DVD-R Hell: "Casper and the Angels"

3/25/2014

Hey remember the time Casper the Friendly Ghost was partnered with two Space Cops in the 22nd Century to bust common criminals, along with a wise cracking sidekick named Harry Scary?

68 Comments

GuitarAnthony

3/25/2014 10:14:06 am

Hanna Barbera cartoons from the 80's. These were the bane of my existence at the time and I would not be saved until Ren & Stimpy started.

SamJ

3/25/2014 11:08:32 am

Wasn't born in the 80s, so I was spared the dreadful era between "Scooby-Doo" and the creation of Nickelodeon.

Hidan03

3/26/2014 10:16:37 am

Hanna-Barbera were the kings of rip-off animation. Characters were stolen from famous comedians, and a formula worked once, they would try it again and again for the money.

When Scooby-Doo hit it big, there were a dozen spin-offs, Speed Buggy, JabberJaw, Josie and the Pussycats, Funky Phantom, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, and (most rascist of all) The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.

It wasn't until the 90's came around that lots of new Animation Students came out of the woodwork, like Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McCracken, and Van Partible, who saved Hanna-Barbera and formed the early Cartoon Network.

MisterCrimson

3/27/2014 01:47:54 pm

While The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan was, in most ways, a Scooby-Doo knock-off, it's important to note that the series was actually based on the old Charlie Chan films (Chan himself being played by Warner Olund, a white man from Sweden) rather than being a direct copy from Scooby-Doo. Mostly to clarify for the folks who don't know.

LazyShell

3/25/2014 10:24:50 am

"If you're a hijacker, that's a really bad thing."
The More You Know

Brainy Smurf

3/25/2014 10:25:45 am

What is up with your hate on for Casper? Casper is awesome!

Also, Harry (from the clips) is annoying as fuck. The "funny" one that always gets the character in danger. Fuck that shit.

LucasChad

3/25/2014 10:27:23 am

I guess Casper never caught on with me as much as others. Sure I've seen a few cartoon shorts plus the 1995 movie (that I'm sure I rather unsee), but maybe it's because I like Ghostbusters a whole lot better.

Fortunately, I grew up watching Inspector Gadget in the late-80s and early-90s. That's my cup of tea compared to this show though Muppet Babies didn't hurt either!

LucasChad

3/25/2014 11:40:06 am

Oh and I do agree what some of the people are mentioning here, Ren & Stimpy is AWESOME!!!

Salvo

3/25/2014 10:30:46 am

"Aired from 1979 to 1980"

Wow, spanning two decades!

Drake Smith

3/25/2014 10:36:58 am

Dear Brad Jones;
I am deeply offended by your comments about Casper. It shows you have no understanding of how Spectral Americans are mistreated

Dan L.

3/25/2014 10:43:45 am

As an adult, I've kind of came up with some sort of explanation for those speeder bikes Hanna-Barbera space characters would use seemingly unprotected in the vacuum of outer space: They generate some kind of invisible force field that creates a pocket of breathable atmosphere. That's the best I can come up with.

Jeff

3/25/2014 12:40:38 pm

You've clearly put more thought into it than Hanna-Barbera did.

David link

3/25/2014 10:41:43 am

I'm pretty sure Harry Scary molested me when I was 8 years old.

SamJ

3/25/2014 11:06:28 am

Huh. The only Casper thing I ever saw was "A Haunting We Will Go." I saw it when I was maybe four or five. I have the tape somewhere, but I could never find it, even after fifteen years. I remember it being really sad, but heartwarming. So, you're right. Casper really WAS never funny. Just depressing to watch.

P.S.: Anyone ever watch "Fillmore!"? I think Brad would like it; I think he likes 70s cop shows. Probably not Disney cartoons, but I still think it's worth checking out.

Konnie link

3/26/2014 04:35:55 am

I remember Fillmore! I'd love to see Brad's reaction.

SamJ

3/26/2014 05:47:10 am

I love that show. It's a real shame that it never caught on. I saw it again a few years back, and it was funny and really smart.

skrag2112

3/25/2014 11:35:25 am

Ah, the 1970s. The decade when Hanna/Barbera officially stopped giving a shit. I can imagine Bill and Joe watching the dailies for this show, then their eyes moving over to those Oscars they won while working at MGM and thinking what a long, long time ago that was.

Muthsarah

3/25/2014 02:28:28 pm

I wish there was a simple "thumbs up" option for this comment. It's so bitchy, but so understandable too.

LouieB

9/21/2014 02:30:55 pm

They probably would've done that...if the Oscars they technically won weren't in the possession of Fred Quimby--the "creative force" behind Tom and Jerry. They had to take publicity photos of their awards while one of the most talentless men in Hollywood was out to lunch.

That's even more depressing than a "classic" Casper cartoon...

sbkMulletMan

3/25/2014 11:37:11 am

Really hard to believe that Hanna Barbera admitted to and apologized for royally fucking up the animation industry for decades, huh?

God, I watch this thing and I can honestly hear John Kricfalusi analyzing every valid problem with it. Damn those flesh-colored eyes! Which gets me to thinking: yeah, I *should* be watching Ren & Stimpy instead of Casper and the Whoopdeeshits, or whatever horrid crossover combination H-B shat out during the desperate years (don't even get me started on the Scooby clusterfucks).

At least with Ren & Stimpy, the bulbous-headed ghost was enjoyable and had flawed, yet lovable personality and taught us all that if you are a ghost and drink poison, you'll die and come back to life as an awesome, naked black man. "Killer!"

Hell, I don't even have to watch anything that somewhat-recent. A year after this show ended, we got the Heavy Metal movie, which featured a much more enjoyable Space Cheech & Space Chong. And tits.

Good Nyborg, man!

SamJ

3/26/2014 07:03:56 am

Hanna-Barbera created a low for cartoons, yes. But they did two great things for the history of animation:
1. They created "Tom and Jerry".
2. They were pretty much unofficial co-creators of "Cartoon Network", due to Ted Turner's acquisition of their creative properties during its creation.

They may have pumped out lots and lots of schlock through their company, and effectively fueled the "Dark Age of Animation", those two things washed away their sins for me.

sbkMulletMan

3/26/2014 07:43:35 am

Oh, they certainly had good things going for them, but the good they did early on really doesn't magically negate the crap they squeezed out for years after it.

That's like saying Happy Gilmore magically excuses all the shitty Adam Sandler movies that came out after it. That's My Boy still happened. Hell, I'll even use something I enjoy as an example in the interest of fairness: Ren & Stimpy was amazing (well, before Spumco got the boot), but that doesn't mean The Ripping Friends deserves a free pass. John K done fucked up...only he didn't royally screw the animation industry as a result.

SamJ

3/26/2014 12:29:12 pm

I still think their overall impact on the industry amounts more to good than bad. When it comes down to it, even though HB made tons of subpar cartoons over the years, does anyone even remember most of them without external stimulation of memory, outside of Scooby-Doo? Most of them pretty much faded out of memory after maybe ten years. But their early works are still being talked about to this day, and are held in high regard.

And the fact that their studios were directly responsible for sustaining Cartoon Network since inception, coupled with the large variety of fantastic shows that Cartoon Network hosted and still hosts today (despite the very embarrassing period of 2007 to 2010), makes their blunders inconsequential, in my opinion.

That... and I kinda like some of their Dark Age crap. I love Jonny Quest and Wacky Races. And I still unironically enjoy Scooby Doo, Where Are You? and The New Scooby Doo Movies. Hell, I even liked "Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School."

Jesse

3/25/2014 12:11:17 pm

I'm only 7 minutes into this, and I'm ready to put my hand through the computer if Casper pronounces the word "ghosht" one more fucking time. He sounds like Jodie Foster and Nicolas Cage talking at the same time.

LloydFan

3/25/2014 12:16:12 pm

Damn that Maxi chick must be on the rag.
Is her name short for Maxipad?

David link

3/25/2014 12:25:31 pm

Coincidentally I always thought that Casper was more akin to an anthropomorphic tampon from a crude advert for womens toiletries than a ghost.

John C

3/25/2014 12:19:07 pm

I'm waiting for the gritty live action remake of Casper starring some British actor who can give the character the proper amount of pathos. I have to run so I can patent the name Jumping Jupiter for my new blue meth.

Daniel Von Egidy

3/25/2014 12:23:28 pm

Dear God please do the Happy Days time travel cartoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtW6wS3z97Q

Nathan Koch

3/25/2014 12:57:49 pm

6:27 the black one turned white she must of saw a ghost

Paul D.

3/25/2014 01:17:21 pm

I couldn't believe that I actually DO remember this show. Somehow it ended up on some VHS' we had of a bunch of cartoons when I was a kid (along with some other Hanna Barbera classics such as Shazam!) and I used to watch it fairly often around 4-6 years old.

It makes perfect sense that you'd feature it prominently in some form or another, master of obscure 70s/80s nostalgia such as yourself Brad. :P

Muthsarah

3/25/2014 02:26:47 pm

But Muppet Babies WAS legendary. It MUST be said.

Wait...Sector Z...you totally let a StarFox joke go.

You musta put some crazy research into this episode. I didn't know half of what you were talking about with Casper's backstory. I had no idea he was that old.

Great ending........Yeah, that's it.

Plum Dumb

3/25/2014 02:28:45 pm

I do remember this show, particularly Harry Scary.

I used to watch this on reruns constantly along with Josie and the Pussycats and Speed Racer.

Brownie_the_3rd

3/25/2014 02:56:18 pm

Not only do I remember Casper and the Angels, I owned the vhs of it.
I'm kinda tempted to go looking through my old videos now to see if I still have it

Josh Hadley link

3/25/2014 03:16:54 pm

I don't know if you all know this, but I own all the episodes on VHS. I used to come home when I was a kid and watch these after Karate practice. I think it gave me the inspiration to become a Black Belt, as I knew my reward for a good Karate practice was coming home to watch this awesome show. I have Casper and the Angels to thank for being as cool as I am today.

SamJ

3/26/2014 11:29:30 pm

That's completely awesome, Josh. You're the coolest guy ever!

ldk130813

3/25/2014 05:26:34 pm

thank you for reminding me why i could not stand Hanna-Barbara cartoons as a kid. *with a few exceptions. like the Super Powers, and Gobots.*

laugh tracks, stupid puns, poor animation, even by late 70's standards. *there is better animation in a looney toon short, from 1930.* and annoying voices.

thankfully, Hanna-Barbara got better over the years. especially after cartoon network happened.

Morhek

3/25/2014 05:46:45 pm

You know those shows you loved as a kid, and then when you're nearly thirty you wonder "what the hell was I thinking"?

This wasn't one of them. Even as a kid, I thought this show was stupid.

On the other hand, Doug's latest episode has reminded me that I loved Mighty Ducks, so I can't exactly clap my younger self on the back over it.

Mike

3/25/2014 08:16:05 pm

Another show from back in the 60s that added space in front of everything was Rocket Robin Hood. I think most of the reason I watched it was because of how bad it was, that and as a kid in the middle of nowhere there wasn't much else on.

LivinIsntEasy86

3/26/2014 01:30:52 am

I forgot this show existed, but now I do remember watching it thanks to the millions of Hanna Barbera reruns.
Also I never understood the baby Flintstones show. I was always under the impression that Fred & Wilma didn't meet until they were at least teenagers, same with Barney & Betty.. *shrug* Oh well..

Jeffrey Rolek

3/26/2014 01:52:16 am

The Snob mentioned this in his "Friday the 13th Part V" review back in 2009.

Aaron F Bourque

3/26/2014 02:54:17 am

Perfect opportunity for a Space Lancer Steve cameo, and ya blew it.

BarryTheMasterOfSandwich link

3/26/2014 03:57:01 am

Well, you just sound thrilled to be watching this.

That's why I like this video.

Fard Muhammad link

3/26/2014 08:05:45 am

Putting characters in space led to the baby versions, eh? Does that mean that some time after To Boldly Flee, we'll see a "TGWTG Babies" anniversary movie eventually? Why do I get the feeling that Baby Snob will still have the baritone voice? ;-)

Tugboat Orchid

3/26/2014 10:07:10 am

Hiya Brad, I been a fan of yours for a few years now but this is my first time posting. Anyhoo, I never heard of this show. I remember a Casper cartoon in the 90's. I couldn't get into it. Than again, I couldn't get into the movie either...

I did like that one ad of Casper though..it was a Pepsi ad - Casper was in the freezer and he grabbed a Pepsi. He tries to fly out with it but the he got stuck because derp the Pepsi wasn't a ghost, so he's playing tug-of-war with the freeze to get the drink out. He looks at it sadly and goes: Oh man!
Or something like that.

It might be lame but it made me smiled.

Leviathan

3/26/2014 01:28:20 pm

It predicted Steven Universe

SamJ

3/26/2014 11:31:12 pm

No; Steven Universe is awesome and hilarious. Casper isn't; he's depressing to watch.

Fake Name

3/26/2014 02:17:16 pm

In fairness, If I'm killing time in a dentists office I'd rather read Casper or Wendy than Archie.

Nebs

3/26/2014 03:03:40 pm

I kind of want to see Brad talk about other batshit crazy cartoons like the 60s Spider-Man cartoon, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, or X-Men: The Animated Series. Maybe X-Men isn't THAT crazy for someone who's very familiar with the comics or who grew up watching the show, but for me, it's pretty nuts. Maybe that's because I've only seen the first two episodes and also the episode where Gambit, Rogue, and Wolverine go skiing in Germany. That one was very weird because a third of the episode was Nightcrawler telling Wolverine about Jesus. What the shit? I guess it's not THAT weird for a show that included a floating orange bumper car thing, multiple people in ugly trench coats, a terrible fake Southern accent, a terrible fake Cajun accent, a guy who looks like a giant blue muppet and first appears doing chemistry on the ceiling and says something along the lines of "if i mixed this stuff it would explode and that would be cool but also kind of a problem," and Wolverine's dumb hairstyle.

das

3/26/2014 04:49:30 pm

I was always more of a Chuck Jones fan. Or Tex Avery

killeroftheweek link

3/27/2014 12:20:17 am

Space Pussy? Why not Chatterbox IN SPACE~!

Josh

3/27/2014 02:18:57 am

There needs to be a live action show about the Angels.

GNRguy

3/27/2014 10:32:28 am

Haha Jake's reaction!

Eric Moreland

3/28/2014 05:42:08 am

Maxie sounds like she's voiced by Mila Kunis.

Mae

3/28/2014 09:59:10 am

Croatoan! If i didn't know better I'd think you just made a Supernatural joke. That is an A+ obscure reference sir. Kudos

Michael Ford

3/29/2014 06:28:21 am

Holy crap, I remember watching this on VHS as a little kid back in the 90s! I pretty much forgot it even existed.

Kasimir

3/29/2014 06:38:43 pm

Harry Scary.... wait... like a pun on the western mispronunciation of hara-kiri (Japanese ritual suicide) as "harry-carry"? That's kind of dark. o.o

Devin S.

3/30/2014 12:55:52 am

If I want to watch a space ghost show, I'll stick with a <i>real</i> space ghost show ---like Space Ghost, thank you very much. ; )

Layla

4/12/2014 08:45:01 am

I don't remember this cartoon, but I remember watching the "Happy Days" cartoon. Good grief, I'm old....

Rhody

6/6/2014 07:27:05 am

Wait a second... ghosts... ghost headquarters... cops...

I bet the guy who wrote R.I.P.D watched this as a little kid! Well talk about one hell of an obscure source of inspiration. Shit I have to look deeper into old cartoons, they had some interesting concepts.

Robert Carey

6/12/2014 05:09:28 pm

I would much rather have BeetleJuice as a "guardian ghost" than Casper. Hell, I would rather have Samara, the ghost from The Ring, than Casper

That British Critic link

8/11/2014 11:26:04 am

I hate Hanna barber a except for the old Tom shout out

Bugle

9/11/2014 10:25:21 am

To the people complaining about post-Scooby Doo Hanna-Barbera, not all of the later Hanna-Barbera produced stuff was bad. Some of their 90s Cartoon Network stuff like Pirates of Dark Water, Swat Kats was pretty good. And in between that they still had a couple of decent shows like Wacky Races. Oh and the early "What a Cartoon!" Cartoon Network shows like Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken were still considered a part of Hanna-Barbera.

ldk1309813013

9/11/2014 09:03:48 pm

yea; their 90's stuff was good. IS good, but their 60s, to early 80's stuff, was horrible. lol but right about the challenge of the super powers, in the mid-80's, they did get much better. along with shows like gobots.

where they got a real budget for once.

ldk1309813013

9/11/2014 09:04:13 pm

pete smith

5/18/2015 04:20:59 am

Wonder why animation/cartoon about ghost of dead child never did reach international success like Disney characters for example.

ldk1309813013

5/19/2015 07:50:12 am

because we secretly love dead kids, yet pretend we do not.

this is evident in the success of movies like "the hunger games".

Isabella McD.

9/4/2018 03:26:28 pm

This show sounds awfully familiar.......
Didn't TheMysteriousMr.Enter review this show once?

Communication Legal Translation link

8/12/2024 11:46:10 pm

Greetings! Very helpful advice on this article! It is the little changes that make the biggest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!

DVD-R Hell: "Casper and the Angels"

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