Casper: A Spirited Beginning on AllMovie

Billed as a prequel to the 1995 family film Casper, which in turn is based on an enduring Harvey cartoon character "Casper the Friendly Ghost," this direct-to-video entry is aimed at younger kids (though some of the scenes may be inappropriate for really young children). The story begins as Casper, who is new to the ghostly plane, rides a death train towards Ghost Central Station where he is to attend a camp to train him to scare people. Instead, he irritates another passenger and is tossed off the train. The bewildered little spirit lands in Deedstown where he becomes friends with 10-year-old Chris Carson, a troubled boy whose mother is gone and whose work-obsessed father ignores him. Chris sees that Casper is troubled too and so decides to show him how to be a real ghost by taking him to Applegate Manor, the town's haunted house, and introducing him to the riotous Ghostly Trio.