Casper: SE

It just goes to show what you can achieve if you have a bit of spare cash to spend. Backed by Steven Spielberg as executive producer, Casper marks the next ground-breaking stage in computer animation in films only two years after Jurassic Park left audiences gobsmacked.

Steven Spielberg's influence as Executive Producer in revamping E.T.'s classic 'hand' theme... except last time things were more... solid.

Creating a scary dinosaur is easy, but creating a character with emotions and facial expressions boosts the realism factor up one more notch, and the talented team at ILM (Industrial, Light and Magic) stepped up to the task and delivered an amazing result. The animation work of Casper and the Ghostly trio is simply stunning; comic and fluid, illustrating a fine attention to detail and some pretty cool opacity techniques. The downfall of the effects lies with two human-resembling ghosts that we meet during the film that just don’t quite do it. But to this day, nearly ten years after the film’s initial release, not one animation company has totally mastered a human form in realistic computer animation – some have come close, but still it’s not quite there. Keeping the age of the film in mind, these effects are superb, and you would expect them to be with the same lead team from Jurassic Park heading this film's post-production at ILM.

The heart and soul of Tim Burton... but he's nowhere in sight...

Set in an eerie town known as Friendship, Maine, Casper’s Whipstaff Manor oozes Tim Burton design, with gothic swirls and vision that instantly build a spooky and outlandish tone. Featuring a witty, talented and well-cast line up including Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle, plus the vocal talents of Malachi Pearson, Brad Garrett, Joe Nipote and Joe Alaskey, Casper was originally scripted and structured by Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver with many of the gags and one-liners improvised by the cast during production. This raw edge to the humour is great, and although it may not be the most hilarious film ever made, it sure is a lot of fun. Using many of Spielberg’s regulars including editor Michael Kahn and cinematographer Dean Cundy, as well as the aforementioned team at ILM, the combined efforts of the talented crew can easily be seen in a tight and well-produced finished piece.

"You guys are disgusting obnoxious creeps!"

Whipstaff Manor is Friendship’s local haunted house, hosting the spirits of the Ghostly Trio, Stinkie, Fatso and Stretch, and their little translucent nephew Casper, who happens to be the friendly ghost. Standing lonely on a cliff top overlooking the sea, this mansion is just waiting for someone to come in and love it. Enter Carrigan Crittenden (Moriarty), who has recently lost a father and all she got left in the will was Whipstaff Manor. Shortly after the deeds are tossed in the fire, a secret message is revealed, highlighting the fact that treasure is within Whipstaff. Carrigan and her associate Dibbs (Idle) head off to Maine and are soon spooked by the ghoulishly scary Ghostly Trio, starting the search for some ghostbusters. Lonely in the huge mansion while his uncles are off scaring the area, Casper simply wants a friend. This is where things get perfect – Carrigan calls upon Dr. James Harvey (Pullman), afterlife therapist, to help remove the spirits from the house, and with Dr. Harvey comes his 12-year-old daughter, Kat (Ricci) in tow. Casper and Kat meet and, after a little screaming, form a friendship. Casper’s uncles, however, are not so pleased about seeing these “fleshies� in Whipstaff and are determined to get them out. But Carrigan has her own priorities, finding this treasure. Ultimately, Casper is able to teach us about the priceless nature of friendship and love, and also briefly (and simplistically) deals with loss. Even so, the combination of melodramatic elements, beautiful photography and a heart-wrenching score do combine to create a heartfelt story with a tissue moment at the end. And yes, I'm a sucker for things like this...

Filmed spherically in a widescreen aspect of 1.85:1, Casper’s original theatrical aspect has been preserved on this anamorphically enhanced transfer. While she definitely is a beauty, she’s not quite perfect, yet for a film of nearly ten years of age, what we get is much better than you would likely expect. From the opening scene you can gauge just how dark this film is going to be, hosting deep blacks and solid dark hues which have been encoded precisely, with posterisation effects kept absent. Skin tones, when applicable, ooze healthy tones and saturation levels without being disturbed by the overly dark surroundings or pale CGI work. The downside to the use of such a dark palette is that compression-related effects are quite easy to see, but luckily there’s only one scene worth mentioning. If you take a look at the lighthouse scene you can see that edges are a little loosely mastered, giving off a slight blocky effect. This is hardly noticeable, so obviously not disturbing in the slightest. While we’re at this scene, you can also see a hint of edge enhancement around Kat’s face. Whites are stunning and bright, with the spectres mastered with perfect definition. The clarity of the image is superb, with a crystal clear image and sharp definition. Film artefacts are nearly absent from what appears to be an incredibly clean source print and film grain is very faint, but only slightly noticeable.

Casper and Kat chill out on a lighthouse... as you do?

Subtitles are presented in a variety of languages, including English and English for the commentary track, both of which are nearly word perfect and, in the case of the English film subtitles, suitably labelled as to who is speaking. Presented in a clear white typeface, these subtitles are easy to read and simple to turn on and off during the film. The layer change, placed discretely at 67:22, jumps past briefly with a slight pause. Luckily this occurs in a scene change rather than mid-scene, so it isn’t too much of a distraction.

Casper’s Special Edition treatment is quite evident from our audio selections, notably both English 5.1 tracks, however one being Dolby Digital and the other DTS. Ah, if you’re familiar with my opinion regarding DTS tracks I can hear you groan from here. But this is one of the very rare times where I can’t push the DTS track enough. Having a tweak of extra dynamic and a louder rear half of the soundstage, the DTS track does rip up the living room with a thud and is a choice listening option. Soundscape-wise, the tracks are pretty much identical with the same effects coming from each channel, but the mastering on the DTS track just pushes it that little bit further.

Dialogue is clear throughout the film, lucidly delivered from the centre speaker. With panning effects the order of the day, each speaker gets its own discrete workout and will give your speakers a bit of a dust. Rear channels chime in at appropriate times with both effects and ambience, and at one point a huge rear-to-front dialogue pan, but given the mood of the film could have been expanded upon. But still, what we have is definitely an involving soundstage. The subwoofer breaks through at appropriate moments, yet doesn’t contain the biggest punch possible. A few scenes, such as the wrecking ball smash, should give out a huge thump but you’re left gasping for more. The biggest annoyance with this disc, and a few other Universal discs, is that you can’t actually change audio tracks during the film – so back to the menus you go, and if you select DTS, you have to watch the DTS trailer thereby losing your place in the movie.

With a score masterfully composed by James Horner, Casper comes to life through melody and harmony, with a rich recurring theme and well-structured cues. After owning this soundtrack on a stereo CD, it is so enriching to hear it bellowed out through a 5.1 soundstage, nicely structured with healthy bass levels and clear treble. All-in-all this is one fine audio presentation.

Seeing is believing

While entering up the extra features for this review, it dawned on your humble reviewer that there really doesn’t appear to be very much on offer. But this is one case where the quality heavily out-weighs the quantity. After the Universal tag and usual copyright warnings, Casper’s 16:9 enhanced animated menus pop up, which are simple to navigate and are well-themed to the film. From the 'Bonus' page you have access to two pages of goodies. An interesting point is that before you’re able to watch any of the video features, you are presented with a screen, ‘Bonus Subtitles’, which allows you to select subtitles for that feature.

Up first is Brad Silberling’s feature-length audio commentary which is one of the better film-specific commentaries out there. Silberling comments on all aspects of his first major film, proudly sharing a wealth of information on pre- and post-production as well as the one-month shoot itself. Remaining chattery for pretty much the entire film, Silberling rarely gets bored (or boring), and is an incredibly educational commentary for the making of this film. If you’re a fan of Casper, you’ll definitely want to sit down and give this a listen.

Accompanying this superb commentary is a lengthy documentary “Revealing Casper� which appears as if it is made for an hour-long TV spot. Broken up into seven segments (Directing Casper, Casting, Creating the World of Casper, Those Amazing Machines, Making Casper Real: The Special Effects, Composing Casper: The Magical Score, The Realisation of a Dream), yet sadly not chaptered, this documentary covers all aspects of the production process and includes interviews with key cast and crew, including executive producer Steven Spielberg. This is presented in a full frame aspect, is not anamorphically enhanced, and includes letterboxed clips from the film.

What? Casper is now on a Special Edition DVD? That sure is breaking news!

“Deleted Scene #92: Lucky Enough to Be a Ghost� is, funnily enough, a deleted scene which was cut due to budget reasons. Including an introduction from director and cast member Brad Silberling and Bill Pullman respectively, this scene was a musical number, and in my opinion the film benefits from its cutting, where Dr. Harvey and the Ghostly Trio interacted quite heavily, with a healthy price tag of approximately US$3,000,000 for this one scene. You then get the option to watch a split screen view or choose one of the screens as a larger option which operate as menus, not angles (even though it is implemented as angles, you can’t select them individually), and have the option of a director’s commentary too.

Two interactive games have been thrown on this disc, Casper’s Treasures and Spelling Lab which are both pretty simple. The first requires you to find hidden treasures throughout the menus (see the Easter Eggs page for more information) and the second gets you to spell out three words based on a cryptic clue. Pretty easy, huh?

A full frame theatrical trailer has been included and is cut with a dated style, yet does give the film a little bit of justice. Running for a shy 1:12, this reviewer is sure that there is more than one trailer actually available, but this will have to do. Accompanying this is a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Finally, for those with a DVD-ROM drive, there are some DVD ROM features which include some recipes, crafty activities for the kids and Halloween ideas which are some good time-spenders for the kids, but that’s it.

Spooktacular fun, Casper finally arrives in Region 4 on DVD and can proudly stand up in any DVD collection. With a transfer that generously does the film justice, this disc may not be of reference standard, but it’s still a bloody good show. The features package accompanying the film may not list long but there is definitely a huge push for quality over quantity, resulting in an informative batch of features that are aimed more at the adult audience than the kids.

Casper has been on the Region 4 wishlist of this reviewer for some time, and it’s great to see it finally here with a package that doesn’t disappoint. As the tagline says, seeing really is believing...