Casper

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 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. At the time I am submitting this review I am currently 17, turning 18, but 'Casper' still 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 fantastic. You won't BOOlieve it until you see it.

A ghost-whispering paranormal expert and his daughter (Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci) move into a dilapidated mansion on the coast of Maine that's haunted by a friendly ghost and three mischievous ones. Cathy Moriarty plays the venal heir of the mansion and Eric Idle her assistant.

"Casper" (1995) delivers the goods if you're in the mood for a "spooktacular" Goosebumps-like horror film that's fun & silly and not scary at all. It's like Scooby-Doo but without the dog and the teens are tweens. "Monster Night" (2006) and "Ghostbusters" (1984) are other reference points, but I prefer "Monster Night," which has a similar plot, but is all-around more entertaining (even though it cost significantly less) and has a superior assortment of good-lookin' women, young and older. With "Caspar" there's Moriarty, but she plays the biyatch antagonist. There's also ricci, but she was only 14 during shooting, although she's effective in the role.

The movie runs 1 hour, 40 minutes and was shot at Universals City, California, with establishing shots of Rockport, Maine.

GRADE: B-/C+

I don't view films as if I'm watching them as the intended audience; I watch them for myself. And that's why I found it odd at how engrossed I was when I watched this film for the first time at the age of eighteen. Aside from the great gothic flair of the mansion, two superbly placed cameos, and nice laughable black humour from the "trio," the film took off because of its emotional core. It's something that a youngster can really get into, but also anyone who finds it sad that a child can die. When Casper plays with his toys, I just wanted to start crying. This eternal child--lost and stuck in an age of mystery and wonder. And yet, he's smitten with a girl--he's starting to go through puberty. And it's just so sad . . . and beautiful.

And then there's the father, and his sway into the afterlife, his daughter's plight, her struggle with her wish to help Casper. It's all so simple and written for kids, but I was so engrossed by the romanticism of it all.

The villains mostly butt into the greatness of all of it, but you just have to grant that in a kid's picture. And now comes my but . . . in the end, when the mother does appear, she's supposed to be this amazing, angelic, deux es machinal, she floats through the stain glass window, her long hair flows around her, her gown flows all around her but--what the hell! why is her dress such a deep red!? she looks like satan! Oh well. Bad costume choice made a really bad moment. But mostly, I loved this film for it's good parts, despite the childishness of much of it.

I saw it first for Christina Ricci and, I admitt, I was seduced by her work.

I saw it as a beautiful and, for many reasons, useful film about friendship.

And the scene of dance of Casper and Kat remains the basic good point , with fairy tale sparkles.

A film for entire family, preserving a sort of very fair ingenuity, reminding small truths and defining , in smart manner, the lost of loved other.

Sure, a naif comedy.

But charming in profound sense, not less for gentle remind of the real needs of every from us.

After you get through the stresses of your day... your job, the hassles of daily life, all the stressers that are out there daily, it seems great to sit back and enjoy something that will take you out of that for a little while. If you watch the news and read the papers every day like I do, it gets to you after a while...the young soldiers being killed in Iraq, all the election BS that we are being bombarded with right now...all or most of the news is downright depressing. That creates an important place for a movie like this...one that can make your life a little less serious for a while. I've always been a Christina Ricci fan, going back to the Addams Family when she was only 11 years old. She was a great actress even at that young age. You could tell that she would go far as an actress. The personality was there...it set her apart from her peers. At the age of 15, she continues to do a great job in Casper...she is very believable.

Sometimes, in this troubled world where violence and negative things seem to be the norm, a nice little movie like this can go a long way toward making your day a little brighter. Some of my other "feel good" movies are Patch Adams, all the Superman movies, the Robocop series, and good old Babe. Thanks for reading this. Feel free to reply with an email.