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Dear Fans:

Hi, this is Casper! I would like to thank everyone who has supported me over the last few years. The amount of fan mail has been enormous! Your thoughts, letters, cards and emails have been most gracious and welcome. Friends will always be the most important thing in life. Or, in my case, the afterlife.

As you've undoubtedly read in the tabloids, the last few years have been a trying time for me. Like many celebrities - Madonna, Oprah, J.Lo, Snoopy - I, too, thought that fame, money and a hit movie would bring me happiness. It did not. The many friends I once thought that I could count on suddenly disappeared after the grosses died down. Then Spielberg relegated my sequels to the direct-to-video section at Blockbuster and the money dried up. Wendy left me, and a future doing infomercials, Best Buy in-store appearances and "Fright Fest" at Six Flags seemed inevitable and bleak. And, as I discovered despite all of the fame and adulation, finding a date is hard when you are an anatomically-incorrect blob of protoplasm. It has only been the love and support of you, the fans, that has carried me through.

So, I just wanted to let you all know that I've emerged on the other side a stronger, smarter, more well-adjusted ghost. My well-publicized stint in rehab was a struggle, but I've quickly developed a strong support team. Winona has been a constant companion, as have Corey Feldman and E.T., who is still my AA sponsor. My battle with the bottle will forever be a day-to-day challenge - I've had to accept the fact that I am an addict and with it comes taking responsibility for my own actions. And I have just three words for you kids when it comes to heroin: don't do it!

But with my dark days behind me, now is truly a time for celebration. I am glad that after so many years of anticipation, fan petitions and protests, my movie is finally making its long-awaited debut on DVD. Watching it again brings back a flood of memories and a flood of tears. I am also very grateful to once again be receiving residual checks. (Go out and buy this DVD today!) And for all of you who have been so supportive of my planned bid to run for Governor of California, I can only thank you from the bottom of my invisible heart. But, alas, the law forbids the undead from running for state office. Who ever said being a ghost was easy?

So let me just leave you with a great, big, squishy hug of love and affection. I'm back, I'm clean and I'm still the friendliest ghost you'll ever meet. And, finally, I realize that that is enough.

Love, Casper

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Casper's back, and isn't he cute? Universal Studios Home Video has released two versions of his hit flick on DVD, a dreaded 4:3 full frame version and this rather nice 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Ol' Casper may have dated a bit but he still looks nice and colorful. The source print is in fine shape with only the occasional blemish and some grain to distract. Colors are vivid and generally clean, although fleshtones have a slightly bluish cast in some sequences, and occasionally oranges and reds veer towards oversaturation. The film is often dark which can obscure detail, giving the film a sharp but still slightly ill-defined look. Shadow delineation is acceptable given the dark overcast. Edge enhancement is not really a problem, but there are instances of compression artifacting on solid backgrounds and transitions. Still, not too shabby.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Even better than the transfer is the soundtrack. On the widescreen version only, Universal has included both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround tracks and they are winners. The DTS track - still considered one of the best laserdisc soundtracks ever - really shines. What an aggressive mix! The various ghost effects fill the room, with expert uses of discrete sounds and even vocal effects. Frequency response is generally excellent and the surprisingly robust .1 LFE just sweetens the deal. However, I'm not quite as sold on the soundtrack as some others: it occasionally feels spotty, and the schmaltzy if charming score feels a bit front heavy. Still, if you go with the DTS, you'll find this to be one super-spooky, super-cool soundtrack.

Subtitles are available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, along with English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

At long last, Universal Studios Home Video has dusted off the special edition of Casper, which was originally produced for laserdisc. These extras simply disappeared into the afterlife, rescued here almost half a decade later. While these supplements now seem a tad dated, I guess better late than never?

First up is the screen-specific audio commentary with Brad Siberling. This is one of those cases where all I can say is that he is a Really Nice Guy. It is your typical, straightforward commentary that covers all the bases: pre-production, casting, the effects, editing and post. The only problem is that Casper as a film just isn't that exciting. About the only real drama to be had was Siberling's own introduction to the project, which was as a last- minute replacement after the previous director bowed out. Otherwise, nothing here will surprise, but Casper fanatics should still give it a listen. Pretty sweet, perfectly ordinary.

Next up is Revealing Casper, a 47-minute full screen documentary that, to be fair, has been spruced up a bit in the intervening years with a few new interviews. A good half of the material are either old EPK behind-the-scenes stuff or from the original doc, including Steven Spielberg, Christina Ricci, Eric Idle, Cathy Moriarty, screenwriters Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver and members of the tech crew. However, what appears to be a few newly-produced recollections have been spliced in, at least judging by how much little Malachi Pearson (the voice of Casper) has grown in the intervening years: contributing new stuff are director Brad Siberling and Bill Pullman, director of photography Dean Cundey and the "Ghostly Trio," Joe Nipote, Joe Alaskey and Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett (here filmed on the set of the hit show). This is a pretty good doc, bolstered by the long runtime. It is kinda fun to watch it now, as it appears quaint, like a throwback to the old laserdisc days. But, like the commentary, the only problem is that Casper just wasn't a particularly intriguing production. It was a cute kids movie, everybody got along and it all came out sweet and nice. Kinda boring, huh? (But in a nice touch, Universal has provided optional English, French and Spanish subtitles for the doc.)

Up next is a single deleted scene, "Lucky Enough to Be a Ghost," but like Casper himself, it is not actually really there. Instead we get a quick 4 minutes with Siberling and Pullman discussing what was shot plus some on-set footage, followed by a split-screen comparison of the scene with the original animator's video reference footage. You can watch the comparison with or without commentary by Siberling.

Rounding it out is Casper's Playroom, an area for the little ones. Lots of fun stuff can be had: two interactive games ("Casper's Treasures" and "Spelling Lab"), the original Casper cartoon "Penguin for Your Thoughts" (which has been nicely restored in full screen and 2.0 mono) and a gaggle of Haunted House of Halloween Fun ideas, including recipes, safety tips and more.

Last but not least are some basic cast and crew filmographies, although no trailers or TV spots

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Universal has scared up a few PC extras, too. THe custom interface is simple but cute, with basic DVD controls and the requisite weblinks. However, although additional ROM materials are hawked on the disc's menu, all of the extras - Halloween party tips, recipes and the interactive games - are also available on the DVD-Video portion. Something truly unique would have been welcome.

Parting Thoughts