Casper the Friendly Ghost: He Ain't Scary, He's Our Brother (1979 TV Movie) User Reviews

Some Ghosts Enjoy Trick-or-Treating Too

[BabelAlexandria · 7/10 · 16 October 2021]

My kids and I weren't familiar with Casper but got our hands on this Halloween special and it was an entertaining 25 minutes. As you might expect from a Halloween's children's tv special, the ghosts are tricksters rather than horrific and violent. It also offers an interesting window on late-70s American culture: Casper joins a group of friendly, courageous orphan trick-or-treaters, for whom Halloween is presented as an opportunity to enjoy treats otherwise unavailable to them (not just candy, we are told, but caramel apples). The bad ghosts cruelly make it seem as though they are damaging wealthy people's houses (including a mansion), unjustly getting them in trouble, until Casper convinces Harry Scarry and his companions to right their wrongs. In the end, order is restored, and everyone is happy, including Casper, who is presented as the most lonely and vulnerable of all.

This was hard to watch, even though the animation was alright

[jadelikesfilm · 4/10 · 28 September 2022]

The agonizing A-plot centers around a bunch of adults bullying a child. The depressing B-plot revolves around a group of poor orphans who couldn't afford real costumes, so most people won't give them candy. It's awesome. Once the plots cross over, the special really gets more interesting, but it becomes intensely more depressing for this group of impoverished children.

Honestly though, I don't know how these kids are ever going to get adopted. Who buys their kids used? They're not like a Nintendo game, this isn't GameStop.

For a 70s Hanna-Barbera thing made for the TV, it looks stellar. There's a really gross, almost body-horror bit of animation where a cat almost falls off a broomstick. Its arms stretch really long, on a disgusting way, and I hate it.

The special does get a bit less sad near the end. It never really becomes happy, even if the orphans eventually do get costumes. This all just made me so sad. It was very Halloween-y though, and it definitely made me feel "the Halloween spirit".