Casper's First Christmas

Last updated
Casper's First Christmas
Casper's First Christmas.jpg
VHS cover
Genre Comedy
Based on Casper the Friendly Ghost
by Seymour Reit
Joe Oriolo
Story by Bob Ogle
Directed by Carl Urbano
Starring Julie McWhirter
Daws Butler
Don Messick
Hal Smith
John Stephenson
Music by Hoyt Curtin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Producer Alex Lovy
EditorRobert Ciaglia
Running time30 minutes
Production companies Hanna-Barbera Productions
Harvey Films
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseDecember 18, 1979 (1979-12-18)

Casper's First Christmas is a 1979 American 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 . [1] The special features guest stars Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, and Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. It aired on NBC on December 18, 1979. [2]

Contents

The theme song, "Comin' Up Christmas Time", sung by Yogi's pals was used again a year later in Yogi's First Christmas , depicting a different premise in which Yogi and Boo Boo (who, being bears are supposed to be hibernating in the winter) can be seen celebrating Christmas with the other cast members. "Comin' Up Christmas Time" was released on Hanna-Barbera's Christmas Sing-A-Long [3] album on CD and cassette in 1991 and is currently on various streaming services.

This also marked the first and only time that this special pairs together the characters from its owners, Hanna-Barbera and Harvey Entertainment. Like many animated productions created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the special contained a laugh track created by the studio.

Network Ten aired the special in Australia.

Plot

Casper and his friend Hairy Scary are in a house about to be demolished on Christmas Eve and go out to look for a new place to move to after Christmas in California. Yogi and his friends get lost and arrive at Casper and Hairy's house and clean and decorate it to celebrate Christmas. Casper befriends Yogi and company only for Hairy to try to ruin the party with Casper and his new friends. Hairy has a change of heart and celebrates Christmas with Casper and his new friends and ending with Santa Claus saving the house and turning it into Hairy's Haunting Lodge.

Cast

Home media

Turner Home Entertainment released Casper's First Christmas on VHS on September 26, 1995. [4] Warner Bros. released Hanna-Barbera Christmas Classics Collection on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection in July 2012; this was a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and only in the US. This collection features a trilogy of Christmas specials: Casper's First Christmas, The Town That Santa Forgot and A Christmas Story .

VHS release dates

DVD release date

July 31, 2012 (Warner Home Video/Warner Archive)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snagglepuss</span> Hanna-Barbera cartoon character

Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character who debuted in prototype form on The Quick Draw McGraw Show in 1959 and was established as a studio regular by 1961. A light pink anthropomorphic puma sporting an upturned collar, shirt cuffs, and bow tie, Snagglepuss enjoys the finer things in life and shows a particular affinity for the theatre. His stories routinely break the fourth wall as the character addresses the audience in self-narration, soliloquy, and asides. As originally voiced by Daws Butler, Snagglepuss seeks quasi-Shakespearean turns of phrase. Some of his campy verbal mannerisms became catchphrases: "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", "Exit, stage left!", and using emphatic "even" at the end of sentences.

<i>Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy</i> American animated television series

Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy are two 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 tried to do the best he could at raising his rambunctious son Augie. The characters have made appearances outside of their series, including in their own video game and in Yogi's Ark Lark and its spin-off series.

<i>Yogis Gang</i> 1973 American animated television series

Yogi's Gang is an American Saturday-morning cartoon, and the second incarnation of the Yogi Bear franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired for 16 half-hour episodes on ABC from September 8, 1973, to December 29, 1973. The show began as Yogi's Ark Lark, a special TV movie on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie in 1972. Fifteen original episodes were produced for broadcast on ABC, with the hour-long Yogi's Ark Lark thrown in as a split-in-half two-parter. The show confronted social and cultural issues like ecology and bigotry, with villains named Mr. Waste, Dr. Bigot, the Envy Brothers, Lotta Litter, the Greedy Genie and Mr. Cheater.

Hanna-Barbera's Superstars 10 is a series of 10 syndicated made-for-television animated films produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera programming block from 1987 to 1988, featuring the studio's most popular animated characters: Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Huckleberry Hound and Top Cat. The first 8 films used traditional cel animation, while the last 2 films used digital ink and paint.

<i>Yo Yogi!</i> American animated television series

Yo Yogi! is an American animated television series, and the seventh entry in the Yogi Bear franchise, produced by H-B Production Co. that aired from September 14 to December 7, 1991, on NBC for 13 episodes.

<i>Yogis Treasure Hunt</i> American animated television series

Yogi's Treasure Hunt is an American animated television series, and the fifth entry in the Yogi Bear franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Featuring Yogi Bear and various other Hanna-Barbera characters, it premiered in syndication on September 6, 1985 as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. This is the last series to feature Daws Butler as the voice of Yogi Bear and his other characters before his death in 1988. While all 27 episodes were made in digital ink and paint across three seasons, its opening credits were produced in traditional cel animation.

Yogi's Great Escape is a 1987 animated made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. The two-hour film aired in syndication.

<i>Wake, Rattle, and Roll</i> American live-action/animated television series

Wake, Rattle, and Roll is an American live-action/animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Four Point Entertainment that premiered in the fall of 1990. As the show's title suggests, Hanna-Barbera intended the show to air on its affiliated stations in a morning timeslot before school. The show's title was inspired by the song "Shake, Rattle and Roll". After its single season on the air in syndication, Wake, Rattle, and Roll moved exclusively to The Disney Channel under the title Jump, Rattle, and Roll, with the title adjustment due to its repeats not being confined to mornings.

<i>The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound</i> 1988 animated Western TV film

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 animated Western television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. This film marks the final time Daws Butler voiced Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Snagglepuss, Hokey Wolf, and Peter Potamus, as he died a couple weeks after its telecast from a heart attack.

<i>Yogis First Christmas</i> 1980 American animated musical television film

Yogi's First Christmas is a 1980 American animated musical television film starring Yogi Bear and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It first aired in syndication through Operation Prime Time on November 22, 1980. Throughout the 1980s, it was offered to U.S. television stations split up one episode per day for four days as a one-week strip syndicated program, generally during the week of Christmas. The film was written by Willie Gilbert and directed by Ray Patterson.

<i>Fred Flintstone and Friends</i> American animated television series

Fred Flintstone and Friends is an American animated anthology wheel series and a spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera and Columbia Pictures Television that aired in daily first-run syndication from September 12, 1977, to September 1, 1978. The series was packaged by Columbia Pictures Television during the 1977–78 television season and was available for barter syndication through Claster Television through the mid-1980s.

Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue is a 1978 American live-action/animated television special produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions featuring animated character Fred Flintstone and hosted by Roy Clark and Bonnie Franklin in celebration of Hanna-Barbera's twenty years on the airwaves. It premiered on CBS on Friday, January 13, 1978 at 8:00 pm EST.

<i>Yogis Ark Lark</i> 1972 American animated television special

Yogi's Ark Lark is a 1972 American animated television special produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, intended to raise ecological awareness. Written by Bob Ogle and Dick Robbins and directed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna, it was broadcast on ABC on September 16, 1972, as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and served as the two-part episode for Yogi's Gang.

<i>Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose</i> 1987 American TV series or program

Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose is a 1987 animated made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. This film aired in syndication.

<i>Yogi Bears All Star Comedy Christmas Caper</i> 1982 American animated Christmas television special

Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper is a 1982 American animated Christmas television special starring Yogi Bear. It is the third and final Yogi Christmas special. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, it first aired on December 21, 1982 on CBS. Along with Yogi's traditional cast, the characters also met up with many other Hanna-Barbera characters, including Magilla Gorilla and Fred Flintstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huckleberry Hound</span> American animated television character

Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character, a blue anthropomorphic coonhound dog that speaks with a North Carolina Southern drawl. He first appeared in the series The Huckleberry Hound Show. The cartoon was one of six TV shows to win an Emmy Award in 1960 as an "Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming"; the first animated series to receive such an award.

<i>Hanna-Barberas 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration</i> 1989 American live-action/animated television special

Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration is a 1989 American live-action/animated television special written, directed and produced by Marshall Flaum, which premiered on TNT on July 17, 1989. It is hosted by Tony Danza, along with Annie Potts; it also stars Whoopi Goldberg, Betty White, Sammy Davis Jr., Tommy Lasorda, Jonathan Winters, Phyllis Diller, Valerie Harper, Shari Belafonte, Joe Ferguson and Tiffany.

The Yogi Bear Show is an American comedy animated television series, and the first entry of the Yogi Bear franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. A spin-off of The Huckleberry Hound Show, the show centers on the adventures of forest-dwelling Yogi Bear in Jellystone Park. The show debuted in syndication on January 30, 1961, and ran for 33 episodes until January 6, 1962. Two other segments for the show were Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle. The show had a two-year production run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yogi Bear</span> American animated television and film character

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.

<i>Laff-A-Lympics</i> American animated television series

Laff-A-Lympics is an American animated comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series premiered as part of the Saturday-morning cartoon program block Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, which consists of 24 episodes, on ABC on September 10, 1977. The show is a spoof of the Olympics and the ABC primetime series Battle of the Network Stars, which debuted one year earlier. It featured 45 Hanna-Barbera characters organized into teams which competed each week for gold, silver, and bronze medals. In each episode, the Really Rottens would try in each event to cheat only to get caught by Snagglepuss each time. One season of 16 episodes was produced in 1977–78, and eight new episodes combined with reruns for the 1978–79 season as Scooby's All-Stars. Unlike most cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, Laff-A-Lympics did not contain a laugh track. Scooby’s Laff-a-Lympics was originally owned by Taft Broadcasting; Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution currently owns the series through its two in-name-only units, Warner Bros. Family Entertainment and Turner Entertainment.

References

  1. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 41–42. ISBN   9781476672939.
  2. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962–1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 62–63. ISBN   0-8108-2198-2 . Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear & Friends, Hanna-Barbera's Christmas Sing-A-Long , retrieved 2021-12-14
  4. Casper's First Christmas [VHS]: Daws Butler, Ida Sue McCune, Paul DeKorte, Julie McWhirter, Don Messick, John Stephenson, Hal Smith, Michael Redman, Carl Urbano, Chris Cuddington, Gil Iverson, Robert Ciaglia, Alex Lovy, Doug Paterson, Joseph Barbera, William Hanna, Bob Ogle: Movies & TV. ISBN   156039577X.