Casper is a 1995 American supernatural fantasy comedy film based on the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. It was directed by Brad Silberling, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver. The film stars Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty, and Eric Idle, with the voices of Joe Nipote, Joe Alaskey, Brad Garrett, and the film introduction of Malachi Pearson in the title role. The film follows the title character who peacefully haunts a mansion called Whipstaff Manor in Friendship, Maine, meets and befriends a teenage girl named Kat Harvey (Ricci), the daughter of Dr. James Harvey (Pullman), a paranormal therapist who is hired to move into Whipstaff in order to rid the mansion of its spectral inhabitants.
Filming took place from January to June of 1994. Casper makes extensive use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create the ghosts, and is the first feature film to have a fully CGI character in the lead role. It goes for a darker interpretation of Casper than in previous comics, cartoons, and theatrical shorts, providing the character with a backstory that addresses his death.
Casper was released in cinemas on May 26, 1995, by Universal Pictures. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success, earning $290 million on a $55 million budget. It spawned two direct-to-video prequels from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment—Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997) as well as Casper Meets Wendy (1998)—in addition to an animated television spin-off, The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper.
Plot Following the death of her father, neurotic and spoiled heiress Carrigan Crittenden discovers that she has been left only Whipstaff Manor, located in Friendship, Maine, in his will, while his vast wealth has gone to several charities. Carrigan and her lawyer and close friend, Dibs, find a map within the will's papers that tells of an alleged treasure hidden inside the manor, only to find that the property is haunted by a friendly ghost named Casper and his poltergeist uncles, the Ghostly Trio. They then unsuccessfully attempt to force the ghosts out by way of exorcism, Ghostbusting, and a demolitions team.
A lonely Casper watches a news report about paranormal therapist James Harvey and instantly becomes smitten with his teenage daughter, Kat, prompting Casper to inspire Carrigan to summon James to Whipstaff. Kat dislikes her father's reputation and obsession with contacting the ghost of his late wife, Amelia. The Harveys move into Whipstaff, but Casper's attempt to befriend them fails when they see him. His uncles, the Ghostly Trio, try to torment and scare them away, which eventually fails.
The following morning, Casper gains the Harveys' trust when he serves them breakfast, and follows Kat to school, where she becomes popular when her class learns that she is living in Whipstaff, and agrees to host their Halloween party there. One of her classmates, Amber, plots with her friend, Vic, to humiliate Kat during the party, while James attempts therapy sessions with the Ghostly Trio, who reveal that they know Amelia. In exchange for convincing Carrigan to leave them alone, they promise to get James a meeting with his wife.
Kat learns that Casper has no memory of his life, and restores his old playroom in the attic to remind him. Casper recognizes an old wooden sled his father bought him, and remembers playing outside until he caught a severe cold and died of pneumonia, becoming a ghost to keep his father company. A newspaper article reveals that Casper's father was declared legally insane after he built a machine, the Lazarus, which he claimed could bring the dead back to life. Casper and Kat venture to the basement and find the Lazarus. Carrigan and Dibs sneak inside and steal the formula that powers the machine, plotting to use it to grant themselves immortality. However, they attempt to kill each other to test the theory and retrieve the treasure that they think is in the basement's locked vault. This culminates in Carrigan attempting to run Dibs over with her Range Rover, but instead crashing into a cliff-side tree. Upon exiting her car, Carrigan falls to her death and becomes a ghost.
James becomes depressed after the trio pulls a prank on him, prompting them to take him out on the town. They plan to kill him and make themselves a quartet, but they have a change of heart after a drunken James confesses how much he cares for them and vows to let them stay in their home. However, James accidentally falls to his death.
In the laboratory, Carrigan confronts Casper and Kat, stealing what she believes to be the treasure from the vault and launching Dibs out a window when he tries to double-cross her. Carrigan demands to be brought back to life, but Casper and Kat remind her that ghosts are people with unfinished business, and now that she has Casper's treasure, her unfinished business is fulfilled, causing her to be ejected into the afterlife. The treasure is revealed to be Casper's prized baseball, signed by Duke Snider; the map was part of a game Casper played with his father. James, now a ghost, returns with Casper's uncles. Seeing Kat's despair over her father's death prompts Casper to sacrifice his one chance to return to life, restoring James instead.
The Halloween party kicks off upstairs; Amber and Vic's prank is thwarted by the Ghostly Trio, and they flee in terror. In his room, Casper is visited by Amelia, who had become an angel after her death. She rewards Casper for his sacrifice by temporarily turning him into a human boy, allowing him to attend the party and dance with Kat. Amelia meets with James, explaining that the Ghostly Trio kept their promise to get him a meeting with her, and tells him that she was so content with her family while alive that she had no unfinished business and thus moved on to the afterlife instead of becoming a ghost. Amelia departs as the clock chimes ten, promising James that they and Kat will be together again one day. After kissing Kat, Casper transforms back into a ghost, inadvertently scaring the guests away, but Kat is nonetheless impressed with the party. James declares that it is not over yet, and the Ghostly Trio plays their nephew's main theme for them to dance to.
Cast Malachi Pearson as the voice of Casper McFadden, a lonely ghost who was originally a 12-year-old boy who died of pneumonia. He spends most of his afterlife in Whipstaff Manor, dealing with his uncles' antics while hoping to find a friend, and eventually finds one in Kat, while also becoming attracted to her. Devon Sawa portrays Casper in his human form. Christina Ricci as Kathleen "Kat" Harvey, Dr. Harvey's 13-year-old daughter and Casper's love interest who has lost her mother and wants to make a friend. Bill Pullman as Dr. James Harvey, Kat's widowed father and a ghost therapist interacting with the 'living impaired', helping them to cross into the next dimension while hoping to find his deceased wife. Cathy Moriarty as Catherine "Carrigan" Crittenden, a greedy woman upset over her late father only leaving Whipstaff Manor to her in his will. She discovers that the house contains a treasure, though never learns it is only Casper's baseball. She hires Dr. Harvey to exorcise the ghosts in order to get it. Carrigan ultimately dies and becomes a ghost, before being ejected into the afterlife for eternity. Eric Idle as Paul "Dibs" Plutzker, Carrigan's attorney and close friend. Joe Nipote as the voice of Stretch, the hot-tempered leader and the eldest of the Ghostly Trio who bonds with Dr. Harvey. Joe Alaskey as the voice of Stinkie, the quietest and youngest of the trio, who is known for his odor, particularly his halitosis. Brad Garrett as the voice of Fatso, who is usually the outlet for Stretch's anger, and is known for being obese. Garette Ratliff Henson as Vic DePhillippi, Kat's crush and Amber's friend. Jessica Wesson as Amber Whitmire, Kat's rival and Vic's friend. Amy Brenneman as Amelia Harvey, James' deceased wife and Kat's deceased mother. Ben Stein as Rugg, Carrigan's father's lawyer. Chauncey Leopardi and Spencer Vrooman as Nicky and Andreas, two preteen boys who explore Whipstaff at the beginning of the film. Wesley Thompson as Mr. Curtis, Kat, Amber and Vic's form teacher. Michael McCarty as a bar drunk.
Cameos Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci, called in by Carrigan to attempt an exorcism. Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz (uncredited), also called by Carrigan in an attempt to exorcise Whipstaff Manor. Fred Rogers (archive footage) Terry Murphy Clint Eastwood Rodney Dangerfield Mel Gibson John Kassir as The Crypt Keeper (voice) Brock Winkless performed the puppetry for the Crypt Keeper in the film. Jess Harnell as the voice of Casper's Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.
Production Rights acquisition In 1989, Jeffrey Montgomery, then a 24-year-old USC Marshall School of Business, recognized the value of established intellectual properties such as Star Wars and The Little Mermaid saying they served as their own infomercials for their own commercial tie-ins. With most of the recognized properties held by major conglomerates and the risks and costs associated with establishing new ones, citing the numerous failed attempts of others to copy the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Montgomery set his sights on Casper the Friendly Ghost as he had not only had familiarity with the character from childhood, but noted how Harvey Comics who had bought the character and several others from Paramount Pictures in 1959 for $3 million had done virtually nothing with him. While the Harvey heirs had rejected buyout offers from companies such as The Walt Disney Company, MCA Inc., and King Features Syndicate, Montgomery credits luck and timing with being able to secure the rights as Harvey's TV distribution agreement was set to expire and outstanding third party payments made the Harvey's more agreeable to a sale. Harvey asked for $8 million with Mongomery accepting the offer with $3.4 million in Cash and $4.5 million in promisary notes, $3 million of which came from Mongomery's former class mate and Saudi Prince Ahmad Bin Khalid Al-Saud who became a principal stockholder. In December 1990, following his acquisition of Harvey, Mongomery went to MCA and sold 20% of Harvey Comics' common stock and also entered into a merchandising and licensing agreement for its characters with some exceptions such as Richie Rich whose film rights had already acquired by producer Joel Silver. Then Universal Chairman Tom Pollock was happy to invest in Harvey as he was impressed with his ability to bring to feuding Harvey family into an agreeable bargaining position which MCA had failed to do. As a result of the deal, Harvey licensed the character of Casper the Friendly Ghost to MCA's film division Universal Pictures to develop the character for a feature film project.
Development Colin Wilson has said executive producer Steven Spielberg was very passionate about doing a feature film adaptation of Casper the Friendly Ghost due to its themes of loneliness and longing for friendship. He saw an episode of the television series Brooklyn Bridge directed by Brad Silberling and saw potential in this work, recruiting Silberling for directing Casper. Silberling has stated the meeting with Spielberg wasn't actually about Casper and it was about a comedy drama about children and divorce that ultimately never made it out of development. After Silberling moved on to working on NYPD Blue, Silberling received an emergency call from Spielberg that Casper had lost its director and that they needed a new replacement now leading to Silberling in spite of some doubts that the project itself may have been the issue.