Review of Casper (1995) by Filipeneto — 23 Jul 2021

Certain films earn our affection for the quality they have, others for the visual beauty and the grandeur of the technical means used… others, like this film, conquer their place by the way they touch us. I may not be the only one who saw this movie as a child and now feels some nostalgia and affection to see it again.

The film hardly needs any introduction, telling us the story of Casper, a ghost who settled in the land after dying very young, and haunts his old house in the company of three uncles, who are the real terror of the region. The house's fate seems sealed when it ends up in the hands of an ambitious heiress, eager to demolish it and get hold of a treasure she thinks is hidden there. Unable to make it thanks to the ghosts' efforts, she decides to call an expert, Dr. Harvey, to get them out of there. It's precisely what Casper wanted most, as the academic travels with a teenage daughter he fell in love with when he saw her on television.

The film isn't brilliant, it's not meant to be. It is not an award winner, nor will it give us the dramatic life performance of any of the actors involved. It is simply a family film, aimed at younger people, but which also knows how to please adults, and which, despite its age, remains fresh and current today. For me, who saw it as a child, it will always have a corner in my video library.

The film was the first to make live actors act opposite characters entirely made by computer graphics, and from that point of view it was a pioneering film. However, Casper, Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso are characters in their own right and their voices were lent by a group of good actors: Joe Nipote, Joe Alaskey, Brad Garrett and Malachi Pearson. They are the soul of the film and steal our attention whenever they are present. The young Christina Ricci, in one of the early career jobs, also shows unmistakable signs of talent. Bill Pullman is effective, convincing and entertaining in his role, Eric Idle is very funny, and Cathy Moriarty is very good as a villain.

Technically, it's an effective movie. As I said before, it excels in its pioneering use of fully CGI characters, and the visual, special and sound effects used are really good, and they seem convincing even after twenty years. Cinematography doesn't surprise us, but it doesn't disappoint either. The pace of the film is regular, fast and fun, as it should be, and all the sets and costumes are very good, in particular the magnificent Whipstaff mansion, which would become iconic thanks to its Art Nouveau design, worthy of the best ideas of Antoni Gaudí. The film's music is ensured by the ever-reliable James Horner.