Two kids visit a haunted house. They fight about who should take the picture of them. Then Casper the ghost offers to. But he scares the kids away.

Later, Carrigan Crittenden, a woman who lost her father, learns that she only got his mansion in Friendship, Maine, in his will. She also discovers that she could have some treasure inside a certain house. But it’s the one that Casper lives in. Once again, as soon she and her assistants see him, they run out.

Casper can’t stand scaring people anymore, especially because he is friendly. He watches TV. Luckily, a commercial advertising a paranormal therapist, Dr. James Harvey, comes on. This gives Casper more hope.

Meanwhile, he and his teenage daughter, Kat, are on their way to Friendship, Maine. Kat dreads the move because she had to do it 9 times before. But her dad promises to stop moving to different places if he finds no ghosts.

The two arrive at the mansion. As Kat settles in, she meets Casper. Not surprisingly, she gets scared. Even her dad gets frightened and flees the second floor.

However, Kat decides to give Casper a chance. She gets to know him a bit.

But then 3 annoying ghosts, Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie, annoy both her and her dad. They act terribly at breakfast. 

At school, Kat offers to host a Halloween party at her home, causing envy amongst this mean girl, Amber. She also meets Vic, Amber’s friend, and develops a crush on him.

At home, Casper explains life as a ghost. A major part is how he has no memories of his life before he died. But he discovers that his dad used to invent when he was alive. He takes Kat to a certain hidden room where there are multiple inventions – including a machine that can bring ghosts back into their living forms.

Meanwhile, Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie are tormenting Dr. Harvey as he performs at a pub. They even go so far that he falls to his death.

Carrigan and her assistant, Dibs, look for that same machine Casper showed Kat. That way, they can become immortal. But Carrigan dies and returns as a ghost. And because she has no unfinished business, her ghostly form slowly vanishes.

But things start to get worse.

I must admit how much I laughed throughout the film. What I especially love are the pop culture references.

Examples include:

• When Kat said that the mansion wasn’t scary for Stephen King.
• When Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie “melted” the same way the wicked witch of the west did in The Wizard of Oz.
• And when someone avoided saying, “Ghostbusters” after leaving the mansion because of Casper.

The characters were also memorable. I admired Kat’s relationship with her father. Even though she disapproved of his reputation, she still loved him. And he was very sweet, loving, and even easygoing. 

I also liked Kat’s friendship with Casper. It was also beautiful. And I enjoyed hating Amber, Fatso, Stretch, and Stinkie as well.

As with any good movie, there are lots of twists and turns, both happy and sad. That being said, there are a few flaws.

One, the film was a little bit hard to follow, probably because of the complexity of the story. It also lagged at times, despite being around an hour and a half long.

Otherwise, I enjoyed Casper. Note that even though the movie is rated PG, it does have some questionable content, such as mild profanity and smoking. I think it would be best for ages 9 and up.

I give Casper 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it.