Casper (1995)

A paranormal expert and his daughter bunk in an abandoned house populated by 3 mischievous ghosts and one friendly one.

Director:

Brad Silberling

Writers:

Joseph Oriolo (characters), Sherri Stoner,

Stars:

Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle, Bill Pullman

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chauncey Leopardi	...	Nicky
Spencer Vrooman	...	Andreas
Malachi Pearson	...	Casper (McFadden) (voice)
Cathy Moriarty	...	Carrigan Crittenden
Eric Idle	...	Paul 'Dibbs' Plutzker
Ben Stein	...	Mr. Rugg
Don Novello	...	Father Guido Sarducci
Fred Rogers	...	Mr. Rogers (as Mr. Rogers)
Terry Murphy	...	Herself ('Hard Copy')
Bill Pullman	...	Dr. James Harvey
Christina Ricci	...	Kathleen 'Kat' Harvey
Ernestine Mercer	...	Harvey Patient Being Interviewed
Doug Bruckner	...	Reporter (voice) (as Douglas J.O. Bruckner)
Joe Nipote	...	Stretch (voice)
Joe Alaskey	...	Stinkie (voice)

Storyline

Furious that her late father only willed her his gloomy-looking mansion rather than his millions, Carrigan Crittenden is ready to burn the place to the ground when she discovers a map to a treasure hidden in the house. But when she enters the rickety mansion to seek her claim, she is frightened away by a wicked wave of ghosts. Determined to get her hands on this hidden fortune, she hires afterlife therapist Dr. James Harvey to exorcise the ghosts from the mansion. Harvey and his daughter Kat move in, and soon Kat meets Casper, the ghost of a young boy who's "the friendliest ghost you know." But not so friendly are Casper's uncles--Stretch, Fatso and Stinkie--who are determined to drive all "fleshies" away. Ultimately, it is up to Harvey and Kat to help the ghosts cross over to the other side.

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | mansion | casper | breakfast machine | friendship | 

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Taglines:

Get An Afterlife

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Casper, to fantasmataki

Filming Locations:

Colonial Mansion, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£14,445,093 (UK) (15 September 1995)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Harvey Entertainment Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dan Aykroyd:  As Dr. Raymond Stantz (from Ghostbusters) who runs out of the house frantically and says, "Who you gonna call? Someone else!"

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Goofs

The ghosts' powers appear and disappear throughout the film. The Ghostly Trio can pass through walls, yet they get stuck in a vacuum cleaner bag.

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Quotes

Dibs: [looking down after Carrigan falls down the cliff] Carrigan! Are you a ghost yet?
[no answer]
Dibs: Carrigan! What a tragic waste. She had my favorite sunglasses.

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Crazy Credits

Early during the end credits, Stretch (doing his Little Richard imitation) bursts through the credits, singing.

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Connections

Spoofs Superman (1978)

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Soundtracks

"Hard Copy Ball Logo"
Written by Edd Kalehoff
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

User Reviews

7/10

There's something enormously touching about this film and the way it deals with losses -- Pullman's wife and Casper's mother, in particular. And what's so clever about it is how it uses them as a tool of audience manipulation AND has the evil ghosts use Pullman in exactly the same way that we're being used. This is a smartly written screenplay. The story itself is pretty conventional and predictable: the loner girl gets teased by a popular girl (that nobody really likes) who's out to destroy her; the popular girl has a cute boyfriend that the loner girl has the hots for, etc. etc., story will resolve itself with everyone falling in love with loner girl.

I can't quite understand why this movie has such a low rating. The only explanation I can think of is that people prefer emotionally "safe" movies like "Toy Story" (of the same year) that are equally brilliant technically (and have as many references), but don't sacrifice coolness by showing sentimental, sad emotion. It's possible that the movie got marketed incorrectly. The film isn't about spooks; like one of those early, wonderful Tim Burton fantasies (this film also shares with them an outstanding score), the film deals -- quite movingly, I think -- with regaining that lost sense of childhood: that moment where Casper tries to remember being alive is just wrenching. And the scene relates just as profoundly to us: just as he can't remember being alive, we can't, really, remember being kids. I was ten when I first saw this, and it had an effect on me then (Ricci's description of sunny side-up eggs making her gag subconsciously made me avoid anything less than hard boiled for ten years); this is something that I really cherish as being part of my young emotional and visual education, and it stands up today.

I haven't seen the director's other films, so I have no idea whether this whole thing was a fluke or whether everything just settled in to my particular sensibility, but even outside of the emotion I think the technical aspects, the giant basement set, are enough to keep interest. And even outside of that, the acting is terrific. Cathy Moriarty is an absolute riot. 7/10