Whew...this movie had me almost to the end. It's pretty beautiful as a live-action adaptation of a pretty silly comic, but then it kind of shoots itself in the foot with a moral. I'm not one that believes that every movie must have a good message, but I would be wary to show this movie to my children. I love a good ghost story, but I'm not sure about a movie that questions the finality of death. One of the latter plot points of this movie is the death of the little girl's father, which in itself is fine plot material since many children deal with the death of a parent. At the end of the movie (and I don't consider this a spoiler because the main plot is what happens between Casper and Christina Ricci's character) they find a way to bring him back to life. I'm not sure what this is saying to kids about life and death. I don't think I'm over-analyzing the film because children are impressionable. I'm not sure if the film's themes are really appropriate for children's cinema.
Casper
(1995)
I hate to be a spoilsport, but what message is this movie sending out?
13 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers