Comic Book Movies 101: Casper

• 8th Mar 2011

Casper

I doubt many – if any – of you remember Casper in his first incarnation as a 2D children’s character; yet he’s very well-loved. Although it’s a sweet and novel idea, the character lacked the depth of many comic book favourites. The 1995 live action film not only made him three-dimensional thanks to the magic of CGI, but it also gave him more than a cheery outlook as well as a back story and universal appeal.

As a child (who sported a Casper bubble watch until it fell off my wrist), I whooped with laughter at the gross-out exploits of his uncles, the Ghostly Trio – for some reason the lavish spreads Casper serves them sliding straight down to the floor was wildly entertaining. And, having never seen Most Haunted, I envied Kat; the idea of living in a haunted mansion seemed downright cool.

As a hormonally-charged teenager, I was moved by the impossibility of his love for Kat.  I also really wanted to be her (but not that I wanted the love of a ghost). The perfectly cast fresh-faced Christina Ricci (who I still regard as the epitome of cool) was a bit of an outcast, struggling to grow up without female guidance and with a spectre-obsessed dad (played by a floppy-haired Bill Pullman). Yet she’s sassy, adventurous and caring. Her bond with Casper, symbolised in their simple hand-touch, also shows tolerance and maturity beyond her years; while the other kids at school are reluctant to accept her for the simple reason that she’s the new kid, she’s willing to form a friendship with a child without a body.

Now an adult, I find the story of how Casper became a ghost absolutely tragic. The scene in which toys from his childhood, lovingly set up by Kat, inspire memories of his short life and death is heartbreaking. It’s not, however, as sob-inducing as the sacrifice Casper makes for Kat and her father, Dr Harvey. This is the point where Casper stops being just a comic book character that subverts conventions (ghosts are generally portrayed as evil); he becomes a child whose life was lost, a little boy that had a family, hopes and dreams. It’s unsettling, especially in the context of a children’s film, to contemplate life and death. But its delicate handling and careful enveloping in merriment and light-heartedness make it much easier to process and to stick with the story.

The main sensation that the story leaves behind is uplifting. Dr Harvey is finally able to let go of his past and start looking to a future with Kat (and presumably their house ghosts). And I haven’t even mentioned the evil Carrigan, who’s determined to find the treasure hidden in Casper’s home and so brings Dr Harvey and his daughter into the ghosts’ lives (well, after-lives). As far as children’s films can be, Casper is a multi-layered film in which you can see different elements with every watch (even more than a decade after its release). It also helps that the whole thing ends with one hell of a party.

Thanks to Casper’s, and his uncles’, old-school appearances as transparent white figures bearing little resemblance to human form, the film hasn’t dated as much as it could have in light of advances in 3D effects. Alongside CGI, there are some memorable action sequences – particularly the route to Casper’s father’s lab, which could be taken right out of a comic.

The cherished memory of Casper has never been tainted for me by the sequel A Spirited Beginning – there’s no call here for a sequel as everything’s tied up nicely. So, as a standalone film, I think Casper may just be one of those gems that surpasses its origins to the point that the character becomes synonymous with the film instead of the comics. Casper, can I keep you?

Lauren Felton