ElMaruecan82 As far as special effects were concerned, 1995 was a year with quite a special effect on the technological department of filmmaking. And I'm not even speaking out of facts gathered from IMDb or Wikipedia but from my own memories. Indeed, I'm old enough to remember all the buzz around "Toy Story", the first major animated movie all in 3D, the Pixar that started it all and paved the way to a new revolutionary substitution for hand-made drawings. I can also remember the fuss about "Jumanji", a film so overflowed by CGI that the story seemed almost accessory. And if memory doesn't fail me, I remember that the opening explosion of "Die Hard With a Vengeance" was quite a remarked practical effect. But there's an unfairly forgotten little gem whose special effects garnered a fair deal of applause yet the film itself didn't hold up very well despite being in the same vein of inspirational sweetness than "Toy Story".In fact, I'd go as far as saying that "Casper" almost plays like the kid brother of "E.T.". Steven Spielberg was the executive producer and you can tell from the few little nods made to the film that the film wasn't just intended to be a CGI fest. Indeed, computer imagery wasn't a new thing in 1995 and the early precursors (such as "Jurassic Park" and "Terminator 2") had proved something essential: all the special effects of the world can't amount to much if there's no story to justify them. Yet "Casper" might be the one exception because you can say the real star is the special effect, because it's the first film where the lead protagonist is entirely made in computer, it's an unprecedented feat. Brad Silberling's movie has lead human characters but you can feel a kinship with a movie like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". There's a difference though with Zemeckis' movie: ghosts are transparent, they fly, float and can't touch humans, which simplifies the crossover but on the other hand, they also extend the possibilities and the range of action. It's not as easy as it seems, you have to deal with characters who pop up everywhere, who can make the body either freeze or elastically move, and there's a moment where Bill Pullman tries to handle Casper's mischievous uncles and his body language is very convincing. One of the strengths of the film is to handle ghosts like characters with properties and abilities of their own and make them adapt to human standards or humans trying to interact with them, which provides a nice share of action, fun and even tenderness that the format of the initial cartoon couldn't carry. I knew Casper from the cartoons but I never "enjoyed" him, I found him too bland and dull as a lead character, but I did enjoy the horrified reactions of people, one of the series' running gags. So, there has always been a little comedic aspect of "Casper", which the film efficiently explores while also testing more dramatic waters, portraying Casper, not as a ghost but as a deceased child. This was a gutsy move because it seems to establish the rule that once you're a ghost, your face turns into an animated version of yourself, a rule abandoned though for the climax, which we forgive since it does work on an emotional level. "Casper" is a film to watch without cynical eyes in order to embrace its sensitivity and gentleness, even the uncle trio who provide the obligatory spice aren't as bad as they seem and their presence is obviously meant to be a wink to more adult audiences.But watching the film so many years after, I think the friendship story works even better than the rest, it seems to be infused with a sweetness that lacks today. Granted the issue of Casper or Kat (Christina Ricc) is of universal level but can you imagine today a teenage girl complaining about not having friends, in the days of virtual relationships? Kat would be so busy on her i-phone she wouldn't even notice Casper, and if she did, maybe she'd try to have a selfie with him. Would still kids be scared of Casper? Wouldn't they try to get him on film and play it on Youtube? "Casper" reassured me that I still belonged to a generation that would act like Elliott and "E.T." And Ricci's performance confirmed what her acting showed in "The Addams Family", she is a very underrated actress, what a change from the creepy Wednesday to the sweet and open-minded Kat, and she's the perfect counter-balance to her zanier father, played by Pullmann.The casting is quite excellent in fact, from the voice actors to a pair of nasty villains played by Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle, not to mention some very well-thought nods to the cinematic realm of ghosts. That cameo of Dan Aykryod alone was funnier than any moment from the dreadful "Ghostbusters 3" and of course, I had my share of horrified reactions and Bill Pullman's opening the closest only to find Casper remains one of my funniest memories. The man is a psychiatrist, supposedly dealing with the dead and more hilarious than the scream itself is the knowledge that it comes from someone who couldn't stop bragging about his 'ghost' connection. The film did well at the box-office but it's a shame it's not remembered as well, maybe the relative thinness of the plot or that it came too early or too late, I don't know, I can only speak for the teen I was and who enjoyed the film, and the adult who enjoyed it even better.So, not much "E.T.", not quite "Harry Potter", but it's a sweet, gentle film that all the family can enjoy, and I don't know why it shouldn't be recommended.

slightlymad22 I'll admit right from the off I'd never heard of 'Casper The Friendly Ghost' until 1993 when I went to my local multiplex to see the Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood movie 'A Perfect World' in which a child steals a Halloween costume. So I didn't know much going into this movie. I believe this is the first feature film with a computer-animated title character, and for me the effects are outstanding. Eric Idle and Cathy Moriarity are splendidly devious, if under used, whilst fresh from pairing with Sandra bullock in 'While You Were Sleeping' Bill Pullman is a lot of fun as the Dad.As for Christina Ricci, following on from her awesome performances in the Addams Family movies, it was around this time I thought, she had the potential to be a good Demi Moore type actress, once she grew up. Things haven't quite panned out that way, but she is still a working actress. Coincidently she would costar with Moore in 'Now & Then' the same year, but she was not playing a younger Moore, as I expected, but a younger version of Rosie O Donnell. Poor casting in my eyes.There are some nice cameos from Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson Rodney Dangerfield, but it's the appearance of Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz (from Ghostbusters (1984)) who runs out of the house frantically and says, "Who you gonna call? Someone else!" That brought the biggest smile to my face.

xsophietaylorx I have loved Casper since I was of five years of age it's a film that makes you feel so many emotions you laugh and you cry. Every person has a place in their heart for Casper the little friendly ghost who just who just wants a friend. Kat and her farther Dr. James Harvey are living the life of a paranormal therapist, in which they are never in one place too long until they move into the Whipstaff Manor. There they become friendly with Casper and his three unfriendly obnoxious uncles Fatso, Stretch & Stinkie. The story unravels and you begin to like Casper more and more. Kat becomes very close with Casper and discovers a newspaper article that describes how Casper's heartbroken father created a machine called the Lazarus designed to resurrect his dead son. You learn more & more and your emotions run wild with the film the end scene is so touching when Kats mothers ghost makes an appearance to her lonely father James absolutely touching. All ages will love it!

mark.waltz Taking the classic comic book and cartoon onto the big screen, this version of the story of the friendly ghost gives the viewer an inside look as to who Casper really was and his life before and after becoming the sweet spirit. Fresh from her star-making role of Wednesday Addams, Christina Ricci is perfect to play the poor child who is initially scared of him but soon wants to help the spirit of the child find out the truths. Her father Bill Pullman also gets involved as do the sinister Eric Idle and Cathy Moriarty as the agent and owner of the house who hire Pullman to get rid of the spooks which includes more than just Casper. Moriarty is particularly entertaining as one of the most outrageous of greedy characters, and her shrieking (which made her the scene stealer of "Soap Dish") takes over here as well to make her unforgettably funny.There are some delightful surprises in this mostly sweet-natured tale of the tying together of two different generations of children, one live, the other dead, the greed of adults, and the Peter Pan like belief in a world beyond our grasp. Try not to feel tears of joy and nostalgia when Casper takes Ricci on the train ride to his long hidden bedroom and is later allowed to face the truth of why he is who he is. Ricci and Pullman too also face the loss of their mother and wife, although one of Casper's prankster uncle ghosts also gets in the way comically. This is a family film that proves to be innocent yet never juvenile and cloying.