''Casper Meets Wendy'' is a 1998 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

based on the

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...

cartoon characters

Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. The ...

and

Wendy the Good Little Witch Wendy the Good Little Witch is a fictional comic book character from Harvey Comics. Like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Wendy is an opposite-type character, a girl witch who does good deeds. Publication history Wend ...

. The film is a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'', and is the second

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

of ''

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * Da ...

''. Saban Entertainment, co-produced the project. The film also marks the second ''Casper'' film to co-star Cathy Moriarty, who played the villainess in the 1995 film. This was the first major film for

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...

, who was 10 years old when the film was released on September 22, 1998, six days before her 11th birthday. The film itself was met with mostly negative reviews from critics, but was considered an improvement to its predecessor. Its television premiere was October 24, 1999 on Fox Family.

Plot

A mysterious object floats over a baseball game eventually revealing Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso,

the Ghostly Trio The Ghostly Trio (consisting of Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie, formerly Fatso, Fusso, and Lazo) are fictional characters appearing in Harvey Comics. They are well known for being the uncles of Casper the Friendly Ghost. Their first animated appeara ...

, who cause panic in the ballpark. Their nephew

attempts to settle the terrified crowd, but they are just as scared of him. The park empties, and after watching their effect with satisfaction, Casper's uncles plan a vacation. Meanwhile, a malevolent warlock named Desmond Spellman believes himself to be the greatest warlock to have existed until he receives an unwelcome message from the Oracle in the Mirror, who tells him that in the future, none other than

will surpass him. To avoid this, Desmond plans to get rid of her once and for all with the advised "Mystic Abyss", a dimensional rift that can destroy living beings. He then creates a pair of spies: Jules and Vincent, and assigns them to bring Wendy to him where she is living in the country with her three mischievous aunts: Gert, Gabby, and Fanny. Jules and Vincent arrive at Wendy's house to escort the young witch to Desmond, but she narrowly escapes with her aunts. To keep Wendy safe from Desmond, her aunts hide and vacation at a resort hotel which happens to be the same place in which Casper and his uncles are vacationing. Casper and Wendy meet in a barn and become great friends. Unfortunately, they fear that their guardians will not get along because ghosts and witches are natural enemies. In order to make the guardians get along, Casper and Wendy devise a plan to make them meet at a party. Casper gets the Ghostly Trio to possess three men who happen to resemble them. Wendy convinces her aunts to go to the party to meet men. Thanks to their plotting, they meet and soon the Trio are flirting with the three witches, who are posing as regular women. Though everything goes well at first, the plan is spoiled when the possession wears off and the Trio's real selves are revealed to Wendy's aunts, who, in turn, reveal their real selves and threaten them with magic. However, as Wendy explains to Casper, she and her aunts cannot use any high-level magic or else Desmond will be able to track them down. She begs Casper not to tell anyone about this, but when the Trio suspects that Casper is protecting the witches, they pressure him into blurting out that the witches cannot use their powers, prompting the Trio to terrorize Wendy and her aunts. Wendy feels she has no choice but to cast a high-level spell to cover the Trio in plaster, thus alerting Desmond of her location. Distraught that Casper broke his promise, Wendy ends their friendship. Casper soon confronts his uncles and tells them that Desmond is coming after the witches and they should help, at which the Trio scoff and refuse. Before the witches can evacuate the resort, Desmond and his spies arrive. After finding and confronting the witches, Desmond explains the Oracle's prediction, and after she tries to resist him, summons the Mystic Abyss and casts Wendy into it, with Casper diving inside in an attempt to rescue her. Wendy's aunts battle Desmond but are no match for him. Before Desmond can turn the witches into fertilizer, a giant three-eyed monster appears and frightens the warlock who trips over Wendy's broom and falls into the Abyss himself. The monster turns out to be the Ghostly Trio, who had a change of heart. While they hold the door to the Abyss open, Wendy's aunts pull her and Casper out. Both Casper and Wendy are unconscious from being inside the Abyss; but with encouragement and comfort from their guardians, Casper is restored by his uncles, and Wendy is treated by her aunts. After a touching reunion between the witches and an awkward one between the ghosts, the witches thank the Trio for helping them. The Oracle then proclaims that Wendy is the greatest witch because she did something no other witch ever could; she befriended a ghost. Later, Casper, his uncles, Wendy, and her aunts, all bid each other goodbye. Before flying back home with her aunts, Wendy gives Casper a goodbye kiss, causing him to blush.

Cast

Main

Live-action

* Cathy Moriarty as Gert *

Shelley Duvall Shelley Alexis Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an American actress and producer who is known for her portrayals of distinct, often eccentric characters. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peab ...

as Gabby *

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

as Fanny * George Hamilton as Desmond Spellman *

Richard Moll Charles Richard Moll (born January 13, 1943) is an American actor. He played the role of Aristotle Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon, a bailiff on the NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' from 1984 to 1992. He has also done extensive work as a voice actor, typica ...

as Jules *

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan sy ...

as Vincent * Pauly Shore as The Oracle *

Blake Foster Blake Anthony Foster (born May 29, 1985) is an American actor and martial artist. History Foster was the ''Huggies'' baby at the age of 16 months in 1986. In 1995, he was one of the stars in the movie '' Above Suspicion'' starring Christoph ...

as Josh Jackman * Logan Robbins as Logan * Michael McDonald as Spike-Stretch * Travis McKenna as Phil-Fatso * Patrick Richwood as Vinne-Stinkie

Voice

Jeremy Foley Jeremy N. Foley (born December 1, 1952) is an American university sports administrator and former college athlete. Foley was an award-winning athletic director for the Florida Gators Division I sports program of the University of Florida locate ...

* Jim Ward as Stretch *

Bill Farmer Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor, comedian and impressionist. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and has also been the voice of Pluto (Disney), Pluto and Horace Horsecollar since ...

as Stinkie * Jess Harnell as Fatso

Supporting

* Rodger Halston as Larry Tullby *

Alan Thicke Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffrey; March 1, 1947December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was b ...

as Baseball Announcer *

Casper Van Dien Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in the 1997 science-fiction action film ''Starship Troopers''. He has also appeared in a large number of television and ...

as Crewcut Hunk *

Billy Burnette Dorsey William Burnette III (born May 8, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was part of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1987 to 1995. Burnette also had a brief career in acting. Family ba ...

as Chef *

Maria Ford Maria Ford (born 1966) is an American film and television actress, model and dancer. Known for her " scream queen" performances in low-budget films of the 1990s, she is one of the main subjects of the 1998 documentary '' Some Nudity Required''.R ...

as Playmate (Fanny) * Jim Jackman as Jerry Jackman * Sheila Travis as Jean Jackman * Clay Crosby as Honeycakes * Tamie Lea Logan as Squeekums (Credited as Tami Logan) * Ramsey Krull as Newsboy * Paul Di Franco as Spectator (Credited as Paul di Franco) * Howie Gold as Agitated Fan * Charles Moore as Amazed Fan * Emily Jennifer Grunfeld as Pretty Fan * Manny Fernandez as Handsome Fan * Michael Spagnoli as Panicked Fan * Jim Wise as Hungry Fan * Ricky Luna as Catcher * John Rizzi as Cubana Boy * Sebastian Hitzig as Desk Clerk *

Patricia Elliott Patricia Elliott (July 21, 1938 – December 20, 2015) was an American theatre, film, soap opera, and television actress. Early life Elliott was born July 21, 1938, in Gunnison, Colorado to Clyde and Lavon (née Gibson) Elliott. She claimed dire ...

as Snotty Woman (Credited as Pat Elliot) * Sue Ellen Enright as Maid * Cecile Krevoy as Snooty Lady *

Rodman Flender Rodman Flender (born June 9, 1962) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. Early life and education Flender was born and raised in a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Enid (née Rodman), a former Broadway dancer, and Harold ...

as Agile Dancer * Michelle Marie as Rockin' Dancer * Lisa Salazar as Smart Dancer * Elizabeth Gage as Swift Dancer * Karen Welch as Spinning Dancer * Rick Dean as Table Occupant * Lacey Taylor Robbins as Kim *

Larry Robbins Larry Robbins (born 1969) is an American hedge fund manager and philanthropist. He is the chief executive of Glenview Capital Management, a hedge fund with approximately $7.7 billion of capital under management as of March 2019. Early life and ...

as Boogie-Lovin' Dude *

Ben Stein Benjamin Jeremy Stein (born November 25, 1944) is an American writer, lawyer, actor, comedian, and commentator on political and economic issues. He began his career as a speechwriter for U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford before ente ...

as Lawyer (Uncredited)

Critical reception

''Casper Meets Wendy'' received mostly negative reviews from critics, with a total of 6 reviews from critics on the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, 17% gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 4.05/10, which gives the film a slight improvement over its predecessor, but still low compared to the 1995 theatrical film.

Soundtrack alteration

In the original airing and VHS release of the film, the Casper theme can be heard in the opening sequence performed by Shana Halligan. In the subsequent DVD releases the lyric is muted though the melody and sound effects remain intact. However, Halligan is still credited with performing the theme song.

Awards and nominations

Despite the film's negative reviews from critics, ''Casper Meets Wendy'' won the Children's Programming - Electronic Visual Effects award. Hilary Duff was nominated for a Young Artist Award.

References

External links

* {{Sean McNamara 1998 films 1998 direct-to-video films 1990s fantasy comedy films 1990s ghost films 20th Century Fox direct-to-video films 20th Century Fox animated films Saban Entertainment films 1990s adventure films American children's fantasy films American comedy horror films American films with live action and animation American fantasy comedy films American ghost films American direct-to-video films American sequel films Brookwell McNamara Entertainment films Casper the Friendly Ghost films Casper the Friendly Ghost Direct-to-video comedy films Direct-to-video fantasy films 1990s English-language films American films about Halloween Films directed by Sean McNamara Films produced by Mike Elliott Live-action films based on comics Live-action films based on animated series Films based on Harvey Comics Films about spirit possession Films about witchcraft Films with screenplays by Jymn Magon 1998 comedy films 1998 fantasy films 1990s American films