The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper

The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper is a 1996–1998 animated television spin-off of the feature film Casper, which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character of Casper the Friendly Ghost.[2]

The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
Genre	Animated, Comedy, Horror
Based on	Casper the Friendly Ghost by Seymour Reit Joe Oriolo
Developed by	Sherri Stoner & Deanna Oliver
Directed by	Alfred Gimeno Marija Miletic Dail
Voices of	Malachi Pearson Kath Soucie Dan Castellaneta Joe Nipote Joe Alaskey Brad Garrett Jess Harnell Rob Paulsen Miriam Flynn Tress MacNeille Frank Welker Jim Cummings Debi Derryberry Sherry Lynn April Winchell Tim Curry
Composer(s)	Michael Tavera Thom Sharp Bruce Babcock Charles Fernandez Harvey Cohen Ron Grant
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	52
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jeffrey A. Montgomery
Producer(s)	Alfred Gimeno Marija Miletic Dail
Editor(s)	Paul D. Calder Ken Solomon
Production company(s)	AKOM Amblin Television The Harvey Entertainment Company Universal Cartoon Studios Jeffrey A. Montgomery Productions
Distributor	MCA TV (North America) HIT Entertainment (Worldwide, except US)[1] DreamWorks Classics NBCUniversal Television Distribution (current)
Release
Original network	Fox Kids
Original release	February 24, 1996 (1996-02-24) – October 17, 1998 (1998-10-17)

Production

At the time that principal filming wrapped on Casper, a sequel was proposed and a treatment was written, but a combination of less-than-stellar box office gross (although the film grossed $100 million in the US, the budget was more than half of that total and analysts predicted much higher earnings for the film) and the fact that both Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman were attached to other projects after Casper and would not be available until more than a year later caused the idea to be scrapped. The producers then decided to abandon the live-action sequel ideas and instead developed this cartoon series to continue the story.

The show aired on Fox Kids television from 1996–1998 for 3 seasons.[3] 52 episodes were produced, but only the first 46 appeared on FOX, with the remaining debuting on FOX Family Channel. Many of the same people who worked on this show also worked on Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain (the latter of which was a spin-off from the former; coincidentally, the former had also debuted on FOX).

The new Casper broke from earlier versions, following a sitcom-style pattern of one-liners and pop culture gags in a manner similar to the Casper feature. The show would also frequently break the fourth wall. The show used old Casper supporting characters such as Casper's cousin Spooky, Spooky's "ghoulfriend" Pearl (or "Poil" as rendered by Spooky's Brooklyn accent), and Nightmare the Ghost Horse who, unlike in the original cartoons and comics, does not actually talk (though voiced by Frank Welker). The show also introduced new characters, including Casper's super-loud teacher Ms. Banshee.

Characters

Casper

Main article: Casper the Friendly Ghost

Casper McFadden has been haunting his family home of Whipstaff Manor for some time, having died from pneumonia (according to a newspaper seen during the scene in the attic from the feature film) after he played out in the cold for too long when he was twelve years old. Now in the care of his three troublemaking uncles, Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso, Casper's afterlife is not exactly pleasant. He has to put up with his uncles' outrageous antics, and his wish to gain a friend in a human is usually ruined. The only exception to this was when Kat and Dr. Harvey moved into Whipstaff. Kat became a close friend to him. Casper has been a ghost for just over a hundred years, as Stinkie and Fatso once stated that Casper's age is 115 and a half years old. Casper himself is very friendly and outgoing, but he sometimes appears rather shy. Most ghosts view his behaviour as unusual, as they believe ghosts should not be friendly or polite in any way. Other ghosts are sometimes even afraid of his good manners, to which Casper sometimes uses to his advantage. One example was when the Ghostly Trio appealed to Casper for help after being convicted in a supernatural court, which denied them to be ghosts any longer as they had no unfinished business on Earth, therefore they would have to crossover. Casper intervened, and revealed quite honestly that his uncles had not taught him how to be scary yet, enabling them to remain as ghosts on Earth. As in the film, Casper is voiced by Malachi Pearson.

The Ghostly Trio

Main article: Ghostly Trio

The Ghostly Trio are Casper's uncles, who love scaring humans, or as they call them, "fleshies", "skinbags", "bone-bags" and "skinsacks". They include Stretch, the tallest, and hot-headed leader, Stinkie, who almost always smells, and in turn loves anything smelly. He uses his bad smell as a weapon or annoyance on others, and Fatso, who is seen as the least intelligent of the brothers, and loves to eat almost anything. The three are chaotic in every sense, and can't resist scaring or causing trouble no matter what the cost. They order Casper around constantly, who they refer to as "Bulbhead" or "Short-sheet". However, despite being considered mean spirits, they do on a number of occasions display compassionate sides. One example was when Casper was accidentally turned into a baby. The Ghostly Trio at first reluctantly, took care of him, but soon bonded with him, particularly Stretch. They also appeared to be worried about Casper when they thought he was going to face "the most evil spirit to haunt the Earth", Whitebeard, on his own. There was a rare occasion when Casper became furious and shouted at the Trio for not restraining their own anger during a "frightening storm", which fed off the fury of others. Casper even planned on leaving his uncles, which surprised them further. However, using the best thing to compliments only the Trio could give, such as "fun to knock around", "easily insultable", and even admitting that they liked him, they persuaded him to stay. In the film, the primary turning point for the Ghostly Trio was when they kept their promise to Dr. Harvey, and brought his wife Amelia, to speak to him one last time. As in the feature film, they are voiced by Joe Nipote, Joe Alaskey and Brad Garrett, although in the third and fourth seasons Fatso would be voiced by Jess Harnell, who also voiced Fatso in the unrelated direct-to-video films: Casper: A Spirited Beginning and Casper Meets Wendy. (Notably, Harnell also voiced Wakko Warner, who like Fatso also has a voracious appetite, and was one of three manic siblings who perpetually annoyed a psychiatrist.)

Dr. Harvey

Dr. James Harvey (or "Doc" as he is called by the Ghostly Trio) is a psychiatrist and is shown to be an alumnus of Johns Hopkins University. In the film, after his wife Amelia's death, he has gone on to become a "ghost therapist” to find and make contact with his wife, because he believes she is a ghost. However, after learning that she instead became an angel, he and his teenage daughter Kat stay at their new home of Whipstaff, where he continues to work as a ghost therapist, trying (unsuccessfully) to rehabilitate the mischief-making Ghostly Trio. Dr. Harvey is an easy-going guy with a big heart. He obviously loves Kat, although he sometimes appears rather neglectful of his motherless daughter's emotional needs. This was demonstrated in the scene from the film where he speaks with his departed wife when he says he is worried that he's not taking good care of her, but Amelia assured him that he was doing a good job, although she gave him some "motherly" advice ("Don't pick up the extension every time she gets a phone call, french fries are not a breakfast food..." etc.) Dr. Harvey tolerates the Ghostly Trio antics, and it is because of this that they grow to like him, and kept their promise to him so he could speak to Amelia. The animated version of Dr. Harvey deviates slightly from the film version, in that the animated Dr. Harvey was totally focused on being a therapist and used psychological epithets when talking to everyone, including his own daughter. Kat, Casper and the Ghostly trio simply regarded this as an eccentricity. The role was originated by Bill Pullman in the Casper film, but he is voiced by Dan Castellaneta on the show.

Kat Harvey

Kathleen "Kat" Harvey is the daughter of Dr. Harvey and is portrayed as the stereotypical teenager who has a sense of humour.

She is about thirteen years old (about the age Christina Ricci, who originated the role in the Casper film, was when the film was filmed) and is a good companion to Casper. Kat hates having to put up with the Ghostly Trio because none of them get along with her. Any time they spend together usually involves insulting each other. On one occasion, after the Trio made fun of her for not being able to get a job, Kat made a bet with them saying she could get a job, and bring home a paycheque before they could. The end result was all of them getting a job in the same theatre, which became partly destroyed, after which they declared a draw. But there are rare occasions when Kat and the Ghostly Trio would work together. One example was when to Kat and Casper's surprise, the Trio were trying to return the goldfish Kat won at a fair back to its mother. At first she thought they were going to turn it into a "ghost fish", but when they told her what they were planning, she became slightly emotional and decided to help. Another example was when Dr. Harvey was given his own television show in order to help all ghosts. Both he and Casper became famous and power hungry, resulting in Kat and the Ghostly Trio being neglected, and treated badly. This resulted in them working together to remind Dr. Harvey what was more important. Kat is voiced by Kath Soucie on the show.

Spooky

Main article: Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost

Spooky is Casper's mischief-minded cousin. He looks up to the Ghostly Trio as his heroes and, while having no true dislike for Casper, despises his cousin's lack of interest in scaring humans. As such, Spooky is always trying to out-scare Casper and become the best in class, but usually fails. However, underneath the gruff, ghostly exterior, Spooky may also have a slight soft spot for his cousin. Spooky is visually very similar to Casper, but he has a black nose and freckles, wears a brown "doiby" hat, and speaks in a Brooklyn accent. He is voiced by Rob Paulsen.

Poil

Poil is Spooky's "ghoulfriend". Often absent-minded, Poil is almost always oblivious to current situations and takes things way too literally. She adores Spooky and everything about him, right down to the freckles on his face and his black nose, is good friends with Casper and doesn't care as much for the Ghostly Trio as Spooky does. She is voiced by Miriam Flynn.

Miss Banshee

Miss Maddie Banshee is the teacher at Casper, Spooky and Poil's ghost school. Befitting her name, Miss Banshee can yell and scream loud enough to be heard several towns away, even to wake the dead. Miss Banshee enjoys being a teacher, but dreams of being a professional opera singer. All three of the Ghostly Trio have a crush on Miss Banshee, and constantly compete for her affections. Miss Banshee is okay with the Trio, but remains unimpressed with their efforts. She is voiced by Tress MacNeille.

Amber Whitmire and the Jennifers

Amber Whitmire and the Jennifers are classmates and rivals of Kat's at Friendship Junior High School. Amber and the Jennifers are portrayed as rich, mean, spoiled queen bees. Jennifer #1 has brown hair and wears glasses and is the closest to Amber, Jennifer #2 has red hair, and Jennifer #3 has blonde hair and a snorting laugh and is the least intelligent of the three. Amber is voiced by Sherry Lynn and the Jennifers are voiced by Debi Derryberry.

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1	10	February 24, 1996	May 18, 1996
	2	16	September 7, 1996	February 22, 1997
	3	20	September 6, 1997	February 27, 1998
	4	6	September 12, 1998	October 17, 1998

Episodes

Season 1 (1996)

Episode No.	Title(s)	Original airdate
1	Spooking Bee Fugedabouit The Flew	February 24, 1996
2	Paws The Alphabet Song Is So Too	March 2, 1996
3	Legend of Duh Bigfoot The Ghostly Day Invasion of the UGFO's	March 9, 1996
4	Rocket Booster A Really Scary Casper Moment The Day of the Living Casper	March 16, 1996
5	Three Boos and a Babe The Whipstaff Inmates Elusive Exclusive	March 30, 1996
6	Paranormal Press Another Spooky and Poil Moment Deadstock	April 20, 1996
7	Poil Jammed The Who That I Am A Picture Says a Thousand Words	April 27, 1996
8	Spooks, Lies and Videotapes Ghostfather	May 4, 1996
9	Rebel Without a Date Don't Bank on It	May 11, 1996
10	Casper vs. the Ultimate Fan Boy Field of Screams	May 18, 1996

Season 2 (1996–1997)

Episode No.	Title(s)	Original airdate
1	Grim and Bare It Fatso of the Opera	September 7, 1996
2	Dead of the Class A Spooky and Poil Moment Y-Files	September 14, 1996
3	Losing Face Galloping Ghost	September 21, 1996
4	Aunt Misbehavin' Split Personalities	September 28, 1996
5	Something to Stink About Pulp Friction	October 5, 1996
6	Ectospasms Stink of the Road Doc's Depression	October 12, 1996
7	Boo to the Future All That Falderal	October 19, 1996
8	Spooky and Poil Meet the Monsters You Know You're Alive When... 13 Ways to Scare a Fleshie The Trick's a Treat	October 26, 1996
9	Frightening Storm The Ghostly Trio The Legend of Whitebeard	November 2, 1996
10	Three Ghosts and a Baby I Wanna Be Rude Leave It to Casper	November 9, 1996
11	Luck of the Spookish Daycare Nightmare	November 16, 1996
12	Scream Card You Know You're Alive When... Lady Screams the Boos	November 23, 1996
13	A Christmas Peril Ms. Banshee's Holiday Hits Good Morning Dr. Harvey Fright Before Christmas	December 21, 1996
14	A Midsummer's Night Scream You Know You're Alive When... Auntie Maimed	February 1, 1997
15	Gargoils Ms. Banshee's Public Domain Hits Boosom Buddies	February 15, 1997
16	What Goes Around Scavenger Haunt	February 22, 1997

Season 3 (1997–1998)

Episode No.	Title(s)	Original airdate
1	Columboo All About "C"	September 6, 1997
2	Hat Sick Cancion de Olor The Boo-Muda Triangle	September 13, 1997
3	Intensive Scare F-A-T-S-O Stench!	September 20, 1997
4	The Phantom of the Oprah Stretch's Information Tidbit The Crying Game	September 27, 1997
5	Free Goldie I'd Pick Your Nose Birthday Boos	October 4, 1997
6	Rats! Stinkie Time Theater Great Ghouly Governess	October 11, 1997
7	Aboove the Law Ten Little Fatsos Haunt-a-Thon	October 31, 1997
8	This Old Manor Scareobicize	November 3, 1997
9	Gingersnap Out of It Send a Good Stink Up Their Noses Ghostly Locks and the Three Scares	November 10, 1997
10	Boopardy Do You Like Me? MacDeath!	November 17, 1997
11	The Scummies Three-Ring Whipstaff It's Best to Be the Most	November 27, 1997
12	The Son Also Rises Stretching Is Good for You Ghostfinger	December 12, 1997
13	Mom Always Likes Ghouls Best Dare to Scare Bury Maguire	December 19, 1997
14	Four Funerals and a Wedding I Can Be Anything Family Reunion	February 6, 1998
15	Horrid Copy I'm Nothing Without My Hat Caspeer Pressure	February 13, 1998
16	That Thing You Boo! A Good Walk Poiled	February 13, 1998
17	Jasper It's Great to Be a Ghost The Boo-Bloods of Whipstaff	February 20, 1998
18	Ghost Jam Do the Spooky Dr. Harvey and Mr. Gruesome	February 20, 1998
19	Politically Co-Wrecked Casper Three Little Letters Pen and Tell Her	February 27, 1998
20	Jack and the Scream Stalk Boo Bash a Bone Bag Artistic? That's a Stretch!	February 27, 1998

Season 4 (1998)

Episode No.	Title(s)	Original airdate
1	Scaredy Boo, Where Have You Got To? Casper's New Theme Song The Daunting Game	September 12, 1998
2	At the BOO-vies Sing Yourself Happy Snowball's Chance	September 19, 1998
3	NYPD BOO Three Cool Ghouls Working Ghouls	September 26, 1998
4	Scream Test Ms. Banshee's Kid Songs The Doctor Is Out	October 3, 1998
5	Miami Nice If You're Unhappy and You Know It That Advice Stinks	October 10, 1998
6	BOO-kini Beach Garlic Bread Man	October 17, 1998

Voice Cast

• Malachi Pearson as Casper
• Kath Soucie as Kat Harvey, Marilyn Krump, various voices
• Dan Castellaneta as Dr. Harvey
• Joe Nipote as Stretch, Narrator
• Joe Alaskey as Stinkie, Baby Huey (cameo in the end of "Legend of Duh Bigfoot"), various voices
• Brad Garrett as Fatso (Seasons 1-2)
• Jess Harnell as Fatso (Seasons 3-4), various voices
• Rob Paulsen as Spooky, various voices
• Miriam Flynn as Poil, various voices
• Tress MacNeille as Miss Banshee, various voices
• Sherry Lynn as Amber Whitmire
• Debi Derryberry as The Jennifers, various voices
• Frank Welker as Nightmare the Horse, various voices, animal effects
• April Winchell as Baby Casper, Miss C, various voices

Additional voices

• Gary Owens as Haunt-a-Thon Announcer
• Tony Jay as Grim Reaper, Various voices
• Greg Eagles as Michael Jordan
• E.G Daily as Nicole, Cinderella, Various voices
• Cam Clarke as The Prince, Various voices
• David Coburn as James Dean
• Edie McClurg as Willa Winkle
• Fred Willard as Wally Winkle
• Dana Hill as Wee Willie Winkle
• Heidi Shannon as Agent Skully
• Bobbi Page as Various voices
• Susan Blakeslee as Various voices
• Jim Cummings as Announcer, Albert Frankenstein, Krono, Ron, Water Cooler Guy #1, Phineas McHorde, Bronko, Babe Ruth, The Ghost of Christmas Past, Santa Claus, Various voices
• Jeff Bennett as Milk Shop Owner, Wedgie Johnson, News Anchor, Astronaut, various voices
• Charlie Adler as T-Bone
• Stan Freberg as Game Show Host
• Cathy Cavadini as Kid #2
• Neil Ross as The Ghostfather, TV Voice
• Mark L. Taylor as TV Voice #2
• Christine Cavanaugh as Kid #1
• Danny Mann as Lounge Host
• Pat Fraley as Cleaner Ghost
• Beau Weaver as
• Benny Luciano as Vic
• Billy West as
• Ben Stein as Mr. Happ
• Jack Angel as Count Dracula
• Ed Asner as
• Carlos Alazraqui as
• Tom Kenny as
• Tim Curry as Pianist
• Phil LaMarr as
• June Foray as
• Mark Hamill as Ezra Hazzard, The Ghost of Christmas Present
• S. Scott Bullock as The Ghost of Christmas Future
• Mona Marshall as
• Nancy Cartwright as Erlita Zitty
• Susan Silo as
• Bill Farmer as
• Kevin M. Richardson as The Frightening Storm
• James Earl Jones as Kibosh

Home media

From 1996 through 1998, Universal Studios Home Video released episodes from seasons 1, 2, and 3 onto VHS.

In 2007/2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released two volume collections entitled The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper, Volume 1 and The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper, Volume 2 on DVD in Region 1.[4][5] Volume 1 consists of the first 5 episodes of the animated series, while volume 2 contains the last 5 episodes of season 1.

No further plans have been made by Universal to release any further DVDs of the show.

See also

• List of ghost films
• Tiny Toon Adventures
• Animaniacs
• Pinky and the Brain

References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/19980703165237/http://www.hitentertainment.com/hit_ecat.html#_Toc406920242
2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 188–191. ISBN 978-1476665993.
3. Arnold, Mark (2017). The Harvey Comics Companion. BearManor Media. ISBN 9781629332703. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
4. "Casper DVD news: Box Art for The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper - Volume 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2007-07-17. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
5. "Casper DVD news: Box Art & Menu for The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper - Volume 2". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2008-06-28. Archived from the original on 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2015-02-28.

External links

• The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper on IMDb
• The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Casper at TV.com