Casper (1995)

 Casper (1995)

So earlier this year, driving through Maine's Midcoast region, I found myself in a small town of Friendship Maine, and thought back to fond memories as a young teenager watching Casper, which was set in the small town of Friendship Maine.   Though most of the film was actually filmed in a studio in California, there were scenic shots done here in Maine, however the town of Friendship where the film is set was not one of those locations shot.  Instead the beautiful town of Rockport Maine stood in for Friendship, as it has a more quaint Maine village feel to it, and a more historic looking waterfront.  Which is understandable, as Rockport is a beautiful picturesque town on the Penobscot Bay.   If you are a fan of kid's movies you might recognize Rockport as the home of Andre The Seal, it also is the town that the town in Iron Giant is based on, and also I believe to be the town that inspired Collinsport Maine in Dark Shadows.   Another beautiful scenic shot in Casper is a  beautiful view of Camden Maine, taken from the top of Mount Battie, which is located in the Camden Hills State Park.  The shot is overlooking the beautiful coastal town of Camden (I have included a photo that I took from the same place that the shot in the film was shot).   Camden and Rockport Maine are both nestled along the Penobscot Bay on the Midcoast of Maine, and a beautiful part of the state if you ever get a chance to visit.

Camden Maine from the top of Mount Battie.

Casper was directed by Brad Silberling, with a screenplay by Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver, which also had an uncredited rewrite by J.J. Abrams.  Casper is based on the popular cartoon/comic book character Casper The Friendly Ghost created in the late 1930's by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo.  Oriolo sold the rights to Casper The Friendly Ghost to Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios for a total of $175, and because of that deal that one time payment of $175 is all he and Reit ever made off of the character that would go on to be a huge success for Famous Studios.  The film was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Harvey Entertainment Company, and distributed by Universal Pictures.  The film was also Brad Silberling's feature film directorial debut.  Casper was also the first live-action feature film to have a fully CGI main character.

Casper has an amazing cast starring Bill Pullman as Dr James Harvey as "ghost therapist", Christina Ricci plays his daughter Kathleen "Kat" Harvey, Malachi Pearson voices Casper McFadden (the friendly ghost), Devon Sawa plays the live action Casper in his human form, Casper's three obnoxious uncles were voiced by Joe Nipote as Stretch, Joe Alaskey as Stinkie, and Brad Garrett as Fatso.  Cathy Moriarty plays Catherine "Carrigan" Crittenden who inherits Whipstaff Manor, and who seeks to rid the old house of its ghost so that she can get the "treasure" that she learns is hidden within.  Eric Idle plays Carrigan's attorney/sidekick Dibs.  The film features many famous cameos including Ben Stein as Carrigan's lawyer Rugg, Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci (the character that he was famous for playing on Saturday Night Live), Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz (his iconic character from Ghostbusters), Fred Rogers, Terry Murphy (famous for hosting the television show Hard Copy), Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Gibson, and the Crypt Keeper from Tales From The Crypt (voiced by John Kassir, and puppetry performed by Brock Winkless, who did the voice and puppetry for Tales From The Crypt).   The film has an amazing cast, Bill Pullman plays the typical awkward type of character that he is known for, and 14 year old Christina Ricci really shines as the outcast teenage daughter, who becomes the love interest of Casper the Friendly Ghost.   Ricci is amazing at playing the dark weird kid in films.  My roommate and I watched this tonight, and we realized that her role as "Kat" really screamed closeted lesbian, in the way she dresses and acts, and that was really fun for us, and I think that maybe I didn't realize it at the time, but maybe that is part of why as a 14 year old kid watching this in 1995 that her character might have helped me come to terms with being a lesbian, even though the character is presented as straight in the film, there are just so many things about her character...but then maybe that was just my roommate and I reading too much into it.   (Please don't take this as a serious theory on the character of "Kat" it is just something that we noticed while watching it, nothing more).  Overall this film just has a great cast, and each character brings so much to the film, so that even though the plot of the film is pretty simplistic and lacking in real depth, the characters bring this amazing richness to the film, that definitely makes it much more than what it could have been with a lesser cast.  

Casper was a huge feat in the developing technology of CGI, and the effects and characters look quite great.  The ghosts keep elements of the cartoon characters that they are based on, and the voice actors do a brilliant job at bringing them to life.   The sets in the film were also really quite impressive, they set designers really did an amazing job in creating Whipstaff Manor.  The film does a brilliant job at balancing a classic children's horror story, and keeping it fun and whimsical, but never going too far into the "kid's" film realm.  This is a film that could be enjoyed by the whole family.   But I do mean "could be", because though this film is still a lot of fun for 80's and 90's kids, I don't know if it would hold up well for late Millenial and Gen Z kids, the film does definitely feel a bit dated.   Casper really holds a nostalgic place in my heart, like I said I am almost the same age as Christina Ricci, so the film was designed for kids that were my age when it came out, and it really captures that time and place in the mid 1990's, and I feel like even 90's babies would have a nostalgic place in their hearts for this film.  Also I feel like Gen X and Older Millennials can appreciate the look of the film differently, because kids these days, are raised on a much more honed CGI animation, than what we old kids grew up on.  I remember as a kid watching CGI in its infancy, and watching it evolve, with films like Sphere, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, and of course Casper each taking that technology and further pushing the boundaries of what was possible further and further, watching traditional animation give way to the new computer animation designs of studios like Pixar, and films like Avatar just taking that CGI technology to all new heights.  So I don't know if a generation raised on modern CGI could look at a film like Casper and see it as anything but a corney film, that their parents are for some reason in love with.   Hopefully I am wrong in that, however I truly love this film, but I will absolutely admit that it is dated.  Hopefully newer generations will continue to discover and love Casper.   If you have not yet seen it, I do highly recommend checking it out, such a great film from my young teenage years.