This is the kind of attitude the original "Casper" should have had.
In "Casper: A Spirited Beginning", the first film is basically forgotten as Casper finds himself thrown off a train headed for ghost-training camp an dlanding in Deedstown, where he manages to scare everybody except a small boy (Barrett)who happens to love ghosts but spends most of his time being bullied by other kids, mentored by a kind-hearted teacher (Loughlin) and trying to get the attention of his workaholic father (Guttenberg).
But whereas the first movie's themes were a little too dark for all ages, this one basically touches on topics most kids can understand; being misunderstood, wanting their parents love, getting even with the bullies, making new friends and preserving local history (okay, maybe not ALL kids, but most of them).
There are some great effects here, but not as dazzling as the ones in the first "Casper". You can how mechanical the FX make the ghosts move here, especially when they talk. Yet the voices for them are all well-done; Jones, Farmer, Harnell and Ward make the most of their parts as, respectively, Kibosh, the leader of the Ghost World, and the Ghostly Trio. But Pauly Shore is kind of a shock; he's actually a lot less annoying here as the voice of the ghost Snivel. Who would have thought THAT??!
They even manage to make a semi-reference to "Mission: Impossible" half-way through. Didn't see that one coming, gotta hand it to them.
All in all, a well-made effort that again makes "Casper" attainable for a whole new generation.
Eight stars for "Casper: A Spirited Beginning", plus a half-star more for managing to make Pauly Shore tolerable.
In "Casper: A Spirited Beginning", the first film is basically forgotten as Casper finds himself thrown off a train headed for ghost-training camp an dlanding in Deedstown, where he manages to scare everybody except a small boy (Barrett)who happens to love ghosts but spends most of his time being bullied by other kids, mentored by a kind-hearted teacher (Loughlin) and trying to get the attention of his workaholic father (Guttenberg).
But whereas the first movie's themes were a little too dark for all ages, this one basically touches on topics most kids can understand; being misunderstood, wanting their parents love, getting even with the bullies, making new friends and preserving local history (okay, maybe not ALL kids, but most of them).
There are some great effects here, but not as dazzling as the ones in the first "Casper". You can how mechanical the FX make the ghosts move here, especially when they talk. Yet the voices for them are all well-done; Jones, Farmer, Harnell and Ward make the most of their parts as, respectively, Kibosh, the leader of the Ghost World, and the Ghostly Trio. But Pauly Shore is kind of a shock; he's actually a lot less annoying here as the voice of the ghost Snivel. Who would have thought THAT??!
They even manage to make a semi-reference to "Mission: Impossible" half-way through. Didn't see that one coming, gotta hand it to them.
All in all, a well-made effort that again makes "Casper" attainable for a whole new generation.
Eight stars for "Casper: A Spirited Beginning", plus a half-star more for managing to make Pauly Shore tolerable.