Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Casper Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 4, 2014

Casper spooks up a fairly strong story, good performances, and quality visual effects for the famous friendly ghost's big screen extravaganza starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci as a father/daughter combo who move around the country in search of ghosts. Culled from the cartoon franchise of the same name, Director Brad Silberling's (City of Angels) picture is rather typical of 90s family fare, from its heartfelt storyline to its cheery score. The film finds the right tonal balance in practically every scene, enjoying some playful scares but nothing too over-the-top that will downright terrify younger audiences and nothing too ridiculous or unnecessarily zany to mask the underlying story tenderness and lifeblood that runs so thickly through it. It's a success of a film, a big budget crowd pleaser that knows how to tell a tale and involve its audience in the experience. It's mostly wholesome family entertainment with a big heart, a strong atmosphere, solidly constructed characters, and enough appeal to see it enjoyed by all audiences. In short, it's a classic example of a clean-cut cinematic winner fit for all ages.

Casper discovers the secret of the secret sauce.

When Carrigan Crittenden's (Cathy Moriarty) wealthy father passes away, he leaves his money to charity and only bequeaths to her an old condemned estate in coastal Maine. She and her butler, Dibs (Eric Idle), arrive to find the place haunted. She tries exorcisms, ghost busting, and demolition, but nothing can remove the spirits. But the little ghost, Casper (voiced by Malachi Pearson), only wants a friend. When he catches a Hard Copy segment about a man who claims he can communicate with ghosts -- a Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) -- he manipulates Crittenden's hotel television so she, too, sees it. She hires Harvey who arrives with his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) who was Casper's real motivation for luring the family to his home. While Casper works on his relationship with Kat, Harvey gets to know a trio of other ghosts living in the house -- Stretch (voiced by Joe Nipote), Fatso (voiced by Brad Garrett), and Stinky (voiced by Joe Alaskey) -- whom he hopes will lead him to his deceased wife's spirit.

Casper works on several levels. It has the advantage of a name and brand already behind it, but the film doesn't settle for name recognition to sell tickets. It's instead built around a relatively simple yet surprisingly goodhearted, meaningful, and balanced story in which the highs aren't too high, the lows aren't too low, the heroes aren't perfect, and the villains aren't generically monstrous. For a film built around a character without one, there's a readily evident and steady pulse that runs through the movie, one that's made of a lot of pieces that work very well in perfect harmony. Whether solid but not overly complicated characterization, strong production values, seamless special effects, quality pacing, and a mood that remains pleasantly engaging even through the film's gentle roller coaster ups and downs, Casper never really takes any major missteps along its way to re-imagining a classic in a cheerfully spooky yet welcomingly accessible environment.

By far the film's best accomplishment, however -- beyond its quality visual effects, faultless production design, tone, mood, and acting -- is the surprisingly strong story that holds it together. While it's not deep, it's well developed and heartfelt, accessible to the audience, and meaningful to the characters. It's slowly constructed over time, a little predictable but nevertheless welcomingly coherent and straightforward. The complexities are effortlessly fleshed out, but over time rather than in large information dumps that tend to lessen the dramatic impact. Pullman in particular sells his part gracefully and honestly. The sense of loss is evident, but so too is his determination both to find his wife and care for his daughter as best he can. Pullman is wonderful in the role, as he always is, and even beyond Ricci and the digital Casper solidifies the film's core drama with an understanding of his character and the greater world around him that give the movie both charm and purpose. Yet the Casper-Ricci story is nearly as adept, culminating in a touching scene that makes the entire adventure worthwhile.

Casper Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Casper's 1080p transfer isn't a haunting experience, but it's a little spooky in places. Universal's infamous catalogue releases are known for smoothed-over DNRed video. Casper doesn't fall victim to a terrible degree, but there are certainly some scenes -- notably some darker ones -- that look unnaturally smooth. That said, however, the image is surprisingly stable and viewer-friendly. Grain is frequently evident, even if there's occasionally an artificial sharpness to the image. Light compression issues are scattered throughout as well. However, the image offers a fairly good, fairly accurate collection of details. Faces are never super complex in raw definition, and neither are odds and ends around the house -- whether wooden beams, cobwebs, or accumulated dirt and grime -- but rarely do they look hopelessly flat and lifeless. Colors are never all that brilliant. The house's strange red-tinted interior -- which is offset by some more traditionally black and gray and blue rooms -- stands out nicely enough, and a few brighter scenes, such as a few outdoor moments and a classroom sequence, deliver a healthy, stable palette. Black levels are never grossly problematic, but hints of crush and a push towards a dark purple shade are occasionally evident. Skin tones present no major issues. In a word, the transfer is "uneven." In a more detailed context, however, it favors a "better" quality more often than a "worse" quality.

Casper Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Casper's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is scary fun. The track is filled with quality ambient sound effects that are frequently more aggressive than they are subtle. Blowing winds, thunder, creaks, moans, and assorted haunted house/scary movie sort of effects are playfully implemented but sonically aggressive in terms of volume and stage presence. The track isn't so transparent that the speakers seem to melt away in favor of the action, but the stage is sufficiently big and robust to help pull the audience into the environment. Ghostly voices float naturally and effortlessly through the stage. Imaging is excellent and more precise side and surround effects are naturally integrated. Bigger action elements, such as when a "train" powers through the listening area, are fun, full, and deep. Music is aggressively big and potent yet clear and precisely placed around the stage, with a wide front end and an aggressive, but not dominant, surround element. General dialogue reproduction is strong and center-focused.

Casper Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Casper contains several bonuses that must be accessed from the "pop-up" menu within the film. There is no top menu to be found on the disc. A UV/iTunes digital copy code is also included.

• Revealing Casper (480i, 47:10): A quality, detailed documentary with a sometimes humorous undercurrent that explores the cast and crew's familiarity with the character, modernizing the character and building the film for the 90s, hiring Brad Silberling, casting the on-screen and voice roles, art direction and set design, the physical demands of the roles, digital effects, creating the CGI characters, James Horner's music, the picture's premiere, and more. Plenty of raw on-set footage is included.
• Deleted Scene (480i, 3:16): #91: Lucky Enough to Be a Ghost. Viewers can choose to watch the scene in two versions by way of the "enter" button and "angle" technology, one without any ghosts and the second an "animator's reference" which depicts the actors holding model ghosts. Also available with optional Brad Silbering commentary. Also included is an optional Intro (1:43).
• Cartoon Classic (480i, 7:00): Penguin For Your Thoughts. A short Casper adventure.
• Audio Commentary: Director Brad Silberling offers a pleasant, engaging track in which he discusses the challenges of the shoot as a director without any feature film or digital effects specialization, the picture's budget, its special effects, cast and performances, shooting various scenes, structure and style, filming locations, and much more. Fans will enjoy learning the secrets behind the film in this accessible, enjoyable audio commentary.

Casper Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Casper is a surprisingly good film, one that might look a bit bland and generic around its edges but that finds a much deeper, much more welcoming, much more tenderhearted center. The characters are simple but strongly developed and very well performed. The story isn't all that novel but the emotions that flow from it are genuine. The special effects hold up very well even two decades after its release. Casper may not be a classic, but it holds up to repeat viewings and never loses its outer charm and inner dramatic appeal. Universal's Blu-ray release of Casper features average-to-good video, potent audio, and a few supplements. Strongly recommended.