Casper's Scare School (2006)

 Spoiler Warning!!

 Facts

Casper's Scare School premiered on Cartoon Network on October 20th, 2006. A television show of the same name was produced in 2009, using the same characters and sets. 

The plot follows a young ghost named Casper who is friends with a "fleshie". The King of the Underworld sends Casper to Scare School to teach him how to scare humans. The Valley of the Shadows is the worst place to end up for a monster, and Casper is on the cusp of being sent there. While at Scare School, Casper makes friends with other monsters and becomes the target of bullying by a vampire named Thatch. 

As Casper takes lessons at Scare School, he is unable to fulfill his duty of scaring humans while Thatch and his gang try to sabotage him. After failing his classes, Casper goes to the Valley of the Shadows on his own. Meeting a long-lost family member, Casper learns that monsters can go without scaring humans. The headmaster's hatches a plan to get rid of the King of the Underworld. Casper's uncles find out about the plot and help Casper save the world. In the end, the King of the Underworld permits Casper to be friends with humans sometimes. 

The movie is based on Casper the Friendly Ghost, a character who first appeared in film, television, and comic books in 1945. Casper was created by either Seymour Reit (1918-2001) or Joe Oriolo (1913-1985). The two argued about who the rightful owner was, and in 1945, Oriolo sold the rights to Casper to Paramount for $175. Reit never received any money for the concept, and Oriolo received only the original payment, with no additional compensation for future appearances. 

Kapow Pictures (1997-) is a Sydney-based animation studio that held the rights to the concept of this movie and worked with Alligator Planet (2003-) and Classic Media (2000-2012) on its development. Mark Gravas was brought on as director; a somewhat unknown director whose other works include Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie (2005) and Mariah Carey: Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (2005).

The writers included Kirk DeMicco (The Croods, 2013), Bob Mittenthal (Welcome Freshman, 1991-1994), Andrew Nicholls, and Darrell Vickers (The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1986-1992). Together, they wrote the script for Casper's Scare School. 3D animation ended up being the direction they chose, using a style that Kapow Pictures is known for. 

Tim Pyman took charge as the art director. He is known for his work on The Lego Movie (2014) and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010). Pyman took creative lead over director Mark Gravas, Steve Moltzen (Guess How Much I Love You: The Adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare, 2012-2015), and Prasad Posam (Nimona, 2023). 

Much of the art was created with classic monsters in mind, such as ghosts, vampires, zombies, mummies, and even a version of Frankenstein's monster. The animation department, which did most of the work based on the creative leading teams' work in Australia and the United States, was in India. 

Devon Werkheiser did the voice acting for Casper, making it the first time a teenage voice was used for the character instead of an older one. Werkheiser is best known for playing the main character Ned in Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004-2007). Other notable voice actors involved in Casper's Scare School are John DiMaggio as Stinkie/Frankengymteacher (The Loud House, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Futurama), Billy West as Fatso/Figurehead (Futurama, Space Jam, Cats & Dogs), and Dan Castellaneta as Stretch ( The Simpsons, Hey, Arnold!, Cow and Chicken).

Little information about the release analysis is available online, but the movie was released on DVD after its original October 2006 release. Cartoon Network showed Casper's Scare School every October after its release until the younger generations lost interest in the dated 3D models and older IP.

Reviews of the year Casper's Scare School aired on Cartoon Network were a mixed bag. Some found the style a mix of Tim Burton's style and the more recent wave of Halloween-themed 3D media from the 2000s. The storytelling is one of the main weaknesses, followed closely by the humor and animation. Although the cast was stacked for the time, the delivery can be cheesy and overdone, given the intense art style. 

My Opinion 

Casper's Scare School was released the year I was born, so any discourse or praise for the movie was missed as I learned to walk and talk. As a young child, I do remember enjoying this movie and watching it every October on Cartoon Network. The humor was surprisingly what made me appreciate the film more, even though it can be cringeworthy now. 

The 3D modeling of all the characters was decent for the time, but there were obvious issues for a casual viewer in 2006. Character design, as it relates to the 3D models, can get muddy with the gothic colors they choose. In the Scare School, there are good sets and decent shading. However, in the human world, the sets become barren wastelands with zero shadows. 

The songs written for this movie were surprisingly catchy and memorable. I will be rating the songs out of ten. 

"Why Does Love Make Me Feel So Good? (The Ankle Song)" Written by Magnus Fiennes and Gary Go 4/10

"World Without Fear" Written by Magnus Fiennes and Gary Go 3/10

"Casper the Friendly Ghost" Written by Magnus Fiennes and Gary Go 6/10

"The Scare School Song" Written by Magnus Fiennes, William Smith, Andrew Nicholls, and Darrell Vickers 2/10

Monsters calling humans "Fleshies" was uncomfortable. I do think the awkwardness of the title was supposed to be cringeworthy humor, and monsters being so wrong about human anatomy is most likely supposed to be a finger pointed at racism, perhaps. Mantha, a zombie, is a joke about being a hippie or, more likely, about fighting for rights as a young person. Her lines about equality when it comes to Zombies can be out of touch and a little on the nose. Ra, a mummy, is also a white little boy with no accent, no cultural thought, and possibly trying to dress urban? I do find the headmaster calling their uncle/aunt "ankle" funny. 

As a child, I remember wanting to go to Scare School, although I have no idea where I got that idea from. I also recall wishing the Caspers' uncles were my family, that I lived in their old house, and scaring people. The fact that Casper sometimes has these stupid little legs and sometimes has the classic trail-off is so strange. I always did think he was a little annoying, and his friend Jimmy is super ugly. 

This was my gateway drug to Ruby Gloom, so this made-for-television movie will always have a place in my heart. I remember watching it on my tablet over and over throughout the year, taking an interest in classic monsters and gothic designs. 

While there are definitely things about Casper's Scare School that do not age well, it is the last movie using Casper that had a lasting impact on my generation. Friendship, staying kind, and keeping it real are essential aspects of this movie, and while the delivery isn't the best, it taught me these lessons as a young child. 

I hope you can relate

-Dorin