When Casper was released, it reminded me that I had enjoyed the cartoon when I was little. I also remember reading some of the comic books as well. I saw the movie and enjoyed it. I have had the DVD version of the movie for just over a year now.

Carrigan Crittenden was at a lawyer’s office for the reading of her father’s will. He was very wealthy and Carrigan expected to receive a lot. She was very upset when she discovered that all she inherited was an abandoned house called Whipstaff Manor in a small Maine town. Dibbs was with Carrigan, and she seemed to take her anger at on him. She changed her tune after they discovered a paper mentioning a treasure hidden in the house.

Carrigan and Dibbs arrived at Whipstaff where they met Casper, a ghost. He wanted to be friends. His three uncles, Stretch, Stinky, and Fatso, also lived there. They weren’t as friendly as Casper and they chased Carrigan and Dibbs off. Carrigan then tried different ways to get the ghosts out of the house so she could search for the treasure. Nothing worked. Then Carrigan heard about Dr. James Harvey, a therapist for the dead. James believed that some spirits don’t cross over because they have unfinished business. Carrigan hired James to get the ghosts out of the house. James and his daughter Kat headed for Whipstaff.

Kat wasn’t happy about moving again. She says that she doesn’t believe in ghosts. Casper was happy to see them when they arrived. He wanted to be friends with Kat. After a surprising introduction, Kat does end up liking Casper. The uncles were rude and played obnoxious jokes. James tries to help them with their unfinished business. Kat and Casper become close. Kat had to try to fit in at a new school. Carrigan and Dibbs watch so they can get in the house as soon as the ghosts are gone.

Casper was a light hearted, fun movie. It was entertaining. The movie did touch on a few serious things like the death of a parent. Kat and her dad were still dealing with her mother’s death. There were a few sad moments related to that. Casper was a ghost, so he had died as well. Casper didn’t remember what led up to his death, but he eventually remembered. That was also a bit sad. The parts of the movie dealing with death could be upsetting to some viewers. I didn’t think the movie was sad or depressing, but other people may feel differently about the parts that dealt with death. It was made light of at one point, which some people may not appreciate.

I thought that most of what happened in Casper was fun. There were funny things that happened throughout the movie. Casper’s uncles did some things that were funny at different times. James’ reaction when he first saw the uncles was very funny. Some funny things happened to Dibbs as well. Things that happened were silly, but that didn’t bother me. Some people might think that the movie is too silly. I do enjoy silly movies at times. The uncles did a few things that were gross, though they weren’t too disgusting. There were ghosts in the movie, but I didn’t really think it was scary. Children, depending on their age, may find a few things somewhat scary, but I don’t think the movie would cause nightmares or anything like that. This was a fun ghost movie instead of one that is meant to terrify the viewers.

Casper had real people that interacted with ghosts. The ghosts were created through some kind of special effects. They were well done. Casper did look a lot like how I remembered him looking in the cartoon. There have been a lot of advances in special effects since this movie was made, but they still looked good. It was obvious that the ghosts were created with effects, but it worked for the movie.

The acting in Casper was good. I’ve seen Bill Pullman in a few different movies. James was very different from the part he played in Malice. I also recently saw him in the very bad 29 Palms. Christina Ricci was still young when this movie was made. She has been in several movies since she started in The Addams Family. Kat was very different from Wednesday. Christina was also in Sleepy Hollow, a very different role for her. Brad Garrett provided the voice for Fatso. He is currently on the tv show Everybody Loves Raymond. He also provided voices for the movie Finding Nemo and Garfield. Cathy Moriarty was good and believable as Carrigan. There were a few uncredited cameos in the movie.

CHARACTERS

James - Therapist for the dead. He loved his daughter very much. He was convinced that his wife was around somewhere and he would find her. He thought she had unfinished business and was obsessed with finding her. He believed in what he was doing.

Kat - James’ daughter. She didn’t believe in ghosts and didn’t like moving all the time. She didn’t have friends because of how often they moved. She became friends with Casper. She loved her father a lot.

Carrigan - Woman who inherited Whipstaff Manor. She was convinced that there was a treasure hidden in the house and she wanted to find it. She hired James to try to get the ghosts out of the house. She was not a nice person.

Dibbs - He worked for Carrigan. She was always making him do things and she took her anger out on him.

Casper - Ghost of a little boy who lived in Whipstaff with his uncles. He wanted to make friends. He tried to keep his uncles happy.

Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso - Casper’s uncles. They liked to scare people and didn’t want anyone in the house. They enjoyed playing tricks on people. They were rude.

CAST

Dan Akroyd - Dr. Raymond Stantz
Joe Alaskey - Stinkie
Amy Brennenman - Amelia
Rodney Dangerfield - Himself
Brad Garrett - Fatso
Eric Idle - Dibbs
John Kassir - Crypt keeper
Cathy Moriarty - Carrigan Crittenden
Terry Murphy - Herself
Joe Nipote - Stretch
Don Novello - Father Guido Sarducci
Malachi Pearson - Casper
Bill Pullman - Dr. James Harvey
Christina Ricci - Kat
Ben Stein - Mr. Rugg

Brad Silberling - Director

Casper was made in 1995 and rated PG. The move was 100 minutes long. There wasn’t any swearing in the movie. This is a good movie for families, though there were a few things that happened that might upset young children. The movie is available on VHS and DVD. I have the DVD. There are widescreen and fullscreen versions of the DVD. I have the widescreen version. There weren’t many extras on the DVD. There was one deleted scene, a commentary, a behind the scenes featurette, and some games.


Casper was a good movie that I enjoyed. It is a fun, somewhat scary movie that would be good for families to watch, especially at Halloween.

Related Reviews
Malice ~ The Addams Family ~ Sleepy Hollow ~ Finding Nemo ~ Garfield ~

Reviews of Other Family Movies
Freaky Friday ~ The Haunted Mansion ~ Around the World in 80 Days ~ The Princess Diaries ~ The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement ~ Looney Tunes: Back in Action ~ The Cat in the Hat ~



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8