On Monday, February 25, 2013
Casper is a 1995 American comedy fantasy film starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, based on the Casper the
Friendly Ghost animated cartoons and comic books. The ghosts
featured in the film were created through computer-generated
imagery. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures.
A spoiled woman
named Carrigan Crittenden attends the reading of her late father's will and
learns he has only left her the old Whipstaff Manor in Friendship, Maine. Learning there may be
treasure hidden within the manor, Carrigan and her attorney Paul "Dibs"
Plutzker visit the house but discovered it is haunted by a friendly yet lonely
ghost, Casper, and worse, his three obnoxious uncles, Stretch, Stinkie, and
Fatso. Carrigan hires several professional including Father Guido
Sarducci and Ghostbuster Raymond Stantz to remove the ghosts with no
success. While watching television, Casper
learns of Dr. James Harvey, a paranormal therapist who helps ghosts complete
their unfinished business and move on, and immediately falls in love with his
daughter Kat. He manipulates Carrigan into contacting Dr. Harvey to visit the
manor.
Dr. Harvey
travels the country with Kat, really in search of the ghost of his deceased
wife, Amelia. They move into Whipstaff, but Casper's attempt to befriend Kat backfires
when his uncles arrive home and cause havoc. The next day, Casper tries to keep the peace between his
uncles and their new mortal guests. Dr. Harvey begins to counsel the Ghostly
Trio who claim they know where Amelia dwells, but Fatso pulls a prank on him.
Kat begins her first day at school, and unintentionally convinces the class to
hold their Halloween party at Whipstaff. She also is befriended by classmate
Vic, who asks her to the dance by order of his friend Amber, the stroppy,
spoiled class president who was originally going to host the party. Kat learns Casper has no memories of
his life and searches the house for a way to help him remember. She finds Casper's bedroom and
helps him remember his childhood. Upon finding an old sled, he remembers that
he died from a fatal illness after staying out too late in the cold.
Kat finds a
newspaper article describing how Casper's
father attempted to create a machine named the Lazarus, designed to resurrect
his dead son but he was sent to an insane asylum. As Casper and Kat go to find the Lazarus,
Carrigan and Dibs sneak in after the Ghostly Trio drag Dr. Harvey out for a
happy hour. While out, the Trio consider killing Dr. Harvey, certain that he
will become a ghost and join their band, but when he tells them that he won't
force them out of their house, they decide they like him too much to simply
murder him.
Meanwhile, Casper and Kat find a secret passage down to the
laboratory of Casper's
father, while Carrigan and Dibs spot a vault where they assume the treasure is.
Upon learning that the Lazarus works by inserting a formula which brings back
the dead, Carrigan and Dibs steal said formula with the intention of using its
power to rob banks as ghosts then come back to life to enjoy their ill-gotten
riches. Upon finding out the formula will work on only one person, the two end
up turning on each other, leading to Carrigan falling off a cliff but returning
as a ghost. Carrigan confronts Casper
and Kat, spiriting herself into and out of the vault with the treasure, and
seemingly kills Dibs by throwing him out of a nearby window. Casper and Kat fool Carrigan into admitting
she has no unfinished business, forcing her to cross over to the afterlife. Casper's 'treasure' is
revealed to be an autographed baseball signed by Brooklyn Dodgers player Duke Snider.
Dr. Harvey and
the Ghostly Trio appear, the former having died by falling down a manhole while
drunk. Dr. Harvey has no memories of Kat, who is heartbroken, but when she
reminds him of who she is, he is shocked at what he has done to himself. Casper gives up the
chance to become human by allowing Dr. Harvey to use the Lazarus and reunite with
Kat. The Halloween party kicks off downstairs, but Kat realizes she was tricked
by Vic and Amber (who planned to upstage the party) when Casper's uncles chase them out of the manor.
Casper sits sadly alone in his room until the spirit of Amelia appears and
grants him a wish in gratitude for caring for her daughter and husband—to spend
one night alive, allowing him to dance with Kat until ten o'clock. Amelia then
visits Dr. Harvey and tells him that the reason why he couldn't find her ghost
was because she had already crossed over and entered the afterlife, but Casper's uncles were able
to get in contact with her in gratitude for giving them the most fun they've
had in years. Before leaving, she tells him he can move on. Ten o'clock chimes,
and Casper kisses Kat just as he transforms back into a ghost, scaring away all
of the party guests, leaving Casper, Kat, Dr. Harvey and the Ghostly Trio to
celebrate Halloween themselves.
