Just before summer ends, the friendliest ghost can possess your Ultra-HD Blu-ray player with a special 30th Anniversary physical media release that is sure to have fans asking, “Can I keep you?” Blu-ray.com is revealing that Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is set to commemorate the occasion with an all-new 4K remaster of the Brad Silberling adaptation of the original Harvey Comics character. 1995’s Casper starred Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle.
The description reads,
“‘Ghost therapist’ Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) and his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) arrive at drafty, old Whipstaff Manor. Its greedy owner, Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty), has hired Dr. Harvey to exorcise the house’s apparitions: a friendly but lonely young ghost named Casper, who’s just looking for a friend, and his outrageous uncles Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso (The Ghostly Trio). If the plan works, she and Dibs (Eric Idle), her partner-in-slime, can get their hands on the manor’s fabled treasure. Meanwhile, Casper has found a kindred spirit in Kat, but The Ghostly Trio will not tolerate “fleshies” in their house. With hilarious antics and dazzling special effects from many of the creators of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Jurassic Park, Casper is a mile-a-minute adventure comedy for the whole family.”
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- 4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY COMBO PACK
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
- Audio Commentary with Director Brian Silberling
- Revealing Casper
- Deleted Scene
- Original Theatrical Shorts
- Feature Commentary with Director Brad Silberling
- “Penguin for Your Thoughts” Cartoon Classic
- Deleted Scenes
- Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature
The character was featured in 55 theatrical cartoons made between 1945 and 1959. The character has been featured in comic books published by Harvey Comics since 1952, and Harvey purchased the character outright in 1959. Casper became one of Harvey’s most popular characters, headlining dozens of comic book titles.
Just a few years ago, it was reported that a new live-action series about Casper was in development at the Peacock streaming service. It was to be from writer/executive producer Kai Yu Wu, with UCP and DreamWorks Animation co-producing, this take on the Casper concept was described as being “a horror/adventure show” that was going to “reimagine the origin of Casper in a coming-of-age story that explores what it means to be alive. When a new family arrives in the small town of Eternal Falls, Casper finds himself entangled in a mystery uncovering dark secrets that have been buried for over 100 years.” The project is seemingly still in development and there hasn’t been much news since the announcement.
