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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not that bad for direct to video, but predictable., November 27, 2001
As far as I know there have been 3 Direct to Video Casper movies since the Christina Ricci feature film. Of course, none of them measure up to that big budget one. They started with this film, Casper: A Spirited Beginning, which seems to disregard the Ricci movie altogether. After that came Casper Meets Wendy, followed by the most recent Casper's Haunted Christmas. So far my fave of these three Direct to Video films has been Casper Meets Wendy, but then, I haven't seen the Christmas one yet. I prefer Casper Meets Wendy to Casper: A Spirited Beginning, probably because it's more of a comedy and the story is more supernatural and interesting, adding witches and warlocks to the mix. Casper: A Spirited Beginning just continues with the ghost stuff, which we already saw much better in the Ricci movie. If you are curious about the plot, the Editorial Review here lays it out pretty clearly. No point in adding to that. Chris is a little boy who has moved to a new town. He's a supernatural/scifi nut with no friends. Casper is a freshly dead ghost with no friends, so they take comfort in each other. Steve Guttenburg, always a fave of mine, plays Chris' Dad. He's a workaholic, and so Chris is extra frustrated about that. It's a simple plot about Chris and Casper making friends, overcoming bullies, and bonding with Dad, and then there's Kibosh, a boss ghost who is after Casper for skipping Ghost training or something. Romantic sparks also fly between Guttenberg and Chris' new teacher. Everything is pretty basic and predictable, the usual family straight to video stuff. The effects are not bad, but nothing compared to the Ricci movie. A bit more cartoony I guess. Basically, this is an interesting film that isn't that boring, albeit predictable. Kids should enjoy it without getting bored though, and especially Casper fanatics. Don't consider it the prequel it was originally marketed as. This one sets a whole new beginning for Casper, and doesn't go into details about who he was and how he died. If you like Casper, I'd say get both this AND Casper Meets Wendy, but like I said, please don't expect some Big Budget thing. I'm so tired of reading reviews from people who buy straight to video stuff and are upset that it doesn't look like the stuff they see at the movies! C'mon people!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost as good as the first CASPER., April 4, 2001
Although I enjoyed the first CASPER movie the best, A SPIRITED BEGINNING is just as good. It's pretty different from the first movie, too. There are hardly any similarities except for maybe the ghosts. In this one, Casper is back and this time he comes across an 11-year-old boy who is very interested in ghosts and the Supernatural. So interested, that some people may think he's obsessed with the stuff. His father, unfortunately, doesn't seem to have enough time to spend with him because he's always rushing around...working. The boy is the only one in town who isn't afraid of Casper and they end up becoming friends. Casper and his three uncles still live in the mansion...but the boy's father is making plans with the governer of the town to tear old mansion down to turn the land into a shopping mall! The rest of the town - started by the boy's school teacher - started a fight in order to save the house for historical reseasons. This is a fun movie and the kid in the movie is kinda cute, too. If you liked the first CASPER, than A SPIRITED BEGINNING is for you. I wouldn't recommend any of the other CASPER movies - those all stunk - but these are the only two really good, worth-while movies.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Casper is back, and it's a new beginning, December 26, 2000
"Casper - A Spirited Beginning" isn't anything like the first Casper movie and it isn't as good, but it's still a good movie in its own way. In this movie, Casper befriends a 10-year-old boy who believes in ghosts. The boy is the only person that's not scared of Casper, so they become best friends. The bad thing is that the boy's father is real busy and never seems to pay attention to his son, and the worst of all, the father has a plan to tear down an old haunted mansion so the town can have a new shopping center. However, nobody seems to like the idea of getting rid of the old mansion. "Casper - A Spirited Beginning" is a good movie in most ways. Casper and the same 3 ghosts that were in the first Casper movie are back in this one along with a bunch of new ghosts including one that looks like a huge version of Slimer from The Ghostbusters. "Casper - A Spirited Beginning" has an interesting plot, parts of it are funny, and it has good animated effects such as an old graveyard and a train with a skull on the front of it. If you like Casper movies, I recommend getting "Casper - A Spirited Beginning." It's a new beginning to a new kind of Casper movies, and it's good.
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