Casper [PG]

Ghost Therapist, Dr. Harvey and his daughter Kat are hired to exorcise the apparitions that haunt a draughty old mansion owned by greedy Carrigan Crittendon, who is after the fabled treasure that might be hidden there. While Casper, the friendly ghost is delighted at the chance to make a friend, and finds a kindred spirit in Kat, his fearsome uncles Stretch, Fasto, and Stinkie, don’t take too kindly to “fleshies”. 

This is one of those films that I was brought up on and never gets old no matter how times you watch it. As a kid, you like the idea of a friendly ghost becoming best friends with a human and you like the visual comedy of the tricks that the Ghostly Trio play on the humans. 

Watching the movie as an adult, you enjoy some of the cleverer visual gags, and you understand much more of the story because you understand the script. It’s one of those real family classics. 

Ghost Therapist, Dr. Harvey and his daughter Kat are hired by the greedy Carrigan Crittendon to rid a draughty old mansion that she’s inherited of the ghosts that haunt it. While Carrigan wants to get her hands on the fabled treasure that’s hidden in the house, Casper, the lonely and friendly of the four ghosts that live there, only wants a friend and when Dr. Harvey and his daughter arrive, he finds a kindred spirit in Kat. However, his uncles, Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie are dead against “fleshies” living in their house and become hell-bent on getting Kat and Dr. Harvey out for good. 

In all honesty, the comedy, the characters, and the special effects of this movie are a tad dated, but it’s the lovely story about unlikely friendship that makes the movie so enjoyable. It’s a good one for both kids and adults because you’ve got the element of the film’s hero being the ghost of a child, which kids will like to relate to, and then you’ve got some really clever visual and verbal gags that will get a chuckle from the adult audience. An example of this is my favourite scene where the Ghostly Trio has possessed Dr. Harvey and, as he’s looking in the mirror, his faces changes into those of Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, and Mel Gibson. Not to mention near the beginning where Raymond Stantz runs out of the house and says “who you gonna call… someone else.” See the movie is filled with clever little moments like that, that will go over the heads of kids. 

Starring Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle, and Ben Stein, Casper is a fun family film filled with comedy, lovable characters, weird inventions, and emotional decisions. It’s a lovely little film that, to a certain extent, stands the test of time.