Casper Saves Halloween (NR, 1979)

common sense media says

A feeble, incongruous cartoon compilation.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that these cartoons aren't especially funny, and fail to produce any compensating charm. The animation has the cheap, limited look common to most 1970s TV cartoons. It has a moment in which both Casper and a group of young trick-or-treaters believe that their Halloween has been ruined. Casper's sidekick, Harry Scary, gets great pleasure out of scaring people, and encourages Casper to do likewise. Grade-school kids will identify with the misunderstood but always well-meaning Casper. Older Casper fans will enjoy this; others will be bored with these uninspired efforts.

Positive messages: Casper promotes the idea of not judging someone based on his or her appearance.
Violence & scariness: Not applicable.
Sexy stuff: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Casper Saves Halloween

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about Casper's character. How is he different? Is his difference a good thing? How so?

What's the story?

What's the story?

In CASPER SAVES HALLOWEEN, Casper must prevent a group of mischief-making ghosts from ruining Halloween for a group of trick-or-treating orphans. Next, Casper's pal Harry Scary has a crush on space-age entertainer Zsa Zsa Amour and is determined to meet her, in "Love at First Fright." In "The Impossible Scream," Harry discovers he has lost the ability to scare people, preventing him from helping Minnie and Maxie capture the bad guy Muscles McSnort. Then Casper and Harry help rescue a seal kidnapped from the circus, in "Something's Fishy." When Minnie and Maxie are assigned to protect Eric Von Schmart's new time machine in "Prehistoric Hi-jinx," Casper, Harry, Nerdly, and Fungo are accidentally transported back to prehistoric times. Finally, in "Fatula," Casper and Harry must protect Minnie and Maxie from Fatula -- an overweight vampire who has sworn revenge on our crime-fighting heroines.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

These cartoons aren't especially funny, and fail to produce any compensating charm. Most of the featured cartoons are from a late '70s TV series called Casper and the Angels. The premise has Casper and his 1000-year-old uncle, Harry Scary, living in the futuristic metropolis of Space City, assisting Minnie and Maxie, a pair of female cops. The 22-minute "Casper Saves Halloween" is a more traditional story, in which Casper decides that Halloween is the perfect night to go out and make friends, as everyone will assume his ghostly appearance is just a costume. Naturally his fellow ghosts are mortified, and do their best to ruin the holiday for Casper and the group of orphans he befriends, before winding down to a happy conclusion. While this is standard Casper fare, the segment fails to build any real sympathy for the characters. To make matters worse, Casper comes off as whiny, rather than a gentle, misunderstood soul.

The episodes of "Casper and the Angels" fare even worse. The science fiction and crime fighting elements have little to do with the world of Casper, and come off as a feeble effort to update the character for a new generation of kids. The animation has the cheap, limited look common to most 1970s TV cartoons. Grade-school kids will identify with the misunderstood but always well-meaning Casper. Older Casper fans will enjoy this; others will be bored with these uninspired efforts.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Hanna-Barbera Productions
Director: Carl Urbano
Cast: Diane McCannon, Greg Atler, Lucille Bliss
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 87 minutes
Theatrical release: January 1, 1979
DVD release: August 19, 2003
MPAA Rating: NR

This review was written by Paul Trandahl
 
 

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
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