To me, Once Upon a Rhyme is one of the best of the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons. Sure, it is at times somewhat repetitive of the other Casper cartoons before it, with the same often sweet, but at times a little too sentimental, dialogue and the beginning, reactions to Casper, Casper's sadness and getting a friend being more of the same.
At the same time however, it is different. It gets to the main story and point much quicker than most Casper cartoons, the setting is one of the most unique of the series, there are more characters without being too many and there are more songs than most other Casper cartoons. Once Upon a Rhyme is very sweet with the charming friendship between Casper and Red Riding Hood, touching, with funny, with the three blind mice (the funniest gag seen at this point of the Casper cartoons), and sinister, with the Tex Avery-like Big Bad Wolf (the most memorable of the supporting characters), touches. It is also the first Casper cartoon to have a real childhood innocence .
Once Upon a Rhyme's animation is great throughout, it is it is luscious, beautifully drawn with incredibly atmospheric backgrounds and vibrant colours, with the spooky opening juxtaposing beautifully with the vibrantly colourful Mother Gooseland visuals that were reminiscent of the very early Fleischer/Famous Studios cartoons.
Winston Sharples' music score is also another strong asset. Melodically it's haunting at first but also whimsical, nostalgically cute and gorgeous orchestrally to listen to., with some merriness and a surprising amount of emotional impact. The ghosts' song from A-Haunting We Will Go is heard briefly, which is brilliantly catchy and is appropriately spooky and rousing,. The nursery rhyme songs are very cute and move the story forward rather than slowing it down. The opening title credits Casper theme is very catchy.
The characters are engaging, and it was really nice to see and recognise the various Nursery Rhyme characters. Casper is a very endearing protagonist and his friendship with Red Riding Hood does touch the heart. The voice acting is some of the best of the early cartoons, with Jackson Beck's distinguished but spooky narration, Sid Raymond's crafty, menacing wolf, Mae Questel's sweet-toned Red Riding Hood and Alan Shay's adorable Casper standing out.
In conclusion, while not quite a personal favourite Once Upon a Rhyme, despite the low rating (which is more down to a lack of votes or that the Casper cartoons are an acquired taste, with some people finding them too repetitive or cloying) Once Upon a Rhyme is one of the standout cartoons of his. 9/10 Bethany Cox
