"Gosh! I don't like to scare anybody. I just wanna be friendly." - Casper, the Friendly Ghost in "Do or Diet"
HarveyToons: The Complete Collection DVD Review
By Jude Clement
In 1945, Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios released "The Friendly Ghost," an animated short featuring Casper, a spook who just wanted to be friends with the humans he inadvertently frightened. Between 1945 and 1959, fifty-four Casper shorts were produced. Casper and his witchy friend Wendy also haunted the pages of Harvey Comics, which eventually purchased the rights to the character. Several other characters made the switch back and forth between Harvey Comics and the big screen. HarveyToons: The Complete Collection gathers many of them on DVD for the first time.
Joining Casper in this collection are Herman and Katnip, a cat and mouse duo that resemble Tom and Jerry at their Itchy and Scrachy-est; Baby Huey, an oversized, developmentally-challenged baby duck who often saves his family and friends from a mean old fox simply by using his freakish strength; Little Audrey, a precocious youngster who palled around with her cute doggie, Pal; Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare, who starred in variations on the fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare;" Buzzy, a mischievous crow who often comes across as a combination of Daffy Duck, Heckle & Jeckle, and Scatman Crothers; and Goodie the Gremlin, a gremlin who goes against gremlin nature by performing good deeds. Other occasional characters include Spunky the donkey, Louie the Lion, Waxey Weasel and Wishbone, and Kitty Kuddles. Also included are "Modern Madcaps," a series of cartoons that both introduced short-lived characters and also featured non-character based stand-alone shorts.
I dislike critics who write reviews comparing one work to another. Sure, it's almost necessary to mention the stilted, clunky original version of Battlestar Galactica when critiquing the sleek, savvy new incarnation currently running on SciFi. A few years ago, however, any sitcom featuring characters of a certain age was lazily measured against Friends. As much as it pains me, though, when it comes to HarveyToons: The Complete Collection, comparisons to Looney Tunes: The Golden Collection are practically inevitable.
For one thing, while they are often entertaining, HarveyToons are not as strong as Looney Tunes. Many of the Casper shorts are a one joke affair - Silly ghost, friends are for alive kids - and a somewhat maudlin, syrupy, joke at that. Other characters, plots, and even visual humor feel derivative of other cartoon series. It is difficult to watch a Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare short and not think of Warner Bros. superior take on the same material. Yes, it seems like HarveyToons was sampling long before Run-DMC came along.
In later years, the HarveyToons catalogue was edited together into separate episodes for syndication, each episode featuring three or so shorts. The shorts were often cut to fit the half-hour timeslot (no credits, for example) and brief "Toon Take" excerpts were included as padding. One of HarveyToons: The Complete Collection's biggest flaws is that it includes these syndicated episodes rather than just the original shorts.
The only positive to come of this is that many of the episodes are semi-themed. Episode one, for example, deals with outer space. Episode four takes a trip to Mexico and features the excellent short "Pedro and Lorenzo," a cute tale about the friendship between a young bullfighter and a bull. Mysteries and detectives are on the docket for episode nine. Food and diet are the focus of episode sixteen, with special emphasis on Thanksgiving. Sometimes viewers may have to stretch to find a theme. Episode twenty-five seems to be about birthday parties and "When Animals Attack," connected only by a Baby Huey short in which an animal attacks at a birthday party.
Unfortunately, neither the packaging nor the menus give any information about what shorts can be found in the individual episodes, making it difficult for viewers to find their favorite characters. Here, then, is a listing of episode contents:
Disc One, Side One
Episode 1: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boo Moon," Little Audrey in "Dizzy Dishes," Modern Madcap "Out of this Whirl," Toon Take
Episode 2: Herman and Katnip in "Mouse Trapeze," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Casper Comes to Clown," Modern Madcap "Jolly the Clown," Toon Take
Episode 3: Baby Huey in "Scout Fellow," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boo Scout," Modern Madcap "Scouting for Trouble," Toon Take
Episode 4: Herman and Katnip in "Cat Tamale," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Bull Fright," "Pedro and Lorenzo," Toon Take
Episode 5: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Once Upon a Rhyme," Little Audrey in "Little Audrey Riding Hood," Modern Madcap "Dante Dreamer," Toon Take
Episode 6: Herman and Katnip in "Mousetro Herman," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boo Hop," "The Animal Fair," Toon Take
Episode 7: Baby Huey in "Huey's Ducky Daddy," Little Audrey in "The Seapreme Court," Finny in "Feast and Furious," Toon Take
Disc One, Side Two
Episode 8: Herman and Katnip in "Herman the Catoonist," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Ghost of Honor," Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare in "Rabbit Punch," Toon Take
Episode 9: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Which is Witch," Little Audrey in "The Case of the Cockeyed Canary," Modern Madcap "Perry Popgun," Toon Take
Episode 10: Herman and Katnip in "Mice Meeting You," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "True Boo," Baby Huey in "Jumping with Toy," Toon Take
Episode 11: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boos and Saddles," Baby Huey in "Git Along Lil' Duckie," Modern Madcap "Shootin' Stars," Toon Take
Episode 12: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Casper takes a Bow-Wow," Little Audrey in "Dawg Gawn," Martin Kanine in "Fido Beta Kappa," Toon Take
Episode 13: Herman and Katnip in "Cat in the Act," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Ghost Writers," Modern Madcap "Top Cat," Toon Take
Episode 14: Baby Huey in "Swab the Duck," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "The Deep Boo Sea," Herman and Katnip in "Ship A-Hooey," Toon Take
Disc Two, Side One
Episode 15: Herman and Katnip in "Of Mice and Menace," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Ghost of the Town," Toon Take
Episode 16: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Do or Diet," Herman and Katnip in "You Said a Mouseful," "The Voice of the Turkey," Toon Take
Episode 17: Herman and Katnip in "Mice-Capades," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Fright from Wrong," "Crazytown," Toon Take
Episode 18: Herman and Katnip in "One Funny Knight," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Red White and Boo," Modern Madcap "Silly Science," Toon Take
Episode 19: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boo Kind to Animals," Little Audrey in "Surf Bored," Spunky in "Okey Dokey Donkey," Toon Take
Episode 20: Herman and Katnip in "Robin Rodenthood," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Cage Fright," Modern Madcap "Bopin' Hood," Toon Take
Episode 21: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Good Scream Fun," Herman and Katnip in "Mouseum," unidentified Modern Madcap, Toon Take
Disc Two, Side Two
Episode 22: Herman and Katnip in "Drinks on the Mouse," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Pig-a-Boo," Snapper in "News Hound," Toon Take
Episode 23: Herman and Katnip in "Owly to Bed," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boo Hoo Baby," Modern Madcap "Bouncing Benny," Toon Take
Episode 24: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Ground Hog Play," Buzzy in "Sock-a-Bye Kitty," "Talking Horse Sense," Toon Take
Episode 25: Baby Huey in "Party Smarty," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Casper's Birthday Party," Modern Madcap "Miceniks," Toon Take
Episode 26: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Zero the Hero," Buzzy and Katnip in "Cat-choo," Modern Madcap "Finnegan's Flea," Toon Take
Episode 27: Herman and Katnip in "City Kitty," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Spooking About Africa," Modern Madcap "Travelaffs," Toon Take
Episode 28: Herman and Katnip in "Of Mice and Magic," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Puss 'n Boos," Modern Madcap "Funderful Suburbia," Toon Take
Disc Three, Side One
Episode 29: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "To Boo or Not to Boo," Herman and Katnip in "Mousier Herman," Goodie the Gremlin in "Good and Guilty," Toon Take
Episode 30: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boos and Arrows," Modern Madcap "Fiddle-Faddle," "Land of Lost Watches," Toon Take
Episode 31: Baby Huey in "Pest Pupil," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Hooky Spooky," Modern Madcap "Kozmo Goes to School," Toon Take
Episode 32: Baby Huey in "One Quack Mind," Casper the Friend Ghost in "Heir Restorer," Modern Madcap "Cool Cat Blues," Toon Take
Episode 33: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Boo Ribbon Winner," Goodie the Gremlin in "Goodie the Gremlin," Modern Madcap "Cape Kidnaveral," Toon Take
Episode 34: Modern Madcap "Monkey Doodles," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Hide and Shriek," Unidentified Modern Madcap, Toon Take
Disc Three, Side Two
Episode 35: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Little Boo Peep," Modern Madcap "Trouble Date," Modern Madcap "The Show Must Go On," Toon Take
Episode 36: Herman and Katnip in "A Bicep Built for Two," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "North Pal," Modern Madcap "The Kid from Mars," Toon Take
Episode 37: Baby Huey in "Huey's Father's Day," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Peekaboo," Louie the Lion in "Lion in the Roar," Toon Take
Episode 38: Herman and Katnip in "Sky Scrappers," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "By the Old Mill Scream," Waxey Weasel and Wishbone in "Poop goes the Weasel," Toon Take
Episode 39: Little Audrey in "Audrey the Rainmaker," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Casper Genie," "Right off the Bat," Toon Take
Episode 40: Herman and Katnip in "from Mad to Worse," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Doing What's Fright," Modern Madcap "Stork Raving Mad," Toon Take
Disc Four, Side One
Episode 41: Herman and Katnip in "Hide and Peak," Modern Madcap "La Petite Parade," Inchy in "The Oily Bird," Sir Irving and Jeames (untitled)
Episode 42: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Down to Mirth," "Turtle Scoop," Modern Madcap "The Inquisit Visit," Toon Take with Herman and Katnip
Episode 43: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Keep Your Grin Up," Modern Madcap "L'Amour the Merrier," "Possum Pearl," Toon Take
Episode 44: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Not Ghoulty," Buzzy in "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow," Modern Madcap "Galaxia," Modern Madcap "Grateful Gus"
Episode 45: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Penguin for your Thoughts," Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare in "Mr. Money Gags," Modern Madcap "Electronica," unidentified Baby Huey
Episode 46: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Spook and Span," Herman and Katnip in "Mice Paradise," "Cock-a-doodle Dino," Kitty Kuddles in "Kitty Cornered"
Disc Four, Side Two
Episode 47: Herman and Katnip in "Felineous Assault," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Dutch Treat," Modern Madcap "Fit to be Toyed," Baby Huey in "Party Smarty"
Episode 48: Herman and Katnip in "Rail-rodents," Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Spook No Evil," Modern Madcap "Mike the Masquerader", Buzzy in "Better Bait than Never"
Episode 49: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Spunky Skunky," Buzzy and Katnip in "The Awful Tooth," Modern Madcap "The Planet Mouseola," Toon Take
Episode 50: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Line of Screammage," Buzzy in "As the Crow Lies," Modern Madcap "The Lion's Busy," Modern Madcap "Sportickles"
Episode 51: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Spooking with a Brogue," Herman and Katnip in "Will Do Mousework," Modern Madcap "Be Mice to Cats," Modern Madcap "The Phantom Moustacher"
Episode 52: Casper the Friendly Ghost in "Frightday the 13th," Herman and Katnip in "Frighty Cat," "Spooking of Ghosts," Modern Madcap "Cane and Able"
And then there's the question of how "complete" HarveyToons: The Complete Collection actually is. The "Toon Takes," for example, have definitely been sliced and diced. Even worse, an informal comparison of the shorts listed above and those documented in Jeff Lenburg's excellent The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons reveals that the set doesn't even include all of the shorts that feature its main stars, making it even less complete. According to Lenburg, fifty-five Casper shorts were produced. Fifty appear here. At least two of Herman and Katnip's thirty-two shorts are missing. Less than half of Little Audrey's shorts are included - seven out of fifteen. Only Baby Huey is fully represented with eleven shorts. It should be noted that these numbers are approximate. It is possible that a truncated Little Audrey appeared as a "Toon Take," for example, and therefore did not get included in the final tally. Either way, Complete is far from it.
The fifty-two episodes that make up HarveyToons: The Complete Collection are divided onto four double-sided discs. The discs are housed in a sturdy foldout case. The four discs attach to two panels - both panels hold two discs, one on top of the other, in a figure eight pattern. The discs and the foldout case are decorated with colorful comic strip images. The packaging is very appealing, but it loses points because of its lack of information about what's actually on the discs.
The simple yet eye-catching menu design employs a comic book theme. After a brief introduction in which comic panels zoom across the screen, a static image allows viewers to either play all of a disc's episodes or choose an individual one. The episodes are simply identified by number - no indication is given as to which shorts might be included in any given episode. There are no scene selection menus, but chapter stops are included at the start of each short.
