Rating: PG
Genre:
Children's/Family
Release Date: 09/23/2003
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French/Espanol
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 101 Minutes
Flags: Excellent For Children, Scary Moments
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
Based on the popular cartoon character, this family-oriented "ghost story" is about a not-so-scary spirit who bonds with a little girl (
Christina Ricci). The eternally irritable Ms. Carrigan (
Cathy Moriarty) discovers that the only thing she's been left in her recently departed father's will is a rickety old house in New England. Naturally, the woman is furious about this, until her "close personal friend" and assistant, Dibbs (
Eric Idle of
Monty Python fame), discovers a secret message that a treasure may be concealed somewhere in the house. The two take off for Maine, only to learn that the house is haunted by Casper "the friendly ghost" and his three ghostly uncles Stinky, Stretch, and Fatso. After futilely recruiting an exorcist (
Don Novello, more or less reviving his Father Guido Sarducci character from
Saturday Night Live) and a "professional ghost exterminator" (
Dan Aykroyd), she brings in a "ghost psychiatrist" (
Bill Pullman) and his daughter Kat (
Ricci). Innocently attracted to the young girl, Casper befriends Kat as they try to save the ghosts' home from the evil Carrigan. Eye-popping special effects highlight this magical story that touches (albeit lightly) on the theme of what lies at the heart of human desires.
Clint Eastwood,
Rodney Dangerfield,
Mel Gibson and
The Crypt Keeper (of
Tales from the Crypt) all make cameos as apparitions in the mirror
Bill Pullman looks into in the house.
~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
