Casper the Friendly Ghost in film facts for kids

Casper, the friendly ghost, in a live-action movie.

Casper the Friendly Ghost is a popular cartoon character who has appeared in many animated shorts and Harvey Comics books. He has also starred in five movies. Most of these movies were released on TV or directly to video, with only one showing in movie theaters. The movies are mostly separate stories.

Just like in the comics and cartoons, the films feature Casper as a ghost of a child who doesn't want to scare anyone. He just wants to be friends! But because he's a ghost, people often get scared and run away from him. Still, Casper usually finds someone special to befriend and helps them when they need it.

Casper was created by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo. He first appeared in three animated shorts called Noveltoons in the 1940s. These were released by Paramount Pictures. Later, from 1950 to 1959, Paramount made a series of Casper shorts. After that, Harvey Comics bought the rights to the character.

After many Casper cartoons were released on home video by Universal Studios, a deal was made for a live-action movie. This film would mix live actors with computer animation. Amblin Entertainment produced it, and famous director Steven Spielberg was an executive producer. He hired Brad Silberling to direct his first movie, Casper (1995). The movie was a big success at the box office, but critics had mixed feelings about it.

Later, in the late 1990s, The Harvey Entertainment Company and Saban Entertainment bought the Casper movie rights. They made two movies that went straight to video, released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment: Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997) and its sequel, Casper Meets Wendy (1998). These films were meant to be prequels to the 1995 movie. However, they told a different story about Casper's past and didn't fit with the first film's events.

In the early 2000s, Harvey Entertainment teamed up with Mainframe Entertainment (instead of Saban Entertainment). They released Casper's Haunted Christmas (2000) through Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Unlike the earlier films, this one was fully made using computer animation. This was also the last Casper movie Universal was involved with. In the mid-2000s, a second computer-animated film was made for TV. It was produced by Moonscoop and released by Classic Media. This film was called Casper's Scare School (2006). It later led to a spin-off TV series with the same name, which aired on Cartoon Network in 2009.

Casper Films: A Friendly Ghost's Journey

Here's a look at the different Casper movies:

Early Cartoon Shorts

Before the movies, Casper was famous for his cartoon shorts.

Paramount Cartoon Shorts

Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios made three theatrical shorts featuring Casper. These were part of the Noveltoon series. They included The Friendly Ghost (1945), There's Good Boos To-Night (1948), and A Haunting We Will Go (1949). Paramount then continued to make more Casper shorts from 1950 to 1959.

The First Big Movie: Casper (1995)

The 1995 Casper film was a major step for the friendly ghost.

Steven Spielberg was an executive producer for the film. He chose Brad Silberling to direct, making it Brad's first time directing a feature film. The movie starred Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman. Malachi Pearson was the voice of Casper.

The film was set in Friendship, Maine. It used a lot of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to bring Casper and his uncles, the Ghostly Trio, to life. This allowed them to interact with the live actors. This movie was also the first to have a CGI character in a main role.

The film gave Casper a backstory, explaining how he became a ghost. In the movie, Casper was a twelve-year-old boy named J.T. McFadden. He lived in Whipstaff Manor with his inventor father. Casper died from pneumonia after playing outside in the cold too late. This was also the only film where Casper appeared in his human form.

The movie opened at number one at the box office during the Memorial Day weekend. It earned over $16 million in its first three days. It stayed at number one in its second weekend, bringing its total to almost $39 million in just ten days.

What Happened to a Casper Sequel?

After the success of Casper, a sequel called Casper 2 was planned. Simon Wells helped write the script and was set to direct it. However, in July 2000, Universal Pictures canceled the sequel. This was because the direct-to-video Casper films didn't sell very well, and actress Christina Ricci was unsure about returning.

Direct-to-Video Adventures

After the first movie, Casper starred in films made directly for home video.

Two movie posters for the direct-to-video films Casper: A Spirited Beginning and Casper Meets Wendy.

Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997)

In 1997, The Harvey Entertainment Company and Saban Entertainment made this direct-to-video film. It was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The movie was meant to be a prequel, explaining how Casper became a ghost. However, it completely ignored the story from the 1995 film. In this movie, Casper dies in the present day, and there's no mention of Whipstaff Manor or his father. The Ghostly Trio are also not directly related to him. Even though it was a direct-to-video film, it featured many famous actors like Steve Guttenberg, Lori Loughlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Michael McKean, James Earl Jones, and Pauly Shore.

Casper Meets Wendy (1998)

After Casper: A Spirited Beginning, Saban Entertainment made a sequel in 1998. This was the second prequel to the 1995 Casper movie. The director, Sean McNamara, also directed the previous film. He brought back a character from the Casper comics and cartoons: Wendy the Good Little Witch. Hilary Duff played Wendy in her first movie role when she was 11 years old. The film won an award for Children’s Programming - Electronic Visual Effects. Hilary Duff was also nominated for a Young Artist Award.

Fully Animated Casper Films

Later Casper movies were made entirely with computer animation.

Casper's Haunted Christmas (2000)

In 2000, The Harvey Entertainment Company worked with Mainframe Entertainment to create a new film. It was released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. This movie was fully computer-animated, unlike the earlier live-action films. The story is set at Christmas. Casper and his uncles, the Ghostly Trio, are forced by Kibosh to make Casper scare someone on Christmas Eve. If he doesn't, they will all be sent to "The Dark" forever. The film also features Casper's cousin, Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost, and Spooky's girlfriend, Poil. Brendan Ryan Barrett, who played Casper's friend Chris Carson in Casper: A Spirited Beginning, voiced Casper in this film.

Casper's Scare School (2006)

In 2006, Moonscoop produced an animated film for television, released by Classic Media. In this movie, Casper is sent to a special school to learn how to scare people. In 2009, this film led to a spin-off animated TV series with the same title, which aired on Cartoon Network.

What's Next for Casper?

Universal Pictures now owns the rights to Casper. There are plans to bring the character back to the big screen in a new live-action movie. Steven Spielberg has said that Casper will not return to the small screen like the last four movies. In 2012, DreamWorks Animation bought the rights to Casper and other Harvey Comics characters from Classic Media. Later, in 2016, NBCUniversal bought DreamWorks Animation. This means Universal's involvement with the Casper series could continue. Either DreamWorks Animation or Illumination Entertainment might reboot the series.

Who's Who in the Casper Movies?

Here are some of the main characters and the actors who played them in the Casper movies:

Ben Stein made cameo appearances in all three live-action Casper films. In Casper, he played a lawyer. In Casper: A Spirited Beginning, he was a grocer. In Casper Meets Wendy, he was a guest at a dance party.

Casper Van Dien also made two cameo appearances in the Saban-produced prequels. In Casper: A Spirited Beginning, he was a bystander. In Casper Meets Wendy, he played a "hunk" at the dance party.

The first two films also had other celebrity cameos. In Casper, Don Novello appeared as Father Guido Sarducci, and Dan Aykroyd reprised his role as Ghostbuster Raymond "Ray" Stantz. Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Gibson, and the Crypt Keeper all appeared in Dr. James Harvey's reflection. In Casper: A Spirited Beginning, Brian Doyle-Murray played a construction worker, and Sherman Hemsley played a store owner.

Box Office Success

Here's how the theatrical Casper movie performed at the box office: