The Challenges SFPG was asked to design and animate a unique lead in for each Casper episode. The idea was to create short title sequences that kick off the program with a gag. As the Casper logo builds, a funny, mini-story unfolds, a new one each week. The challenge was for SFPG to stay true to the classic charm of the original Casper animation, and maintain a warm, storybook quality. The Approach To make the opens visually exciting for young, contemporary audiences, SFPG's creative team took advantage of high-end tools like the Flame to enhance the cel animation and to composite special effects. SFPG combined 2D graphics, 3D animation and traditional cel animation, all of which were enhanced and composited together in the Flame system. The show opens work in different ways, some as stand-alone elements that can be cut onto the beginning of an episode as in "Spook Bee", while others like "Paws Open" work as composites over the beginning scenes. The Upshot Unlike most cartoons which use the same introduction every time, SFPG was able to design and animate a variety of opens with each Casper episode starting afresh, setting the appropriate mood and tone for the episode that follows. This series is one of the highest rated Saturday morning cartoon series currently airing, and was just renewed for a second season.