| | | Seeing is believing.
Features: DVD, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, Spanish, French
"Ghost therapist" Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) and his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) arrive at drafty, old Whipstaff Manor. Its greedy owner, Carrigan Crittendon (Cathy Moriarty), has hired Dr. Harvey to exorcise the house's apparitions: a friendly but lonely young ghost named Casper, who's just looking for a friend, and his outrageous uncles Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso (The Ghostly Trio). If the plan works, she and Dibs (Eric Idle), her partner-in-slime, can get their hands on the manor's fabled treasure. Meanwhile, Casper has found a kindred spirit in Kat, but the Ghostly Trio will not tolerate "fleshies" in their house. With hilarious antics and dazzling special effects, Casper is a mile-a-minute adventure for the whole family.
"A family fantasy comedy of astonishing technical achievement." Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"...impressive, and entertaining." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Editor's Note
Steven Spielberg produced this live-action feature starring the friendly ghost created in 1940 by Joe Orolio. In it, greedy heiress Carrigan Crittenden inherits the haunted Whipstaff Manor and discovers that the house contains a treasure, which is closely guarded by three nasty ghosts. She invites ghost therapist Dr. James Harvey, and his daughter Kat, to move into the eerie mansion and get rid of the supernatural creatures.The nephew of the three spirits is Casper, a friendly ghost who becomes Kat's pal. Casper takes Kat to his father's secret lab where he once attempted to bring Casper back to life with a special machine. Carrigan eavesdrops on their conversation and decides to become a ghost herself, in the hope that she will get the booty more easily. Then she can use the machine to change back to a human. However, Carrigan doesn't realize that you can't flirt with the afterlife.
Plot Summary
Greedy heiress Carrigan Crittenden inherits the haunted Whipstaff Manor and discovers that the house contains a treasure, which is closely guarded by three nasty ghosts. She invites ghost therapist Dr. James Harvey, and his daughter Kat, to move into the eerie mansion and get rid of the supernatural creatures.| The nephew of the three spirits is Casper, a friendly ghost who becomes Kat's pal. Casper takes Kat to his father's secret lab where he once attempted to bring Casper back to life with a special machine. Carrigan eavesdrops on their conversation and decides to become a ghost herself, in the hope that she will get the booty more easily. Then she can use the machine to change back to a human. However, Carrigan doesn't realize that you can't flirt with the afterlife.
| Features | Recommendations | | Audio: English, Spanish, French Dolby Digital 5.1 | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Photo & Poster Gallery | | Cast & Ghosts | | DVD-ROM Features | | Feature Commentary With Director Brad Silberling | | Revealing Casper | | Deleted Scene #91: Lucky Enough To Be A Ghost | | Casper's Cartoon Classic: Spooking With A Brogue | | Casper's Spooky Saftey Tips | | Casper's Scary Kitchen | | Casper's Treasures Game | | Casper's Spelling Lab Game | | Casper's Cartoon Classic: Penguin For Your Thoughts |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 9/1/2009 |
| Running Time: 101 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1995 | | Catalog ID: 23795 | | UPC: 00025192379529 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...Ricci is an enchanting young actress who brings to mind a teenage Natalie Wood..." 05/22/1995Chicago Sun-Times
"...As a technical achievement, it's impressive, and entertaining..." 05/26/1995 p.37 Total Film
"Brad Silberling's ghostly CINDERELLA is family-friendly fare with enough star cameos, gags and cultural references to appease adults." 04/01/2004 p.132 Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
It's easy to see why Casper the Friendly Ghost has such an appeal for small children. They have so much in common with him, since they, too, feel invisible and misunderstood and remember little of their earlier lives. He is reassuring; in a universe of scary ghosts, it's nice to know there's one on your side... There are funny lines in the movie, as when the politically correct ghost psychiatrist observes, "You can call them ghosts or, as I prefer, the living impaired." The uncles could be a vaudeville team. And Moriarty makes a ferocious antagonist, clicking around Whipstaff in her high heels and trying to claim it as her own. But the real stars of the movie are the special effects and animation artists. The story is more or less what you'd expect, and there is only so much you can do with a relationship between a little girl and a ghost. But Whipstaff comes alive with amazing achievements in art direction, set design, and gizmos like a chair that will brush your teeth while hurtling you down a rail at terrifying speeds... Like The Flintstones and The Addams Family, Casper is an attempt to bring cartoons to life while incorporating them with real actors and sets. As a technical achievement, it's impressive, and entertaining... - Roger Ebert
San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
This doesn't usually happen to me, but 15 minutes before the end of Casper I suddenly realized that if I didn't take a deep breath, I was going to start sobbing. For most of the way, Casper, now on home video, is just a better- than-average children's film, dolled up with some high-priced art direction and extraordinary special effects. It may go down in history as the first nonanimated film in which the star and three supporting players are computer- generated. Yet the effects are so special you hardly notice them. Casper doesn't make the usual kids'-picture mistakes. The villain here -- Cathy Moriarty as the new owner of Whipstaff Manor -- appears just often enough to keep the story moving... The film at first looks like an attempt to remake E.T. Casper, transparent, obsequious and bubble-headed, sucks up to Kat, who reaches out her hand to tentatively touch his. The audience hushes. Fortunately, the film has too much going on to get lost in fake wonder and false sentiment. - Mick LaSalle
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