Casper's First Christmas is a 1979 animated holiday special, produced by Hanna-Barbera and originally broadcast on NBC, that might be a Christmas tradition for a lot of fans. However, it's also one of the stranger examples of a cartoon crossover out there.
In the special, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Hairy Scary are not in the future like Casper and the Angels but a modern time. Living in a rundown house (set for demolition) on Christmas Eve, who would happen to show up but Yogi Bear and friends?
Followed a year later by Yogi's First Christmas, despite Yogi and friends already knowing about and celebrating Christmas in the Casper special. Yogi and the rest of the gang would also return for more seasonal hijinks in 1982's Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper. Two decades after Hanna-Barbera and Casper parted ways, Casper would star in the 2000 straight-to-video film Casper's Haunted Christmas, loosely based on the 1995 feature film's continuity.
This cartoon provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Santa over Hairy Scary being afraid of him.
- Animation Bump: While an overall marked improvement from HB's usual output due to being a one-off, the musical numbers are far more fluid than the rest of the special. This is in large part due to the director of the musical numbers, Tex Avery, in one of his last animation jobs before his death.
- Bears Are Bad News: One chases Quick Draw around, during an attempt to chop down a tree. He narrowly gets back inside with the tree.
- Christmas Carolers: The characters make merry by singing.
- Christmas Episode: Counts as one for most of the shows involved.
- Crossover: Casper and Hairy Scary of Casper and the Angels meet up with Yogi Bear and Boo Boo from Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound from The Huckleberry Hound Show, Quick Draw McGraw, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy and Snagglepuss
- Cynic–Idealist Duo: Hairy Scary is certain that Christmas is a load of bunk, citing how they'll soon be homeless and how no one has offered to help in the spirit of the season. Casper is unfailingly optimistic about their situation and embracing the holiday spirit.
- The Grinch: Hairy Scary is not a friend of Christmas.
- Haunted House: Well, the setting house totally has two ghosts living in it.
- In the end, Santa turns it into Hairy's Haunting Lodge.
- Heel–Face Turn: While Hairy isn't that bad, he still turns from Scrooge to friendly by the end of the special.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Hairy Scary is moved to change his grinchy ways, after reading Casper's letter to Santa (in which all he asked for was saving Hairy's beloved house). After Casper comes back, Hairy immediately starts to apologize to him.
- Prequel: More than likely it's one to Casper and the Angels.
- Santa Claus: Ho Ho Ho, he shows up too.
- The Scrooge: Hairy Scary doesn't want to celebrate Christmas.
- Selfless Wish: Casper's sole request in his letter to Santa was that Hairy's house be saved. Hairy admits he should've known that Casper, of all people, would be so selfless.
- Shout-Out:
- Inside the house there are cameos of two mice that resemble Pixie and Dixie from Pixie, Dixie and Mr. Jinks. Perhaps their parents.
- In addition to The Scrooge above Huckleberry asks Hairy if he's "the ghost out of Dickens"
- Wrong Turn at Albuquerque: Yogi takes the wrong directions to the ski lodge where he and his friends are supposed to be going, and they wind up at the abandoned shack where Casper and Hairy happen to live.