Famous Studios' cartoons are not for all tastes, but my opinion is that their early stuff and some of the early 50s output are good. While they were very formulaic they were always well animated and voiced with some funny parts, some poignancy and decent characters and their regular composer Winston Sharples could always be relied on to write a great and often outstanding score.
Admittedly though, by the mid-50s through to the late-60s Famous Studios' cartoons did get repetitive. While Sharples' music still shone and the voice actors did their best the animation suffered due to lower budgets and tighter deadlines, the humour became more tired and slow in timing than sharp and funny, the stories became increasingly predictable and rehashed and some characters started losing their initial spark, this is particularly true of most of the later Herman and Katnip cartoons.
'Cage Fright' is a very sweet Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon, while still just about staying on the right side of 'very sweet'. Certainly nowhere near among the worst of Famous Studios' output, being closer to the quality of their early cartoons while showing a couple of signs of what would happen later. Structurally, in terms of story and dialogue, there is nothing new so there is a more of the same feel (as ever though did appreciate the swift but gentle tone of the story), and the dialogue is a little twee and forgettable.
On the other hand, the animation in 'Cage Fright' is still very nicely done. thankfully being closer to the very fluid and detailed animation style of the early output rather than the sparser and flatter style of the studio's later cartoons. The colours are vibrant and atmospheric, everything looks smooth and the backgrounds are meticulous in their detail. Winston Sharples' music score here is typically merry and whimsical, it's beautifully orchestrated, energetic and adds so much to the mood, his music has always been one of the best assets of the Famous Studios cartoons and it's not an exception here.
While not one of the funniest Casper cartoons, the humour is amusing and gentle, while the reactions towards Casper nice and varied with some imaginative visuals. The chemistry between Casper and the very cute baby elephant cannot fail to bring a lump to the throat and warm the heart, all without being too sentimental or cloying. The climax has a real foreboding and urgency that was really exciting, though did feel a tad jarring compared to the rest of the tone of the cartoon. This was not a problem really because the cartoon had a good reason for it being that way. The characters are very endearing, and the voice acting is dependably strong.
In conclusion, very cute and nicely done. 7/10 Bethany Cox
