Plot: What’s it about?
Casper isn’t called The Friendly Ghost for no reason, as while he might be a ghost, he is still friendly. This is unusual for a ghost of course, since ghosts are supposed to haunt houses and scare people. But Casper would rather make friends than run them off, which gets him into trouble at times. No matter how often he is told to scare or else, he refuses to be a mean spirit. So now, he has to get to back to the basics and attend Scare School. The hope is that with the right lessons and a good teacher, Casper will give up his kind ways and be the frightful ghost they think he should be. So Casper goes to his classes and pays attention, but he doesn’t intend to become a scary ghost. He does learn though, he learns that the headmasters of the school have plans to take over the world. But can Casper manage to make sure they don’t succeed?
Casper is back and in this made for television special, he’s even computer generated. The story is basic, but works well since it is just the kind of tale we’d expect from a Casper movie. The writing isn’t that sharp, but on a made for television children’s movie scale, its decent enough. The jokes will have younger viewers entertained and for older fans of the characters, its fun to see them in this new approach. This is not a show with hidden in jokes for adults like Shrek, the jokes are all child appropriate and outside of some mildly crude moments, this show is inoffensive. The animation isn’t at Pixar levels, but has a cool visual design and is better than I had expected. So while Casper’s Scare School is no Monsters, Inc., it is a fun movie and a great choice for family audiences, so this disc is well recommended.
Video: How does it look?
Casper’s Scare School is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The movie’s bright and fun animation looks terrific here, quite impressive. The visuals have a lot of darkness, but also vivid colors, a design which looks great in this transfer. The black levels are spot on, while colors are vibrant and free from errors. As far as detail, this style of animation doesn’t offer a lot of depth, but detail is high and clarity is never a concern. A great looking visual treatment, so fans will be most pleased.
Audio: How does it sound?
This movie doesn’t demand much from the soundtrack, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sound good. All of the audio is well presented here, with no serious problems to mention. The music is loud and clear, while the wacky sound effects come across well. The main element is dialogue and since vocals are crisp, no concerns to report there. While not a memorable soundtrack, this one gets the job done and that’s what counts.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a brief behind the scenes piece, two music videos, and a vintage Casper cartoon.
