Casper Review

Casper

Release Date: 22nd June 1995 - Australia

Production Companies

Universal Pictures (presents)

Amblin Entertainment

The Harvey Entertainment Group (in association with)

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Family/Fantasy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 101 minutes

Budget: $55,000,000

Box Office Gross: $287,928,194 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Carrigan Crittenden is angry that her late father left her his grim-looking mansion instead of his millions. She is about to burn it to the ground when 

she discovers a map

showing the treasure

hidden in its interior. But

she is frightened away

by an evil wave of ghosts

when she enters to claim

her right. After trying

everything to get rid of

the apparitions, including

an exorcist and a

professional ghost catcher,

Carrigan decides that the

best way to get rid of these

ghosts is to hire the ghost

therapist, Dr James

Harvey, to exorcise them

from the manor. If the

plan succeeds, she and her

slimy partner, Dibs, will

claim the hidden fortune.

As James and his

daughter, Kat, arrive,

the latter soon meets

Casper, the ghost of

a young boy who is "the

friendliest ghost you

know". But Casper's

uncles, Stretch, Fatso

and Stinkie, are not so

friendly. They are

determined to drive all

the "fleshies" away.

Helping the spirits cross

over to the other side is

ultimately up to James

and Kat.

Cast

Christina Ricci - Kathleen

'Kat' Harvey

Bill Pullman - Dr. James Harvey

Malachi Pearson - Casper (Voice)

Cathy Moriarty - Carrigan Crittenden

Eric Idle - Paul 'Dibbs' Plutzker

Joe Alaskey - Stinkie (Voice)

Joe Nipote - Stretch (Voice)

Brad Garrett - Fatso (Voice)

Ben Stein - Mr. Rugg

Amy Brenneman - Amelia Harvey

Jessica Wilson - Amber Whitmire

Chauncey Leopardi - Nicky

Garette Ratliff Henson - Vic DePhillipi

Wesley Thompson - Mr. Curtis

Spencer Vrooman - Andreas

Devon Sawa - Human Casper

Terry Murphy - Herself (Cameo)

Clint Eastwood - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Mel Gibson - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Rodney Dangerfield - Himself (Cameo)

John Kassir - The Crypt Keeper (Voice) (Cameo)

Don Novello - Father Guido Sarducci (Cameo)

Dan Aykroyd - Ray Stentz (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Jess Harnell - Arnold (Voice)

Crew

Director - Brad Silberling

Based on the Character "Casper the Friendly

Ghost"/Book - Joseph Oriolo

Based on the Book - Seymour Reit

Writers - Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver

Script Supervisors - Annette Haywood-Carter

and Ana Maria Quintana

Associate Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Paul Deason

Executive Producers - Steven Spielberg,

Gerald R. Molen and Jeffrey Montgomery

Producer - Colin Wilson

Co-Producers - Jeffrey Franklin

and Steve Waterman

Production Designer - Leslie Dilley

Art Directors - Daniel Maltese and

Ed Verreaux

Assistant Art Directors - Greg Papalia

and Brad Ricker

Illustrators - David Lowery,

Sherman Labby, Len Morganti, Peter Ramsey,

Jacques Rey and Dan Sweetman

Set Decorator - Rosemary Brandenberg

Property Master - Russell Bobbitt

Director of Photography - Dean Cundey

"B" Camera Operator - Casey Hotchkiss

First Assistant "A" Camera/VistaVision

Technician - Clyde E. Bryan

Production Supervisor - Steven R. Molen

First Assistant Director - Steve E. Andrews

Second Assistant Director - Michele Panelli-Venetis

Stunt Coordinator - Gary Hymes

Choreographer/Animation Ghost Reference -

Adam Shankman

Special Effects Supervisor - Michael Lantieri

Digital Character Supervisor - Dennis Muren

Digital Character Co-Supervisor - Stefen Fangmeier

Digital Effects Producer - Janet Healy

Animation Directors - Eric Armstrong

and Phil Nibblelink

Supervising Character Animators: ILM -

Mark Anthony Austin, Tom Bertino,

Miguel A. Fuertes, Jeffrey B. Light,

Doug Smith and James Tooley

Supervising Digital Effects Artists: ILM -

Kevin Rafferty, Tom L. Hutchinson,

John Andrew Berton, Jr., Henry LaBounta

and Joe Letteri

Digital Character Modeling Supervisors: ILM -

Kyle Odermatt and Wade Howie

Visual Effects Plate Supervisor: ILM - Scott Farrar

Visual Effects Art Director: ILM - TyRuben Ellingson

Editor - Michael Kahn

Supervising Sound Editor - Richard Hymns

Sound Design/Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Rydstrom

Assistant Sound Designer - Christopher Boyes

Sound Effects Editors - Teresa Eckston

and Frank E. Eulner

Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Summers

Re-Recording Mixer/Music Recordist

& Mixer - Shawn Murphy

Dialogue Editors - Sara Bolders

and Michael Silvers

Foley Artists - Tom Barwick

and Dennie Thorpe

Foley Recordist - Tony Eckert

Music - James Horner

Music Editor - Joe E. Rand

Review

Another childhood movie I grew up watching, it's hard to see why everyone forgot about CASPER when it was a hidden box office gem. Following the runaway success of The Flintstones, Universal Studios and Steven Spielberg's production company Amblin Entertainment took another classic cartoon character to the big screen, this time Casper the Friendly Ghost. Most things have stayed the same since I last saw the film. It's almost as harmless as it could get for young audiences when surprisingly morbid and raunchy for a children's flick. However, the movie is a family-friendly version of Beetlejuice, and it doesn't shy away from its faults that hinder its durability to entertain audiences.

For starters, the narrative has no direction with numerous plot holes (such as Casper not remembering his previous life before he became a ghost) and an unnecessarily dated subplot, occasional coarse language, such as the "B" word, which almost warranted the movie an M rating and the solemn themes about death often dampen the film's comic appeal. The main drawback is the villain, Carrigan, because she's unthreatening and not very menacing (as one reviewer describes her as "a poor woman's Cruella de Vil") when her greed overpowers her judgement that she plans to get the mansion's supposed treasure, which leads to her defeat.

However, the film certainly has its moments. I won't discuss any as there are spoilers ahead. Most of the visual effects hold up well, especially the CGI of the ghosts, even for the time it was released. What makes it better is that this version of Casper is the first main character to be computer-animated. Christina Ricci is headed for Hollywood stardom when looking as sharp and adorable as Kat. Bill Pullman is surprisingly decent in his performance as the father. The surprise cameos of Don Novello, Dan Aykroyd, Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield and Mel Gibson are amusing. The sets are dark and Gothic, and James Horner's score is beautiful.

While not a flop, per se, CASPER has its fans and gained a bit of a cult following after a successful release. It spawned two direct-to-video prequels, which are unrelated to the original movie. Then again, it's not my favourite film. I would have preferred if it focused more on the relationship between Kat and the titular ghost and cut out the needless subplot where the bullies try to ruin Kat's Halloween party. Overall, this is an okay film, but it is worth a look, as there was a lot more effort put into it than the other live-action films based on the cartoons.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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