Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One thing I would say about this that I totally hate this movie after seeing it back as a kid, this movie was by far the worst, with a stupid story, forgettable characters including some stars in this stinker including Steve Guttenberg, Lori Loughlin, Michael McKean, Richard Moll, Sherman Hemsley of the Jeffersons, Ben Stein as a Grocer, Edie McClurg as the Libraian, Pauly Shore as the voice of Snivel, James Earl Jones as the voice of Kibosh and of course Rodney Dangerfield as the Mayor of Deedstown, terrible cgi of Casper and the other ghost look like something Pixar was animated at the time back when they did commercials and went on to make Toy Story, but more like something right out a PlayStation 2 game back when the first PlayStation console was around in the mid and late 90s, Saban Entertainment was behind this when they we're the ones that brought us Power Rangers and even Beetleborgs since they're some Beetleborgs stuff in Chris' bedroom including the X-files as well and some of the songs aren't that great though! so instead i'm sticking with the original Casper movie from 1995 which is my Halloween Tradition so far and it isn't over yet when somebody ends up buying a copy of Casper: a spirited beginning either both VHS or DVD and smash it with a Sledge Hammer, just like with George Lucas who would track down bootleg copies of the Star Wars Holiday Special!

Considering this was made AFTER the original Casper, the effects are a lot worse. The acting is diabolical and the story is terrible. The only thing that is any good in this film is James Earl Jones' voice. I do understand that this is SUPPOSED to be a kids movie but for very little kids it might be a little scary and for very big kids, they'll have a field day ripping into this movie. Enough said I think.

This is the kind of attitude the original "Casper" should have had.In "Casper: A Spirited Beginning", the first film is basically forgotten as Casper finds himself thrown off a train headed for ghost-training camp an dlanding in Deedstown, where he manages to scare everybody except a small boy (Barrett)who happens to love ghosts but spends most of his time being bullied by other kids, mentored by a kind-hearted teacher (Loughlin) and trying to get the attention of his workaholic father (Guttenberg).But whereas the first movie's themes were a little too dark for all ages, this one basically touches on topics most kids can understand; being misunderstood, wanting their parents love, getting even with the bullies, making new friends and preserving local history (okay, maybe not ALL kids, but most of them).There are some great effects here, but not as dazzling as the ones in the first "Casper". You can how mechanical the FX make the ghosts move here, especially when they talk. Yet the voices for them are all well-done; Jones, Farmer, Harnell and Ward make the most of their parts as, respectively, Kibosh, the leader of the Ghost World, and the Ghostly Trio. But Pauly Shore is kind of a shock; he's actually a lot less annoying here as the voice of the ghost Snivel. Who would have thought THAT??!They even manage to make a semi-reference to "Mission: Impossible" half-way through. Didn't see that one coming, gotta hand it to them.All in all, a well-made effort that again makes "Casper" attainable for a whole new generation. Eight stars for "Casper: A Spirited Beginning", plus a half-star more for managing to make Pauly Shore tolerable.

This is by far one of the best kiddie movies ever to come out of Hollywood. How can you watch this movie and not fall in love with that adorable little ghost. Anytime CASPER is appearing in a new movie, you will see me first in line to make this little ghost a little richer!