After the success of the 1995 theatrical film, Casper, there were talks in doing a sequel, but Universals felt like the standard moviegoers wouldn't be interested in one, so Fox end up buying the rights and produced the animated series that appeared in Fox Kids which is a follow up to the film. In 1997 Fox released the direct-to-video film, "Casper: A Spirited Beginning" which is supposed to be a prequel to the original film.
When the film was release, people criticize it for it's bad affects on the ghost characters, and for it failing to stay true to the storyline of the first film as it was recall in the first film, that Casper died over 100 years ago while in "A Spirited Beginning" he died on present day. This was the first Casper film I remember owning on VHS, so despite the negative backlash the film receives, I will always have a soft spot for it. As a kid, I enjoyed the film, but as I got older began to see the some of the films problems with it's cheap affects and story. My problems lean more towards the story than it's affect, since this is a direct-to-video feature, I can forgive it's affects for not being as good as the original.
The story is what really brings the film down for me. I feel like this film comes across as false advertising in which I will get to in a moment. The film starts with Casper inside of a ghost train heading towards the ghost central that is run by the monstrous ghoul, Kibosh. When Casper gets thrown out of the train, he finds himself in the real world, with no support or direction. He meets up with a boy name Chris Carson who has a love for ghosts and will help him with his ghost powers. When Kibosh discovers Casper's absence, he sent forth his assistant, Snivel to find Casper and the Ghostly Trio, who happen to skip training as well, and bring them back.
Now, this is where the film comes across as false advertising because when you see the advertising, most of it revolves around Casper, The Ghostly Trio, Kibosh and Snivel in the Spirit World and based on the little summary I just gave, you think this is what the film is going to be. Well, not exactly because you see the film seems focuses more on the family drama between Chris and his father Tim Carson, who is a man that focuses more on his job than on his son, and Casper's whole story arc becomes more of an afterthought as he tries to fix this dysfunctional relationship. I think the family drama would work, if it was more in the background, and not have it feel like the driving force of the film. I feel like the climax of the film, with Chris getting locked up inside the Applegate Mansion with the bomb that was rigged to blow, was uncalled for and having Kibosh, showing up at the last minute having a very underwhelming final confrontation with him, Casper and The Ghostly Trio was unjustified.
While most of the affects of the film aren't as good as the original, there are some affects that I like; one in particular is the Ghost Train. The Ghost Central was okay, but you don't really get a full scale of it. Kibosh is without a doubt the highlight of the film, mainly down to him being voiced by James Earl Jones and having threatening presence when he is on screen, and his theme tone really brings out the evil and menacing of the character. There are points where I felt it sounds somewhat similar to the Imperial March in Star Wars, but maybe that's just me. As I said before, the confrontation with him in the end is underwhelming and as for his sidekick Snivel, he was okay, but he does come across as annoyance at times.
The Ghostly Trio are just as fun as they are in the original, but they don't have as much screen time this time around. Casper and Chris do have somewhat of chemistry, but not as strong as say Casper's chemistry with Kat, but I really do like them as friends. Tim comes off very unlikable, but it was nice to see him redeem himself in the end when he apologizes to Chris for not being there for him. Chris's teacher Sheila Fistergraff is very forgettable; there is nothing more I could say about that. Now, there are some scenes with her are solid, but there are some that comes off as very cringe worthy. I felt like the whole story with saving Mansion felt unnecessary, and it just plots along.
Overall, the film does has it's problems. It certainly isn't as good as the original film, but I don't think it's overall bad, at least it's villain is more memorable as oppose to the one in the original. It has some bad one liners and bad puns, but it is a fun and entertaining film that can be enjoyed, if you are a fan of the Casper character. I do recommend seeing it, but view as on it's own terms and tried not to link itself to the first film, it does stands on its own.
