Story Synopsis:
Casper is a kid’s (and adult’s) fest of action animated adventure. Based on the original Harvey comic characters, the movie captures the spirit of Casper, “the friendly ghost” with a 90’s twist in dazzling special effects. Dr. James Harvey (Pullman), a trained ghost therapist, and his daughter Kat (Ricci) have been hired to exorcise Whipstaff Manor. The greedy owners of the house benefit in its cleansing due to some hidden treasure. When the two move in what they find in the old house is a friendly but lonely young ghost named Casper, who’s really just looking for a friend. While Casper befriends Kat; Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso (The Ghostly Trio), become annoyed as it’s against house rules to allow “fleshies” inside. Based on the character “Casper The Friendly Ghost,” created by Joseph Oriolo. (Gary Reber)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 DVD exhibits a picture that can be appropriately dark, but with excellent contrast to reveal all the details, sets, and props in the haunted house. Colors are rich and well balanced, with natural “fleshie” skintones and deep blacks. The picture is sharp and nicely detailed, though some scenes are slightly soft. The source element is mostly clean, though some film grain and a few artifacts are noticed. Pixelization is an occasional distraction, but edge enhancement is rarely a problem. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
Though the production of the 5.1 audio is over eight years old, the creativity and the crafting of the soundstage should certainly be on par with the standout productions of today. The dimensionality is liberal, engaging, and downright remarkable throughout. There’s often a lively nature to the music and effects that very nicely suits the important storytelling role that sound plays. Split surrounds are liberally present and there are lots of directional pans all around. The effects typically have a special character and creativity of their own. The use of atmospheric effects is particularly noteworthy as it really places you right into the depths of the ghost-ridden mansion. Fidelity is slightly dated, affecting to a small extent the natural tonality of the dialogue, which also exhibits fairly compelling spatial integration. The music score has been nicely recorded and has a sweeping presence all around. This very fine sound mix is also distinguished for the prominent, often powerful engagement of deep bass, with lots of low-end activity in the surround channels. The DTS® Digital Surround™ version offers a margin of refinement with spatial rendering, and also with low-frequency definition. (Perry Sun)