There's Good Boos To-Night. (1948)

On the home stretch to Hallowe'en, so maybe a few extra uploads coming!

Fleischer Studios was unique and innovative, bringing us such original characters as Koko the Clown, Bimbo, and Betty Boop. (See my previous upload.) They also brought licensed characters like Popeye and Superman to the screen in such memorable fashion that the comic page originals wound up being strongly by the theatrical adaptations.

But, by the 1940s, the studio had overextended itself and got taken-over by its distributor and primary financier, Paramount Pictures. Rebranded as Famous Studios, their cartoon production values were maintained, perhaps improved. But the place was now run by corporate suits rather than animation pioneers, and the lack of creative spark did show.

Most of the Famous characters were either carry-overs from the Fleischer era or inferior knock-offs of existing properties. The only one who really made an impact was CASPER. Introduced in a forgotten children's book in 1939, the studio bought the rights and made what was probably intended as a one-off cartoon called THE FRIENDLY GHOST in 1945. This short featured Casper so distraught with loneliness that he attempts suicide, and only fails due to already being dead! It was around three years before Famous did this second short... Which is even darker and more disturbing than the first one.

Of course, they lightened the tone and dialed way back on Casper's depression after this. But I wonder if the suicidal inclination was what got him trapped between worlds as a ghost instead of moving on to heaven!
.