Casper

I remember this movie growing up and while I still enjoy it, "Casper" has lost much of its appeal. The movie is entertaining for children but less so for parents and teenagers. On the other hand, it has strong themes, a rich atmosphere of fantasy and amazing special effects. It lacks a center unfortunately.

The opening scene is good because it establishes a spooky mood and ends on a lighthearted note. With Carrigan and Dibs as they enter Whipstaff, there is also a frightful feeling but suddenly this innocent voice is heard. I like the contrast of Casper because it makes him a good character in this movie and in the classic cartoons/comics. He is a friendly ghost as opposed to a poltergeist. Casper also becomes a tragic character in that he has no memory of his life before he died. In a movie about ghosts however, we need characters that do what ghosts do so as to make Casper unique. We also need antagonists to both Dr. Harvey and Carrigan. The use of The Ghostly Trio accomplishes all this. Dr. Harvey believes in spirits but doesn't expect the kind that haunts Whipstaff so when Kat says she saw a ghost, Dr. Harvey believes her but doesn't understand. One look at Casper however and his understanding of spirits is worthless from that point on. I find the sword fight between Dr. Harvey & The Ghostly Trio fun because you don't expect Dr. Harvey to fight back and with a plunger. The subsequent sight gag of the dust buster is pretty funny. The breakfast scene is important for all the characters to talk things out and become acquainted. I love the moment when Kat and Casper touch because of how beautiful James Horner's score is there. All the main characters, even The Ghostly Trio, have a need. We have the Harvey family who is recovering from a tragic event. Dr. Harvey goes into "paranormal psychology" only so he can find his wife. He can't let her go and doesn't know how to raise a daughter without her. Kat also misses her mother but she has another need. With her father out to find closure, she has no friends and nowhere to belong. Casper recognizes that he also needs a friend but what he is actually missing is a family. His "uncles" aren't much in the way of father figures. The Ghostly Trio end up realizing by the end of the movie however the pleasures of having human interaction without the scaring. Dr. Harvey even makes friends with them. When I first saw the movie, I wondered why Dr. Harvey was sadly packing up his stuff in front of the Trio. It all makes sense now that he was distracting the ghosts so Kat's party can happen. He gets carried away due to the booze unfortunately and has his accident.

I don't know whether I saw this movie first or "Independence Day" but it was a few years before I recognized Bill Pullman as Dr. Harvey. His costume was great in creating this character. Christina Ricci was a good choice for Kat because her role in "The Addams Family" allows her to fit in this genre nicely. It wasn't until I wrote this review that I finally recognized Eric Idle. I wasn't familiar with his other work until about 10 years after this movie and I guess "Casper" was my first introduction to him. Some critics say that he wasn't given as much to do in the film as he deserved. I still find his cell phone gag funny as well as his run through the machine down to the lab. As a kid, I watched cartoons with Joe Alaskey in them and he is the voice of Stinkie. "Casper" was also my introduction to Brad Garrett, who is the voice of Fatso. The cameos in this movie are a lot of fun. I think Rodney Dangerfield's joke is so funny. I first took notice of Don Novello in "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" but then I realized that he is the priest at the start of this movie. He is also quite funny but my absolute favorite cameo is Dan Aykroyd because I am a huge "Ghostbusters" fan. A modernization of Casper the Friendly Ghost in the mid 90's needed this joke. Aykroyd's appearance is hilarious, iconic and ironic because apparently not even the Ghostbusters can handle Carrigan's problem. The names of those behind the scenes are impressive such as executive producers Steven Spielberg & Gerald R. Molen and editor Michael Kahn. James Horner's work in the 90's was unforgettable and he did some great work on this movie too. The special effects for "Casper" are still impressive today. Casper and the other ghosts had to belong in live action but still resemble the comics and cartoons of decades earlier. The end product is works just fine. There are less practical effects in this movie than on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" because of computer technology. Unlike "Roger Rabbit", many of the props that the ghosts handle are also CGI but we mistake them for real objects because they contrast the ghostly, cartoony characters that hold them. Practical effects were still used however because occasionally, a human character and an animated character would handle the same object in the same shot. The use of practical effects and CGI is such that you still admire the special effects of the movie nowadays.

Casper is the first CGI leading character in a feature film because "Toy Story" came out later in that year. I enjoy the movie but not as much as when it first came out probably because I don't quite see a central quality that makes it special. Kids will like it while those who are older may not as much. I do applaud some of the subject matter and its imaginative mood.

3.5 Stars