Review of Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997) by Rebecca H — 15 Sep 2009

The amount of incompetence that has gone into this film is actually impressive. The premise, the script, the acting, the directing, the casting, the camera work, the set, the special effects, the editing; everything is terrible. This film could only have come into existence due to Hollywood allowing the guild of village idiots to finally make that film they've been on about...

A kid is lonely because his dad is a jerk (world's worst father alert - it is just ridiculous - and he is never satisfactorily redeemed), and befriends Casper the friendly ghost, who in this prequel to what was not a great first film, has only just become a ghost. Considering Casper didn't find out his past until the first film, expect no depth here - no, here, being dead is cool, not a tragedy. However, Casper isn't very important to the plot, in fact he seems to have been shoved in at a later date. All the ghost stuff could easily be cut without affecting the film, since it is so rarely focused on. It is mostly about a man wanting to knock down an old building (why are cheap kids' films always about building development?) and his neglected son (the ugliest child in the world). The 'plot' developments have no set up and are startlingly fast, and yet the film drags on seeminglly forever.

This film is so bad, even the extras can't act. I can't bear it. Don't harm yourself. Please, please, I beg you. It's a g-g-g-god awful film.