Customer Reviews

Casper [VHS]

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Who says there are no such things as ghosts? Not if there is the ghostly inhabitants of Whipstaff Manor in Friendship, Maine!
This desolate mansion is then, in the words of one of the members of the Ghostly Trio of Whipstaff, 'intruded' by Kat Harvey (Christina Ricci) and her eccentric father Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman), a ghost therapist. Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) had hired Dr. Harvey to exorcise the ghosts, including Casper the friendly ghost and his three obnoxious uncles, Stretch, Fatso and Stinkie, aspiring to gain Whipstaff's 'buried gold'.
Intertwining humour, all-time 'floating' fun and a modern Cinderella story, 'Casper' promises to please as a movie which is compelling, hilarious, captivating, heart-warming, witty and above all, truly 'fleshtastic'.
'Casper' is recommended for any audience, regardless of age. ... 'Casper' ... manages to appear endearing and ultimately special.
The magic of Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci as well as that of director Brad Silberling, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and other producers weaves between each and every scene to eventually lift us off our feet.
Above all, I LOVE THIS MOVIE! Casper is my all time favourite character. Truly fleshtastic. BOOlistic! You won't BOOlieve it until you see it.

Any film that can gather the family together for a fun,wholesome, and entertaining view, and hold the interest of all for it's entire length, gets 5 stars in my book. "Casper" is one of those films. It may not go down as some great piece of cinematic art, but it is one that all generations can enjoy, will leave you with a smile, and something to talk about with kids afterwards.

Based on the old comic book stories, "Casper" is a very friendly but very lonely ghost. He lives in an old mansion, that has seen better days. He is not alone in this huge house though, he lives with his three very nasty(but funny) uncles,"Stretch", "Stinky" and "Fatso". Casper only wants someone to move in,so he could have a friend, the uncles on the other hand, do their very best to scare away any visitors.
So when a greedy woman inherits the property, and believes there is a buried treasure inside, she hires an array of 'ghostbusters' to rid the house of all spirits. None seem to be able to handle this terrible trio, until one day a ghost psychiatrist and his lonely daughter(also looking for a friend),move in and try to tame the threesome. From there it's a fun and wild ride, and a touching story of friendship.

The film has a terrific cast that works well with the wonderful animation and special effects. Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci are the father and daughter team that befriend these spirits. Cathy Moriarty("Forget Paris"), and Eric Idle as her bumbling assistant add their talents as they go for the treasure.Lots of big names are cameoed throughout. Don Novello, and Dan Aykroyd reprise their roles of Father Guido Sarducci, and ghostbuster Dr. Raymond Stantz for brief appearances, just to name a couple.
The voices including Brad Garrett as "Fatso" are marvelous, and you can never go wrong when James Horner scores a film with just the right touches.

It's rated PG for some occassional mild language and thematic elements, and at an hour and a half, it just the right length, and is a delightful way to spend some laugh out loud family time together.

Ghostly fun......enjoy.....Laurie

also recommended:

The Stars Fell on Henrietta(PG)

Little House Prairie - Christmas Plum Creek & Creeper Wa [VHS]

Hasbro Games Clue

not for the language. There wasn't much but it certainely made itself clear. I didn't feel there was any need for it in this movie at all! So little kids and parents be warned! Still it's a great lot of fun and deffinitly worth looking into! :-) check it out. A good ending and good plot points make it exciting and fun with some pretty good laughs throughout.

This is a wholesome story of a boy who became ill and died much too young. He falls in love with a young 'live' girl who moves into the abandoned mansion with her father (a believer in the possibility of reaching into the beyond and speaking to the spirits). The three pesky ghosts add humor (guests can be so bothersome, especially if they're dead). Throw in a little greed for tension and it's a wonderful, entertaining plot for all ages. The scene between Casper and his mother will bring tears...but I loved it.
Chrissy K. McVay - Author

Casper is a fun children's film, that can be watched as a family and keep everyone entertained. Unlike many movies concerning ghosts, there is no reason to worry that this movie will upset or scare even the most sensitive children. Casper is sweet and endearing, and even the vicious ghosts in this film are far from threatening as they quickly bring a smile to your face and alleviate any tension with humor.
However, Casper does not rely souly on laughter, and has a strong plot to back it up. It raises spiritual questions that make you think, and has very heartfelt moments of intense emotion. You grow to care about the characters as we watch Casper and Kat in their simultaneous search for friendship, and Dr. Harvey in his quest to resolve his own unfinished business and finally get some closure.
Malachi Pearson does an outstanding job as the voice of Casper, and portrays all of his emotions very convincingly. You can also look forward to a great performance from Bill Pullman, and will love hating the bumbling villains portrayed by Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle. Unfortunately, there are times where Christina Ricci seems to have some difficulty filling her role as Kat, and occasionally makes scenes awkward and unconvincing.
The score for this film is beautiful, and adds a great deal to the spirit and mood of the movie.
There is some light use of profanity that I don't find necessary or appropriate for a family film aimed largely at children, but it can be easily overlooked.

i first saw this movie when i was younger and i still love it today. there are so many touching and comical moments that children and well as their parents can enjoy. i'm sure this film will become a classic in years to come. i hope everyone who has not seen this movie will see it soon so that they too will know of this wonderful family movie. it's the best children's movie that's come out in years.

"Casper" is a great movie. I am not a fan of Christina Ricci or Devon Sawa but I like the movie because it has great special effects and the acting is really good. It's also quite funny. My favorite scene is the dance with Kat and Casper. I really liked the end because Devon was the real life Casper and he was really hott when he was 17. My favorite line of the whole movie was "can I keep you?" because I thought it was really sweet and that's when Kat realized it was Casper. I think the only thing that sucked about this movie was that Devon only had a cameo. His role should have been longer. I am going to buy the movie soon. It's great!

I just rented this tape to watch with my kids, and found myself grateful that they tend to talk through movies. The language is not appropriate for a children's movie - and some of the profanity is not subtle (e.g. a ghost loudly proclaiming that "the b--ch is back").

Eric Idle is a nice touch, some of the interactions between father and daughter are well-done, _but_ the evil character is drawn with absolutely no subtlety, the screams of ghost-spotters become tedious, and the aggression and (implied) violent deaths are not appropriate for small children.

I suspect many of my objections are the filmmakers' attempt to "spice up" the movie for a teen audience, but they certainly remove a large pool of potential viewers; I wouldn't expose a child less than about 10 to the language (by then they'll have heard it from their classmates, and parents will have had a chance to train them not to use it).

Hate to sound like a prig (I always swore I would be a "cool" mom) - BUT, kids can be sharp-eared little parrots, and I don't feel like having MY kids call me a b--ch any earlier than they likely will (around 12, I suspect).

"The living impaired are known for haunting us," Dr Harvey explains, "My question is what's haunting them." Dr. Harvey and his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) are persuaded to leave Santa Fe and come to Friendship, Maine to live at Whipstaff Manor, to help new owner Carrigan Crittendon and her friend Dibs get rid of the ghosts haunting her manor. Casper the Friendly Ghost is very excited when he learns that Dr. Harvey and his pretty young daughter Kat are going to be living in his house (maybe he can finally make a friend!); but his ghostly uncles have other plans...

The premise of Casper is that ghosts exist, are "spirits with unfinished business" (hence they have not yet "crossed over"), and interact freely with "live" people at times; (they haunt houses and wreak havoc on people who trespass there). For those who are worried about content: there is a scene where a man gets drunk in a bar and has an accident, there is a Halloween costume party, there are a few ghosts who are "mean" and play tricks and scare people, and a few arguments between characters in the film. There is a very sweet and innocent kiss between a girl and boy, but otherwise there is no objectionable content in that respect. Language: there are a few swear words, so be aware!

If you can view this film with the belief that it is just a cute and funny film about "ghosts," which as we know do not exist, it is a most enjoyable film. If you cannot rest easy while watching a film about ghosts, then by all means don't watch it. For those of you who can separate the real from the unreal and the difference between spirits and ghosts, the supernatural world and the real world, this is a cute and endearing film about a friendly ghost named Casper and his new friend Kat.

I'm a big animation fan, so naturally I love to see live action movies based on cartoon characters. Also, back when this came out I was totally in love with Ricci. Maybe it seems odd to give this film five stars, but then you have to commend them for making a good big budget movie about Casper. That had to be tricky. It's simple in some ways, I mean, you have the usual, greedy crook villain character that's in so many live-action cartoon movies, and you have the usual silly lines and some bad acting here and there, but there are so many good things about this movie too. The effects are great, as well as the music and the Haunted House. The voices are also excellent. Plus, there were a lot of cool cameos, which were really the best parts of the movie. Especially Dan Aykroyd in a very brief scene as Ghostbuster Ray Stantz. It was a little weird when we see Casper in the flesh at the end, looking older and acting smoother than he sounds and appears as a ghost. I also am not a big fan of Kat's mom at the end, but whatever. There are little bothers here and there, but it is still an excellent movie and definitely a fave. And definitely one of Ricci's best. I'll leave you with a synopsis, in case you haven't seen the film.
Casper is a friendly ghost who lives in an old mansion with his three rude, even abusive uncles. It's all very much a take on Cinderella. A mean, greedy woman named Carrigan has recently inherited the mansion and believes there is a treasure hidden in it, so she hires Dr. James Harvey to get rid of the ghosts so she can do a thorough search. The doc has a daughter named Kat, played by Christina Ricci, who Casper develops a crush on and makes friends with. The Doc tries to talk the ghosts into moving out, and Kat plans a big Halloween party, while Carrigan causes trouble. Various characters die, become ghosts, and even come back to life through the course of the film, leading up to thwarting the bad guys and having a very Cinderella-like ending. Very cute for the most part, and definitely the best Casper movie out there. Well worth getting a DVD of, so please, somebody, make one okay?!!!