Love him or hate him Casper is The Friendly Ghost and has always been one of my childhood favorites. Fans have been waiting for a decent DVD release of original Casper cartoons for some time now (the closest we've come are some average import VCD's) and I'm glad to announce that the wait is finally over. Classic Media a division of Sony have stepped up to the plate and released no less than 14 classic Casper episodes on one super fun disc. It's only appropriate that just after the passing of Halloween we take a look at this fine collection of Casper cartoons on DVD in Casper and Wendy's Ghostly Adventures.

Let me preface by saying that the title of the disc itself is a bit misleading as Wendy only appears in two of the cartoons on this disc. This is not a complaint mind you, I'm just stating a fact. The cartoons on this disc represent those released from 1951 to 1962. The episodes included are not in an any kind of order (chronological, biological or mineral). They're just randomly inserted, one right after another until all of the Casper goodness comes to an unfortunate abrupt stop.

The cartoons present on this disc include the following. (Note that I've listed them in chronological order, this is not their order on the actual DVD)

• To Boo or Not to Boo (1951)
• The Deep Boo Sea (1952)
• Frightday the 13th (1952)
• Ghost of the Town (1952)
• Boo Moon (1953)
• Boo Ribbon Winner (1954)
• Hide and Shriek (1954)
• Fright From Wrong (1956)
• In Spooking About Africa (1956)
• Hooky Spooky (1957)
• Boo Bop (1957)
• Which is Witch (1958)
• Not Ghoulty (1959)
• Wendy's Wish (1962)

These cartoons include such classic moments as Casper at the Barn dance, covered in a can of paint to disguise his "ghostliness". Casper and his little pirate friend on a quest for some buried treasure. Casper and his new dog racing friend Molasses. A few visits from Casper's cousin Spooky (with hilarious results). And who could ever forget Casper's classic trip to the moon which includes a fantastic homage to Gulliver's Travels.

It's hard to tell what the appeal of Casper is. I guess as a child it's partly because of the Halloween theme, but with Casper being a "nice" ghost, there is really no threat of being frightened. After revisiting these classic cartoon on this DVD, I'm happy to say that Casper and his friends still make the grade after all of these years, It was a blast to watch this DVD... as childhood memories were flooding my mind.

The cartoons on this DVD range in quality, but for the most part look pretty decent. There are minimal amounts of print damage, here and there (not too distracting) although the main problem is grain. Considering that these are cartoons mostly from the 50's one would have to be nuts to complain (also the price point is something to consider as well). This presentation easily outclasses any previous VHS release and is well worth the price you'll pay.

Audio is presented in a mono mix and sounds fine as well. There is really no distortion to speak of and dialogue sounds just fine.

Extras? Not a ghost of a chance. If you consider the original song from the opening of the cartoon an extra, then there you have it.

This is a great DVD, plain and simple. With most retailers selling this disc for less than 10 bucks, you'd be silly not to pick it up, especially if you're a Casper fan to begin with. Parents should consider picking this disc up for their kids as well, it's classic wholesome entertainment (with a cool horror twist) that a whole new generation can now enjoy.