Jasper and the Haunted House

Jasper and the Haunted House is a 1942 American animated short film in the Puppetoon series released as a Madcap Model by George Pal. It is an early entry that features the popular yet controversial Paramount Puppetoon characters Jasper and his friend/nemesis Professor Scarecrow and Blackbird.

Plot

The original Paramount opening titles show the preparation of the pie and the vocal is singing the preparation of the pie.^[1]

Jasper walks with a gooseberry pie and Professor Scarecrow ^[2](aka Mr. Scarecrow) and Blackbird notice the smell. Professor Scarecrow and Blackbird run over to ask Jasper what he's doing with the pie, Jasper says that he's going to deliver it to Deacon Jones. Professor Scarecrow opens Jasper's pie (by unzipping and zipping the crust) and finds out it is gooseberry. Jasper walks away irritated with Professor Scarecrow's and the crow's curiosity. Professor Scarecrow switches the sign to trick and swindle Jasper later in the film so Professor Scarecrow can get his hands on Jasper's pie. Jasper comes back, then Professor Scarecrow and Blackbird lie about the sign. Jasper doesn't believe him at first and says "There ain't nothin' down that way but a-ha-haunted house". Professor Scarecrow and Blackbird lie again and says the house is no longer haunted and the "haunts" were drafted for World War II. Jasper is now gullible^[3] and manipulated about it, so he thanks Professor Scarecrow for showing him the right way. After Jasper leaves, Professor Scarecrow and Blackbird laugh maniacally because they tricked Jasper into the haunted house. The next scene transitions to a fade out/fade in, then Jasper knocks on the door. He yells for the Deacon, but instead the door slams shut and locks behind him and he is trapped. Frightened, he walks (with a gag where his shadow walks back), and Professor Scarecrow scares Jasper by surprise into leaving the pie on a chair by the staircase, Jasper then hides in the piano. The plan worked, Professor Scarecrow is pleased that the pie is left for him now. Suddenly the pie is taken by a ghost, Professor Scarecrow accuses Blackbird of taking the pie, but argument ends when they find out the plan has actually backfired. Frightened, Professor Scarecrow and Blackbird hide in the piano with after the pie is eaten and the invisible ghost tosses back the pan and says to Professor Scarecrow that it is his refund. The ghosts walks across to the piano and gets ready to play it. The three characters whisper that they cannot see him. The introduction music is heard, and there's a swing boogie-woogie piece played^[4] and every inanimate object dances since it's a haunted house, from the typical bookshelf to the pie pan. Meanwhile, the piano keys hit the main characters as the music plays. Then they jump out of the piano, out through the roof of the haunted house, and they hit a billboard.

Jasper asks what happened to pie and if he's going to get into trouble, then Professor Scarecrow gives Jasper the empty pie pan. Jasper gets angry and he has revenge on Professor Scarecrow and the crow by hitting the pie pan on their heads. As Jasper hits Professor Scarecrow and Blackbird, the camera zooms out with a controversial advertisement for a fake brand of pie that says "Next Time Try Spook's^[5] Gooseberry Pie". Jasper mysteriously drops it onto the ground revealing the Paramount Pictures print logo of the time on the pie pan, with the variant "A Paramount Picture".

Television

This has not been seen on TV for many years because it was deemed racist. It was retitled by U.M.&M. T.V. Corp. and the Paramount pie pan was cut out and was replaced by the same "The End" title used in Little Lulu films. The only official video release was on the Puppetoon Movie DVD released by Image Entertainment.

References

External links

• Jasper and the Haunted House at bcdb
• Jasper and the Haunted House at the Internet Movie Database
• Jasper and the Haunted House video at Like Television