Ghost Wanted
| Ghost Wanted | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies series | |
 The bigger ghost hides behind the smaller, inexperienced ghost & plays pranks on him. | |
| Directed by | Chuck Jones |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Voices by | Tex Avery (Laughing Ghost, uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by |
Bob McKimson Ken Harris (unc.) Rudy Larriva (unc.) |
| Layouts by | John McGrew |
| Backgrounds by | Paul Julian |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 10, 1940 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7 min. |
Ghost Wanted is Merrie Melodies animated short released in 1940. It features a little ghost (bearing resemblance to Casper the Friendly Ghost) who is inexperienced at haunting houses & whose "suit/sheets" resemble the typical footy pajamas with the "trap door" that were popular in the era. The little ghost is silent (never talks) & goes on a haunting job interview & is terrorized by a bigger ghost.
Plot
The short starts out in the little ghost's house as he's reading a book titled How To Haunt Houses showing various recommended haunting positions that are usually successful for ghosts. He tries out a few of the positions by posing and then reads the Haunt Ads in the Saturday Evening Ghost (dated Saturday December 13, 1939).
He comes across a haunting job that doesn't require experience at the address of 1313 Dracula Drive that he likes. He changes from his white "suit/sheets" into a new light blue colored "suit" (he also puts on a white hat) & is invisible for the interim between changing "suits". Even though he can pass through closed doors like an ordinary ghost, he prefers opening them while passing through.
He arrives at the house at 1313 Dracula Drive, which is on a mountain, and tries out for the house-haunting job, but winds up getting terrorized by a bigger ghost interviewing him for the position.
The ghost terrorizes him by yelling Boo!", and scaring him, sending him a Ghostal Telegraph that says "Boo!", and dropping a lit firecracker that resembles an M-80 that the little ghost just barely runs away from.
The bigger ghost's plans backfire on him when the fuses of the fireworks he put in his "back pocket" get lit by the lit match he dropped & send him flying throughout the house after the little ghost & ultimately into a well somewhere outside the haunted house.[1]
Other Appearances
The animated short was shown on TBS from 1987 to 1992 as a segment of the Tom & Jerry Halloween Special.
The young ghost has also made appearances as an enemy in numerous video games. His appearances include The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle series for NES and Game Boy as well as the NES game Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout.
Releases
This film was included on The Golden Age of Looney Tunes (Vol. 4) LaserDisc release.
Technical Info
Country:USA Language:English Aspect Ratio:1.37 : 1 more Sound Mix:Mono Company:Leon Schlesinger Studios more