There's Good Boos To-Night (1948)
Casper befriends a fox cub named Ferdie, and when hunters chase the fox through the woods, the bullets meant for him pass harmlessly through the incorporeal Casper but strike Ferdie dead — until the fox returns as a ghost to rejoin his friend.
Only Casper’s second outing, There’s Good Boos To-Night takes a startlingly dark turn for what would soon become a gentle kids’ franchise, and its punning title nods to Gabriel Heatter, the radio newsman famous for opening his broadcasts with “There’s good news tonight.”
Background
There’s Good Boos To-Night is a 1948 Famous Studios cartoon directed by Isadore Sparber. It is only the second Casper the Friendly Ghost short, and the film’s punning title nods to Gabriel Heatter, the radio newsman known for opening his broadcasts with ‘There’s good news tonight.’ Jack Mercer and Sid Raymond are among the voice performers credited. The cartoon is notable for a darker tone than the series would later adopt, and it has been noted by viewers for that reason. It runs about eight minutes. The story was produced during the period when the studio was building the Casper franchise into a regular series.
What to watch for
Look for the shift in tone within the short: a playful fox cub befriends Casper, then a hunt turns grim when the bullets pass harmlessly through the ghost and strike the cub. The ending, where the fox returns as a ghost to rejoin his friend, is an unusually melancholy closing beat for a cartoon of this period. The hunters are drawn in a broad comic style, which keeps the scene from feeling gratuitous even though an animal dies on screen. Notice how the eight-minute running time packs in the friendship, the death and the return without losing its rhythm. Parents should be aware of that darker turn before sharing it with young children.
