: (James Horner) Extraordinarily sappy in its
dramatization of the story of Casper the Friendly Ghost, the Steven
Spielberg and Universal Studios production of 1995's
was a
pleasant if not somewhat mindless exhibition for the talents of
Industrial Light & Magic. A supernatural psychiatrist and his daughter
inhabit a haunted mansion in Maine by the employment of a wicked woman
who inherited the mansion and wants its mostly not-so-friendly ghosts
exorcized. In the process of getting to know the ghosts of the mansion,
the psychiatrist's daughter befriends Casper, who was a boy about her
age when he died roughly a hundred years prior. The comedy provided by
Casper's three mischievous uncles is balanced by the sorrow of Casper's
desire to be a boy again, and with the help of the ghost of the girl's
own dead mother, the boy's wish is granted for a short time. Among the
highlights of
are four or five truly notable cameo
appearances by famous actors, including a reportedly official extension
of the cannon for the
concept in one extermination
scene involving Dan Aykroyd. The career of composer James Horner
experienced a renaissance in the year's time between late 1994 and 1995,
and it was during this period that the composer largely bid farewell to
the children's film genre for more than a dozen years. Because of the
overwhelming popularity of Horner's work for
) has floated off to
relative obscurity. Horner was regarded as a leading veteran of the
children's genre at the time, scoring most of Spielberg's animated and
live action productions that were meant to compete with Disney in the
early 1990's. Significant connections exist throughout many of these
scores, and most of their more orchestrally robust structures can be
traced back to
in 1988. The same is true of
a dozen years later
rather than for its own connections to previous Horner scores.
Casper does benefit from two deviations from the
normal equation for Horner's children's scores; first, the composer uses
a comical set of themes and rhythms that pushes the work towards the
boundaries of animated parody writing, and secondly, he wrote one
spectacular lullaby for
Casper that would be rearranged, as
mentioned previously, for use in
The Spiderwick Chronicles. In
both of these somewhat unique characteristics,
Casper is the
closest Horner came to emulating the comical spirit and supernatural
beauty offered by Danny Elfman during the same era. The early cues march
through Horner's wilder thematic ideas for
Casper, emphasizing
the motifs that deal with jazzy comedy, goofy action, and silly
character sketches. Due to the narrative movement of the film, these
ideas do not receive lengthy treatment until the more cohesive
suite-like presentation in the "End Credits." A theme for the evil
homeowners attempting to drive out the ghosts is summarized in "Carrigan
& Digs." It's a harpsichord and saxophone dance with a pompous rhythm
for their bumbling buffoonery, punctuated by a notable theremin
throwback motif for an old-style haunted mansion. The sax in this cue
draws the easiest connection to Elfman's work, and this idea is extended
into the even more flamboyant "March of the Exorcists." The suspense and
action cues offer other specialty performances and continued Elfman
references. The jaunty rhythms of "First Haunting" are pulled from the
opening of
Beetlejuice, though the latter half of the cue, "The
Swordfight" mocks Erich Wolfgang Korngold action from long before. The
later action cues are more conventional entries in Horner's typical
sound, though the infusion of the material for Casper and, more broadly,
the concepts of death and despair, are what elevate the score to a far
more memorable status. First introduced in fragments of its secondary
piano interlude in "No Sign of Ghosts" and "Casper Makes Breakfast," the
idea's primary phrase is finally expressed more freely in "Fatso as
Amelia." This main phrase highlights the gorgeous lighthouse sequence in
the film, where the melancholy theme formally rolls from its general
conveyance of loss with full strings and light choir to Casper's
personal interlude on solo piano.
The main phrase of Casper's lullaby is a direct
holdover from
The Land Before Time, the quiet, somber, and
surprisingly simple tone anchored by poignant piano performances that
expand in scope throughout the film as Casper's relationship with the
daughter grows and their shared sadness becomes more evident. The
secondary piano interlude in this theme is the heart-stealer, and Horner
seemingly intentionally applies its repeating phrases with different
forms of tonal resolution depending on Casper's hopefulness at the
moment; typically, the interlude simply repeats itself twice in
identical form, but at 2:25 into "No Sign of Ghosts" and 0:55 into
"Casper Gets His Wish," Horner more elegantly resolves the second phrase
to spectacular effect. (Interestingly, neither suite presentation of the
idea applies this final chord shift in the interlude, instead
concentrating on ethereal counterpoint for choir on top of the
identically repeating phrases.) Still, both the primary phrase and
interlude of this main theme are crushingly romantic and longing, really
deserving a film better than
Casper, but they play an important
role in the film nonetheless. Various woodwinds and Horner's sweepingly
majestic choir offer several full performances of this theme in the
concert arrangement recorded strictly for the album ("Casper's Lullaby")
and as Casper's wish to be alive again comes true in "Casper Gets His
Wish" and "One Last Wish," the latter duo maturing the idea into an even
fuller orchestral and choral presence. Note that the interlude is
performed by piano when Casper is a ghost but is provided a fully
orchestral representation only when he is human again in "Casper Gets
His Wish." For these haunting moments alone, the score is worth its
price on album. The theme receives a more upbeat series of variations in
"Fond Memories," though its sorrowful form sends off the "End Credits"
with taste. Aside from the gorgeous lullaby, little remains in this
score that is particularly interesting or unique aside from its
competent execution. A somewhat Americana theme for the psychiatrist and
daughter's move into the mansion in "On to Whipstaff" is fleeting but
reprised nicely near the start of the end credits. The comedy mould is
somewhat different for Horner in
Casper, but much of it sounds
too intent on mirroring Elfman to be taken seriously, especially in
early scenes.
The jazzy material dedicated to the three supporting
ghosts in
Casper, highlighted in "No Sign of Ghosts" and "Descent
to Lazarus," will attract some listeners, as will a rambling creativity
in the percussion section that foreshadowed some of the ambitious
rhythmic usage in
Bicentennial Man during the latter cue. Though
refreshing in their application to this film, these sequences aren't
particularly listenable outside of context, including the extremely
obnoxious "The Uncles Swing" at the finale of the film. While the more
dramatic parts of the work definitely reference
The Land Before
Time, the lack of resounding power from the previous score can be
heard in the Los Angeles performers' less robust recording stature. The
transformation of the villains' two themes into awe and mystery in
"Carrigan Crosses Over" is a bit underpowered, for instance. After his
initial recordings, Horner was asked to interpolate the original "Casper
the Friendly Ghost" television theme into the score's opening cue, damn
near ruining it, and prepare other drop-in-ready fragments of that idea.
The 1995 Universal album for
Casper was of considerable length,
with well over an hour of Horner's score interrupted by only two
original songs utilized in the film. Of the two songs, the soft rock
piece used for the pivotal party scene at the end of the story is quite
decent. It's easy to understand the appearance of Little Richard's
performance of "Casper the Friendly Ghost," too, but tolerating it for
any length of time is another story. A 2020 limited, 2-CD set of
Casper from La-La Land Records offers several significant new
cues in its expansion, including multiple notable performances of the
lullaby at its best; for enthusiasts of this theme, "Fatso as Amelia"
and especially "Casper Gets His Wish" are the main new attraction. While
not significantly lengthened, the film version of the score is a
superior presentation to Horner's original album, which is included as
well on the second disc. Both options are remastered, seemingly pushing
the music further to the forefront of the soundscape. The bonus teaser
music for the film by Horner is fascinatingly distinct from his final
themes but suffers from poorer sound quality. The television theme
additions are also included on the 2020 product. In the end, however,
the score's redeeming element exists in "Casper's Lullaby" and its
twenty minutes of variants throughout the work. Its heartbreaking melody
will charm itself to a permanent spot in your collection, even if the
rest of the work is affably forgettable.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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