Casper [25th Anniversary Edition]

Director: Brad Silberling Brad Silberling

Overview

Based on the popular cartoon character, this family-oriented "ghost story" is about a not-so-scary spirit who bonds with a little girl (Christina Ricci). The eternally irritable Ms. Carrigan (Cathy Moriarty) discovers that the only thing she's been left in her recently departed father's will is a rickety old house in New England. Naturally, the woman is furious about this, until her "close personal friend" and assistant, Dibbs (Eric Idle of Monty Python fame), discovers a secret message that a treasure may be concealed somewhere in the house. The two take off for Maine, only to learn that the house is haunted by Casper "the friendly ghost" and his three ghostly uncles Stinky, Stretch, and Fatso. After futilely recruiting an exorcist (Don Novello, more or less reviving his Father Guido Sarducci character from Saturday Night Live) and a "professional ghost exterminator" (Dan Aykroyd), she brings in a "ghost psychiatrist" (Bill Pullman) and his daughter Kat (Ricci). Innocently attracted to the young girl, Casper befriends Kat as they try to save the ghosts' home from the evil Carrigan. Eye-popping special effects highlight this magical story that touches (albeit lightly) on the theme of what lies at the heart of human desires. Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Gibson and The Crypt Keeper (of Tales from the Crypt) all make cameos as apparitions in the mirror Bill Pullman looks into in the house.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2020
UPC:	0191329140345
Original Release:	1995
Rating:	PG
Source:	Universal Studios
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	20,027

Special Features

All-New Bonus Disc!; 2-Feature-Length Films; Casper: A Spirited Beginning; Casper's Scare School; 5 Casper The Friendly Ghost Original Theatrical Cartoons; Spree Under the Sea; Once Upon a Rhyme; Boo Hoo Baby; To Boo or Not to Boo; Boo Scout; Also Includes: ; Revealing Casper; Deleted scenes; Feature commentary with director Brad Siberling; And More!; English SDH Subtitles

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Chauncey Leopardi	Nicky
Spencer Vrooman	Andreas
Cathy Moriarty	Carrigan
Eric Idle	Dibs
Ben Stein	Rugg
Don Novello	Father Guido Sarducci
Fred Rogers	Mr. Rogers(archive footage) (as Mr. Rogers)
Terry Murphy	Terry Murphy ('Hard Copy')
Bill Pullman	Dr. Harvey
Christina Ricci	Kat
Ernestine Mercer	Woman Being Interviewed
Garette Ratliff Henson	Vic
Jessica Wesson	Amber
Wesley Thompson	Mr. Curtis
Michael Dubrow	Student #1
J.J. Anderson	Student #2
Michael McCarty	Drunk in Bar
Micah Winkelspecht	Student
Mike Simmrin	Phantom
Amy Brenneman	Amelia
Devon Sawa	Casper on Screen
Janette Andrade	Student
Dan Aykroyd	Dr. Raymond Stantz
Malachi Pearson	Casper
Doug Bruckner	Reporter
Joe Nipote	Stretch
Joe Alaskey	Stinkie
John Kassir	The Crypt Keeper
Brad Garrett	Fatso
Jess Harnell	Arnold
Mel Gibson	Himself (uncredited)

Technical Credits

Brad Silberling	Director
Gerald R. Molen	Executive Producer
Jeffrey A. Montgomery	Executive Producer
Steven Spielberg	Executive Producer
Colin Wilson	Producer
Seth Arnett	Stunts
Industrial Light & Magic	Special Effects
Gary Hymes	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Maybe it's time to start looking at modern Hollywood films from a different perspective. Certainly, the story in this youth-oriented fantasy is nothing to write home about: a haunted mansion containing treasure, a little girl who befriends an amiable young ghost, and various greedy and oafish adults acting like morons. Standard stuff. But the selling points here are the film's visual elements, which take the popular cartoon character and bring him to computer-generated life (afterlife?) with marvelously handled special effects and a production design that's a joy to behold. Other than a few unnecessarily prurient double entendres (which young kids probably won't catch anyway), this is a visual delight despite its workmanlike plot.