' TV Casper and Company'' * ''

Casper and the Spectrals ''Casper and the Spectrals'' is a three-issue comic book miniseries published by Ardden Entertainment, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Casper the Friendly Ghost. The series gives the characters a modernized look and design while living in a gr ...

'' In 2009, a new ''Casper'' comic was published, called ''

'' by Arden Entertainment. Much like '' The Man of Steel'' and '' Batman: Year One'' did with their respective characters, it revamped Casper and several other Harvey characters for a new audience. After selling 6,400 copies of the first comic, the last two issues were published in 2010.

Television

Casper has starred in five television shows: * '' Matty's Funday Funnies'' (1959–1961) * '' The New Casper Cartoon Show'' (1963–1970) * '' Casper and the Angels'' (1979–1980) * '' The Harveytoons Show'' known in the UK as '' Casper and Friends'' (1990 –1994) * ''

'' (1996–1998) * ''

'' (2009–2012) After Harvey bought the rights to Casper and many other Famous properties in 1959 (including

Herman and Katnip ''Herman and Katnip'' are a duo of cartoon characters, Herman the Mouse and Katnip the Cat, that starred in theatrical animated shorts produced by Famous Studios in the 1940s and 1950s. Arnold Stang and Allen Swift were the regular voices of He ...

Little Audrey Little Audrey (full name: Audrey Smith) is a fictional character, appearing in early 20th century folklore prior to starring in a series of Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios cartoons from 1947 to 1958. She is considered a variation of the better ...

, and

Baby Huey Baby Huey is a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character. He was created by Martin Taras for Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios, and became a Paramount cartoon star during the 1950s. Huey first appeared in ''Quack-a-Doodle-Doo'', a ''Nov ...

), they began broadcasting the post-September 1950 theatrical Famous shorts on a television show sponsored by

Mattel Toys Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories a ...

titled '' Matty's Funday Funnies'' on ABC in 1959 which introduced the

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

doll A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...

to the public. The other Famous produced Casper cartoons had already been acquired by television distributor U.M. & M. TV Corporation in 1956. U.M. & M. retitled just "A Haunting We Will Go", but credited "Featuring Casper The Friendly Ghost" as "Featuring Casper's Friendly Ghost". New cartoons were created for '' The New Casper Cartoon Show'' in 1963, also on ABC. The original Casper cartoons were syndicated under the title ''

Harveytoons ''The Harveytoons Show'' is a television series presenting theatrical animated cartoons produced by Famous Studios from 1950 until 1964, which were acquired by Harvey Entertainment. History This show features Harvey Comics characters and series in ...

'' (initially repackaged as ''Casper and Company'') in 1963 and ran continuously until the mid-90s. Casper has remained popular in reruns and merchandising.

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

also gave Casper two holiday specials, ''

Casper's First Christmas ''Casper's First Christmas'' is a 1979 animated Christmas television special and crossover produced by Hanna-Barbera. It features Casper the Friendly Ghost and his friend Hairy Scarey from the animated series '' Casper and the Angels''. The speci ...

'' (which also starred

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in '' The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Yogi Bear was the first ...

, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw,

Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy are Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters who debuted on ''The Quick Draw McGraw Show'' and appeared in their own segment. The segments centered on the misadventures of a dachshund father-and-son team. Doggie Daddy (voic ...

) and '' Casper's Halloween Special'' (aka Casper Saves Halloween), and also the

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

series '' Casper and the Angels'' (an animated takeoff on two live-action hit shows ''Charlie's Angels'' and ''CHiPS'') in the autumn of 1979, all on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. Also featured on the NBC version was a big ghost named Hairy Scary (voiced by John Stephenson). None of Casper's original co-stars appeared in the show. Between 1990 to 1994, Casper appeared in '' The Harveytoons Show'' which was known as ''Casper and Friends'' in the UK. This show featured other

characters and series including:

, Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare,

Buzzy the Crow Buzzy the Funny Crow is an animated cartoon character that first appeared in the Famous/Paramount Noveltoons cartoon, "Stupidstitious Cat" (1947). He went on to appear in 13 cartoons from 1947 to 1954, including ''Sock-a-Bye Kitty'', ''As the Cr ...

, Modern Madcaps, Possum Pearl, Professor Schmatlz, Jeeper and Creeper and others. The show consisted of

-produced cartoons from 1950 to 1964 and each episode of the series included three full cartoons and one "ToonTake" segment. In 1996,

Amblin Entertainment Amblin Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions and Steven Spielberg Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marsha ...

and

Universal Cartoon Studios Universal Animation Studios (formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios) is an American animation studio and a division of Universal Pictures, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast. It has produced direct-to-video sequels ...

created a new ''Casper'' series for

Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a jo ...

called ''

'', based on the 1995 feature, that lasted two years and was never seen on television again after 1998. Two live-action direct-to-video follow-ups to the film, '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'' and ''

Casper Meets Wendy ''Casper Meets Wendy'' is a 1998 American fantasy comedy film based on the Harvey Comics cartoon characters Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch. The film is a sequel to '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'', and is the second ...

'' (which introduced

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...

as fellow Harvey Comics character

), were made. They were followed by ''

Casper's Haunted Christmas ''Casper's Haunted Christmas'' is a 2000 computer-animated Christmas supernatural dark comedy film produced by Harvey Comics and Mainframe Entertainment, based on the character Casper the Friendly Ghost, and was released by Universal Studios Home ...

'' (starring Spooky and Poil from the comics and animated spin-off of the first movie), and ''

'', which were done entirely in CGI with no live-action elements. These films are often referred to as being "prequels" to the 1995 feature despite the fact that they heartily contradict the feature and do not appear to even take place in the same universe. In 2007, MoonScoop Group, in association with

Classic Media Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...

, TF1 and DQ, produced a TV show of 52×12 named ''

''. In 2020, Casper appeared in a supporting role in the "Scare Bud" episode of ''

Harvey Girls Forever! ''Harvey Girls Forever!'' (originally titled ''Harvey Street Kids'' in its first season, then retroactively retitled) is an American animated comedy television series produced by Brendan Hay and Aliki Theofilopoulos for DreamWorks Animation Tel ...

'', a series based on Harvey Comics characters. A new live-action television series is in the works at

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...

. The project will be co-produced between

Universal Content Productions Universal Content Productions (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal. History Universal Cable Productions In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions was split off ...

and

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a divisio ...

with Wu Kai-yu writing and executive producing.

Films

The

version of Casper was scheduled to appear as a cameo in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral" from the 1988 film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated comedy film, comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely ad ...

''. Numerous ''Casper'' cartoons were released on home video by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

(via MCA Inc.), which also adopted the friendly ghost into a

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

titled ''

'' in 1995, where he and his wicked uncles,

, were rendered via

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...

, which initially created the first CGI lead character in a film. The film constructed a back-story for the character and is the only time in the series that the question of his death has been addressed. According to the film, Casper was a twelve-year-old boy living in Whipstaff Manor with his

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

father J.T. McFadden until he died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

after playing out in the cold until it was past nightfall. In 2001,

Harvey Entertainment Harvey Films (also known as Harvey Entertainment, The Harvey Entertainment Company or simply Harvey) is the production arm of comic book publisher Harvey Comics. It was a family business formed in the 1940s and was founded in 1957. In the early ...

was acquired by

which, until 2012, licensed the Harvey properties including Casper. Casper made a cameo in a

MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produc ...

commercial along with several other cartoon characters in 2012. Later that same year, Classic Media was acquired by

, which in turn would be acquired by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primar ...

in 2016, and thus

, the producer of the original live-action feature film, now manages the rights to the character and other related characters in addition to regaining the rights to ''Casper's Haunted Christmas'' (which Universal itself originally released in late 2000). The rights to ''

'' however are owned by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

through

20th Century Studios Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

. In 2019, Casper made an appearance in a

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

commercial.

Actors who have voiced or portrayed Casper

* An unknown child actor voiced Casper in ''

'' in 1945, ''There's Good Boos To-Night'' in 1948 and ''A Haunting We Will Go'' in 1949. * Alan Shay and radio actress Cecil Roy voiced Casper in the majority of the Famous Studios cartoons. * June Foray provided the voice for Mattel's Talking Casper the Friendly Ghost Doll in 1961. * Mae Questel provided the voice in Golden Records' ''Casper the Friendly Ghost and Little Audrey Says'' in 1962. *

Norma MacMillan Norma MacMillan (September 15, 1921 – March 16, 2001) was a Canadian actress, best known for voicing numerous characters in animation and claymation, including Casper the Friendly Ghost on '' The New Casper Cartoon Show'', Gumby on '' The ...

and Ginny Tyler provided the voice in '' The New Casper Cartoon Show''. * Julie McWhirter provided the voice in '' Casper and the Angels''. * Joanna Ruiz provided the voice for a British dub in 1991. * Christopher Miron Allport voiced Casper in an early 1990s

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

commercial. * Malachi Pearson voiced the character in the 1995 movie ''

'' and ''

'' (1996–1998). * Devon Sawa is the only actor to ever have played the character in live-action, portraying him in a sequence from the 1995 film in which Casper was temporarily brought back to life. *

April Winchell April Terri Winchell (born January 4, 1960) is an American actress, writer, and radio host. She is prehaps best known as the second and current voice of Clarabelle Cow, having voiced the character since 1996. Early life Winchell was born in 1 ...

voiced Casper as a baby in ''The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper'' episode "Three Ghosts and a Baby". * Lani Minella voiced Casper in ''Casper: The Interactive Adventure''. *

Jeremy Foley Jeremy N. Foley (born December 1, 1952) is an American university sports administrator and former college athlete. Foley was an award-winning athletic director for the Florida Gators Division I sports program of the University of Florida locate ...

voiced the character in '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'' and ''

''. * Brendon Ryan Barrett provided the voice in ''

''. *

Devon Werkheiser Devon Joseph Werkheiser (born March 8, 1991) is an American actor and musician. As an actor, Werkheiser is known for his starring role as Ned Bigby on the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'', and for his role as the ...

voiced Casper in ''

''. *

Carolyn Hennesy Carolyn Lee Hennesy (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress, author and animal advocate. Hennesy's early work consisted of guest appearances and roles in shows and television movies, including '' Dark Justice'' and in '' Deadly Invasion: Th ...

voiced Casper in '' Casper: Friends Around the World''. * Oliver Stern voiced Casper in a

commercial in 2019. *

Bobby Moynihan Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's ''DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in ''We Bare B ...

voiced Casper in the fourth season of ''

Friends/Supporting characters

*Johnny and Bonnie (The Friendly Ghost) * Ferdie Fox (There's Good Boo's Tonight) *Dudley Duck (A Haunting We Will Go) *

* Ghostly Trio (Casper's uncles): Stretch, Fatso and Stinkie * The Witch Sisters (Wendy's aunties): Thelma, Velma and Zelma (sometimes) * Archibald the Talking

Wishing Well A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deities or had been placed there a ...

Hot Stuff the Little Devil Hot Stuff the Little Devil is a comic book character created by Warren Kremer who first appeared in ''Hot Stuff'' #1 (October 1957), published by Harvey Comics. Imbued with a mischievous personality and able to produce fire, Hot Stuff appears as a ...

* Nightmare the Ghost Horse * Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost * Poil The Ghost, Spooky's Girlfriend * Gned Gnome * Gnewton Gnome * Gnorman Gnome * Sohini * Arruda * Richie Rich (occasionally) *

Little Dot Little Dot is a comic book character published by Harvey Comics about a little girl who is obsessed with dots, spots, and round, colorful objects. She was created in 1949 by writer Alfred Harvey and artist Vic Herman. Publication history Dot fi ...

(''

'') *

Little Lotta Little Lotta is a fictional character published by Harvey Comics from 1953 to 1972, and then sporadically until 1993. A contemporary of Little Audrey, Little Dot and Wendy the Good Little Witch, she was one of Harvey's best-known female characters ...

(''

'') * Hairy Scary ('' Casper and the Angels'', '' Casper's Halloween Special'' and ''

'') * Mini and Maxi ('' Casper and the Angels'') * Nerdly and Fungo ('' Casper and the Angels'') * The Commander ('' Casper and the Angels'') *

(''

'') *

Boo-Boo Bear Boo-Boo Bear is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character on '' The Yogi Bear Show''. Boo-Boo is an anthropomorphic dwarf bear who wears a blue bowtie. Boo-Boo is Yogi Bear's constant companion (not his son, as sometimes believed), and often acts as h ...

(''

'') *

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

(''

'') * Huckleberry Hound (''

'') * Snagglepuss (''

'') * Quick-Draw McGraw (''

'') *

(''

'') * Kat Harvey (''

'' and ''

'') * Dr. James Harvey (''

'' and ''

'') * Amelia Harvey (''

'') * Chris Carson ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * Tim Carson ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * Sheila Fistergraff ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * Jennifer ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * The Oracle in the Mirror (''

'') * Holly Jollimore (''

'') * Jimmy Bradley ('' Casper's Scare School (film)'' and ''

Casper's Scare School (TV series) ''Casper's Scare School'' (also known as ''Casper's Scare School: The Animated Series'') is a computer-animated series based on the computer-animated film of the same name featuring the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. Th ...

'') * Ra ('' Casper's Scare School (film)'', ''

Casper's Scare School (video game) ''Casper's Scare School'' (''Casper's Scare School: Classroom Capers'' for the Nintendo DS version) is an adventure video game developed by Data Design Interactive for the PlayStation 2 and Nikitova Games for the Nintendo DS. The game was relea ...

'', ''

'' and ''Casper's Scare School (comics)'') * Mantha the Zombie ('' Casper's Scare School (film)'', ''

'', ''

'' and ''Casper's Scare School (comics)'') * Professor Phinieas Field (''

'') * Eloise "Ellie" Essex (''

'') * Hot Stuff's family (nameless parents and brother, ''

'')

Enemies

* Unnamed Greedy Landlord (The Friendly Ghost) * An unnamed fox and duck hunter and his two hunting dogs (There's Good Boo's Tonight and A Haunting We Will Go.) * Winifred The Witch ('' Casper's Halloween Special'') * Screech The Ghost ('' Casper's Halloween Special'') * Kibosh The Ghost (arch-enemy, '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'', ''Casper: Activity Center'', ''

'', ''Casper: Friends Around the World'', '' Casper: Spirit Dimensions'', '' Casper's Scare School (film)'', ''

'' and '' Casper's Scare School: Classroom Capers'') * Snivel The Ghost ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'', ''Casper: Activity Center'' and ''

'') * The Wizard ('' Casper: Spirit Dimensions'') * Four Dragons ('' Casper: Spirit Dimensions'') * Krank ('' Casper: Spirit Dimensions'') * Doctor Deranged ('' Casper: Spirit Dimensions'') * Captain Pegleg Potbelly ('' Casper: Spirit Dimensions'') * Ghostly Trio (Casper's uncles): Stretch, Fatso and Stinkie (sometimes) * The Witch Sisters (Wendy's aunties): Thelma, Velma and Zelma (sometimes)"Wow! What a Whammy!", ''The Friendly Ghost, Casper'' #112 (December 1967), Harvey, 1958 Series
/ref> * Catherine "Carrigan" Crittenden (''

'') * Paul "Dibs" Plutzker (''

'') * Bill Case ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * Brock Lee ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * Danny ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * Leon ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') * Jennifer ('' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'') (sometimes) * Desmond Spellman (''

'') * Vincent and Jules (''

'') * Josh Jackman and his unnamed friend (''

'') * Alder and Dash ('' Casper's Scare School (film)'' and ''

'') * Thatch ('' Casper's Scare School (film)'', ''

'', ''

'' and ''Casper's Scare School (comics)'') * Volbragg (''

'')

Home media

In 2011,

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released a DVD set titled ''Casper The Friendly Ghost: The Complete Collection 1945-1963'' which contains ''The Friendly Ghost'', ''There's Good Boos To-Night'', ''A Haunting We Will Go'', 55 theatrical cartoons, and all 26 episodes of ''The New Casper Cartoon Show''.

PC and video games

''Casper''

Several video games were based on the 1995 film for PC,

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the su ...

, 3DO,

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

, and

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

. In subsequent years Windows 95 and Game Boy Advance games were released serving as sequels to the film.

''Casper: A Spirited Beginning Activity Center''

Developed by

Sound Source Interactive TDK Mediactive was the brand name used by Japanese company TDK as a media subsidiary in Europe, and as a video game publishing subsidiary in North America. TDK Mediactive Europe TDK Mediactive Europe was a division of TDK Recording Media Euro ...

, published by

WayForward Technologies WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as ...

and released in 1998 for PC, it is based on the film of the same name and is similar in format to

Disney's Activity Center ''Disney's Activity Center'' is a series of PC and PlayStation games released by Disney Interactive with each title consisting of various activities and minigames to be completed, using aspects of their licensed property. Development Disney Int ...

. Set at Ghost Central Station, the player earns Casper coins by completing Casper's Spinning Squares, Stretch's Memory Game, Fatso's Kitchen, Stinkie's Goo Toss and Snivel's Mix & Match. The player must collect at least 15 Casper coins from these five games to unlock Kibosh's Magic Puzzle.

''Casper: Friends Around the World''

Developed by

Realtime Associates Realtime Associates is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1986 by David Warhol and a group of ex-Mattel Electronics employees originally to create games for the Intellivision system. Since then, the comp ...

, published by

TDK Mediactive TDK Mediactive was the brand name used by Japanese company TDK as a media subsidiary in Europe, and as a video game publishing subsidiary in North America. TDK Mediactive Europe TDK Mediactive Europe was a division of TDK Recording Media Europ ...

and released in 2000 on PlayStation. It is a mostly

2D side-scrolling '' A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller), is a game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphi ...

platform game with occasional forward and backward movements. The evil Kibosh has invented a device to send Casper's human friends to a place where they "would not have a ghost of a chance of being found" and has hypnotized the Ghostly Trio into doing his bidding. However Casper finds a page from a map of Hollywood giving him a clue on where to start his quest to find his friends and the three missing pieces for Kibosh's imprisoning device to get them back home safely. The game is played across ten levels set around the world with 40 friendship crystals on each level to collect in order to advance to the bonus level at the end.

''Casper: Spirit Dimensions''

Developed by

Lucky Chicken Games Lucky Chicken Games is an American video game developer founded in 1998 in Santa Monica, California by Jamie Ottilie, Matt Saia and Jonnathan Hilliard. Luck Chicken Games was purchased by mobile game publisher AEGF in partnership with Abandon ...

and published by

, it was the first 3D game, to have a movable game camera, based on Casper. It was released in 2001 for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

and in 2002 for

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

. The evil Kibosh has taken over the Spirit World and is intent on also taking over the mortal world. Meanwhile,

summons Casper, the only remaining free ghost, and opens the portals to the Spirit Dimensions to help in their only chance to defeat Kibosh.

''Casper and the Ghostly Trio''

Developed by Data Design Interactive and Published by Blast! Entertainment, it was released in 2007 on PlayStation 2. It is a 3D game in which Casper has legs and is affected by gravity though he can glide, unlike his flying ability in Spirit Dimensions. The Ghostly Trio have kidnapped Wendy the Good Little Witch in an attempt to use her magic to create a potion that would give them the power to rule Ghostland. Wendy manages to use her magic to get the message across to Casper who must find his way through six levels to rescue her. At the end of the first five levels is a bonus stage in which Casper must collect as many jewels as he can while avoiding the Trio's lightning which is chasing him.

''Casper's Scare School''

A series of three games, for PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and Wii, based on the computer animated film and TV series of the same name released in 2008 and 2009.

References

External links

* *
Don Markstein's Toonopedia

''Casper's Scare School''
on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casper The Friendly Ghost Animated characters Child characters in animated films Child characters in animated television series Child characters in comics Child characters in film Child characters in television Famous Studios series and characters Literary characters introduced in 1939 Fictional characters who can turn intangible Fictional ghosts DreamWorks Classics Fantasy film characters Harvey Comics series and characters Harvey Comics titles Television series by U.M. & M. TV Corporation American comics adapted into films Comics characters in television Humor comics Children's comics Comics adapted into television series Television series by Universal Television Ghost characters in video games Casper characters

Creation of Casper the Friendly Ghost

Harvey Comics

Television

Films

Actors who have voiced or portrayed Casper

Friends/Supporting characters

Enemies

Home media

PC and video games

''Casper''

''Casper: A Spirited Beginning Activity Center''

''Casper: Friends Around the World''

''Casper: Spirit Dimensions''

''Casper and the Ghostly Trio''

''Casper's Scare School''

See also

References

External links