Casper

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:	08/28/2018
UPC:	0191329064405
Original Release:	1995
Rating:	PG
Source:	Universal Studios

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Christina Ricci	Kat Harvey
Bill Pullman	Dr. Harvey
Cathy Moriarty	Carrigan Crittenden
Eric Idle	Dibs
Malachi Pearson	Casper
Joe Nipote	Stretch
Chauncey Leopardi	Nicky
Spencer Vrooman	Andreas
Ben Stein	Rugg
Don Novello	Father Guido Sarducci
Mister Rogers	Himself
Rodney Dangerfield	Himself (uncredited)
Ernestine Mercer	Woman Being Interviewed
Joe Alaskey	Stinkie
Brad Garrett	Fatso
John Kassir	Crypt Keeper
Garette Ratliff Henson	Vic
Jessica Wesson	Amber
Wesley Thompson	Mr Curtis
J.J. Anderson	Student
Mike Simmrin	Phantom
Amy Brenneman	Amelia Harvey
Devon Sawa	Casper in Person
Dan Aykroyd	Doctor Raymond Stantz (uncredited)
Clint Eastwood	Himself (uncredited)
Mel Gibson	Himself (uncredited)

Technical Credits

Deanna Oliver

Sheri Stoner

Brad Silberling	Director
Steven E. Andrews	Asst. Director
Seth Arnett	Stunts
Rosemary Brandenberg	Set Decoration/Design
Dean Cundey	Cinematographer
Paul Deason	Associate Producer
Leslie Dilley	Production Designer
Jeff Franklin	Co-producer
James Horner	Score Composer,Songwriter
Gary Hymes	Stunts
Industrial Light & Magic	Special Effects
Michael Kahn	Editor
Michael Lantieri	Special Effects
Daniel Maltese	Art Director
Gerald R. Molen	Producer
Jerry Molen	Executive Producer
Jeffrey A. Montgomery	Producer
Nancy Nayor	Casting
Phil Nibbelink	Animator
Rosanna Norton	Costumes/Costume Designer
Deanna Oliver	Screenwriter
Christina Smith	Makeup
Steven Spielberg	Executive Producer
Raymond Stella	Camera Operator
Sheri Stoner	Screenwriter
Ed Verreaux	Art Director
Steve Waterman	Co-producer
Charles Wilborn	Musical Direction/Supervision
Colin Wilson	Producer

Editorial Reviews

All Casper ever wanted was a friend, and he found a bunch of them in executive producer Steven Spielberg and the special-effects wizards at Industrial Light and Magic. They teamed up to bring the friendly ghost to wondrous, um, life, in this 1995 live-action fantasy. Bill Pullman (Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping) stars as Dr. James Harvey, a therapist who ministers to the "living impaired." In search of hidden treasure, Carrigan Crittendon (Cathy Moriarty), a real witch, summons Dr. Harvey to rid the condemned Whipstaff Manor of its mischievous poltergeists. Lonely Casper finds a kindred misfit spirit in Harvey's motherless young daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci). The Ghostly Trio (the aptly named Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso) supply the supernatural slapstick and rude noises. Monty Python member Eric Idle is a real scream as Crittendon's put-upon accomplice. Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Gibson, the Crypt Keeper, and Dan Aykroyd -- as a ghostbuster who suggests Crittendon call "someone else" -- supply haunting cameos. References to death and the afterlife may be upsetting to younger viewers, but, mild profanity aside, this treat will be just the trick for ‘tweens and teens looking to scare up some frighteningly fun entertainment.

Barnes & Noble - Donald Liebenson

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.

All Movie Guide - Robert Firsching