Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

One thing I would say about this that I totally hate this movie after seeing it back as a kid, this movie was by far the worst, with a stupid story, forgettable characters including some stars in this stinker including Steve Guttenberg, Lori Loughlin, Michael McKean, Richard Moll, Sherman Hemsley of the Jeffersons, Ben Stein as a Grocer, Edie McClurg as the Libraian, Pauly Shore as the voice of Snivel, James Earl Jones as the voice of Kibosh and of course Rodney Dangerfield as the Mayor of Deedstown, terrible cgi of Casper and the other ghost look like something Pixar was animated at the time back when they did commercials and went on to make Toy Story, but more like something right out a PlayStation 2 game back when the first PlayStation console was around in the mid and late 90s, Saban Entertainment was behind this when they we're the ones that brought us Power Rangers and even Beetleborgs since they're some Beetleborgs stuff in Chris' bedroom including the X-files as well and some of the songs aren't that great though! so instead i'm sticking with the original Casper movie from 1995 which is my Halloween Tradition so far and it isn't over yet when somebody ends up buying a copy of Casper: a spirited beginning either both VHS or DVD and smash it with a Sledge Hammer, just like with George Lucas who would track down bootleg copies of the Star Wars Holiday Special!

I loved Casper one with Bill Pullman. This movie should have never been made. The only people holding this movie together is Kibosh and Steve Guttenburg. The young boy is sweet. The jokes were forced from the actors alike. His school teacher was nice. I agree with other comments on this movie. My stepdaughter loved the first movie. When she saw this one she turned the TV off in a huff. The follow up Casper movies also sucked. The storyline wasn't bad it was the script that let the movie down big time. Chris (Billy no mates) didn't have any other human friends? This is one to easily forget. It was nice to see Rodney Dangerfield make a cameo appearance. Bulldozer

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.

This wasn't very good at all. It had corny acting and dorky dialogue. The special effects and the ghosts were the best part. 3 out of 10.