What? It’s not October? Well, you’ll have to forgive us because all we do here on the Comedy.com animation channel is stay inside the air conditioning with the windows blacked out watching reruns of Venture Brothers and eating Circus Peanuts. That’s what all those Saturday morning cartoons do to your brain late in life, fanboys. Give us a break, we thought it was October. Anyway, here’s a list of The 10 Greatest Cartoon Ghosts Of All Time!
10. Ghostbusters
Before Ghostbusters the movie, there was the Ghost Busters kids show starring Larry Storch and Forest Tucker of F-Troop. We heard some clever (read: deceiving) animation producers put “The Ghost Busters” cartoon up for grabs at an annual TV trade show without telling the clueless buyers that it wasn’t based on the movie, but an obscure kid’s show. It’s a shame, because the old show was kind of a classic. The cartoon and its ghosts, not so much.
9. Casper the Friendly Ghost
What kind of ghost is friendly? We think however Casper died, it must’ve been a hit on the head. You’re supposed to scare people! And your friendly disposition won’t save you from these guys. Get with the program or…
8. Space Ghost
Obviously, this superhero died and returned from the dead to haunt the living with his talk show in space. Makes perfect sense. Even more than perfect sense. So much sense, it’s stupid. Perhaps he will eat Superman’s brain.
7. Ghost in a Shell
Yes, we know she’s technically not a ghost, but she is creepy. It wouldn’t be Anime if it wasn’t, fanboys. Although technically not dead, the ghost (i.e., the Major) jumps from cyborg body to machine pushing the definition of what’s actually alive. We guess it doesn’t hurt that she’s a hot little minx too.
6. Monster House
We love this movie and not just because the guys that did the House of Cosbys worked on it. It’s a house that’s a ghost! That’s like Casper times 10, plus the Money Pit. Not only is this ghost scary because it can eat you, it can also drive your home owner’s insurance through the roof! Scary!
5. Robot Ghosts on “Futurama”
“Futurama” is a groundbreaking cartoon with many “firsts.” And besides having a robot call others to kiss a certain part of his anatomy, it was the first show to feature robot ghosts in The Honking. When robot overlords finally enslave humanity, one of the last things they will delete before destroying the human race will be “Futurama.”
4. Goober and the Ghostchasers
Goober and the Ghostchasers are notable not because they are an obvious and bad rip off of Scooby-Doo, but because they actually had supernatural ghosts! While Scooby and the gang were chasing around wacky real estate brokers under sheets, these guys were blazing a trail for those of you that believe there is more to life after death than Keith Richards.
3. The Funky Phantom
And now we’re going waaaay back, fanboys. Before Goober, but after Scooby, some cartoon execs said, “Why not just make the ghost part of the team? Wait, did I just have a creative thought?” Thus, Funky Phantom. Although how you can be funky and be from 1776 still eludes us, but hey, it had a good theme song and the voice of Snagglepuss. It was watchable, entertaining even!
2. Slimer
“The Real Ghostbusters” was one of the great cartoon movie adaptions. We here at Comedy.com’s Animation Channel, however, have the inside track on how the show got ruined. Focus groups determined Slimer was the favorite character and instead of constantly insulting him and putting him down as Venkman did in the first season, he was changed to a lovable little brother. Jeanene was also changed from a nasally Annie Potts to a soft, medicore and forgettable character. Thanks a lot studio execs! Much like Slimer, you ruin everything with your cold, dead touch.
1. Starscream’s Ghost in “Transformers”
The all time greatest ghost in cartoondom, not because he is a robot ghost, but because he came out of nowhere. The “Transformers” continuity up until that moment did not have the concept of ghosts. Add to that, Starscream is the absolute worst transformer you’d want haunting you. A total d*ck and actually kinda of scary with that voice. Hands down, the most brilliant and unexpected use of ghosts in an animated show. Bravo, Japanese animators.
