Casper Meets Wendy is a 1998 direct-to-video fantasy family comedy film based on the Harvey Comics cartoon characters Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch. The film is a sequel to Casper: A Spirited Beginning while it being the second prequel/spin-offs to the 1995 film Casper. Haim Saban, best known for creating the Power Rangers, serves as an executive producer for this movie, and his production company, Saban Entertainment, was also involved. This was the first major film for Hilary Duff, who was nearly 11 years old when the film was released by 20th Century Fox on September 22, 1998. It then aired on October 27, 1998, four days before Halloween, on Fox Family Channel.
Synopsis[]
A mysterious "spaceship" floats over a baseball game eventually revealing Fatso, Stinky and Stretch, The Ghostly Trio, who cause panic in the ballpark. Their nephew Casper, a shy, friendly ghost attempts to settle the agitated crowd, but are just as scared of him. The park empties, and Casper's uncles plan a vacation.
Meanwhile, an malefic warlock named Desmond Spellman who believes himself the greatest warlock to have existed gets an unwelcome messaged by the Oracle in the Mirror who tells him that in the future, a child Wendy the Good Little Witch will surpass him in being the greatest witch ever. In response, Desmond plans to get rid of her with the advised "Mystic Abyss". He creates two henchmen: Jules and Vincent, and assigns them to bring Wendy to him where she is living in the country with her three witch aunts Gert, Gabby and Fanny.
Jules and Vincent arrive to abduct Wendy, who narrowly escapes with her aunts. To keep Wendy safe from Desmond her aunts hide and vacation at a resort hotel which happens to be the same place in which Casper and his uncles are vacationing.
Casper and Wendy meet in a barn and, due to their nice personalities and having been bossed around by their respective relatives, they become great friends. Unfortunately, her aunts and his uncles might not get along because ghosts and witches are natural enemies. However, they are certain they'd get along if they only got to know each other. Casper tricks the Ghostly Trio to break the record for possession so that he can learn how to do it, and they possess three men at the party. Wendy convinces her aunts to go to the party to meet men. Thanks to the two working together, they meet and soon the Trio are flirting with the three witches, posing as regular women.
Though everything goes well at first, with the ghosts and witches unwittingly enjoying each other's company and finding that they have a lot in common the plan is spoiled when the possession wears off and the ghosts' real selves are revealed to Wendy's aunts who revealed their real selves as well and threaten them with magic. However, as Wendy explains to Casper, she and her aunts cannot use magic powerful enough to affect ghosts or else Desmond will be able to track them down. She begs Casper not to tell anyone about this. Unfortunately, when the Trio suspects Casper is protecting the witches, they pressure Casper into blurting out that the witches cannot use their powers, prompting the Trio to attack Wendy and her aunts. Wendy feels she has no choice but to cast a high-level spell on them, covering them in plaster, thus alerting Desmond's magic tracker.
Distraught that Casper broke his promise, Wendy ends their friendship. After trying to escape the resort the witches are then found by Desmond and his henchmen. After confronting the witches Desmond explains the Oracle's prediction and, after trying to resist him, Desmond casts Wendy into the Mystic Abyss to destroy her but Casper dives in to save her. Her aunts try to fight Desmond but are not powerful enough. Yet before Desmond can turn the witches into fertilizer a giant three-eyed monster pops up and frightens the evil warlock turning the tables and along with Wendy's broom pushing him causes him to fall into the Abyss himself. The monster turns out to be the Ghostly Trio who combined their powers to defeat him. While they hold the door to the Abyss open Wendy's aunts pull her and Casper out. Now saved, the two reconcile their friendship. The Oracle proclaims that Wendy is the greatest witch because she did something no other witch ever could; She befriended a ghost. Casper, his uncles, Wendy, and her aunts all bid each other goodbye, and Casper and Wendy assure each other they will meet again soon. Before flying back home with her aunts, Wendy gives Casper a goodbye kiss and his face blushes bright red.
Songs[]
| Title(s) | Performed by |
|---|---|
| "Casper, the Friendly Ghost" | Shana Halligan |
| "Shake It Up" | Cookie Avalon |
|
Paul Gordon |
| "Sweet Princess" | Pep Torres |
| Tchaikovsky's "Romeo & Juliet" | |
| "All to Myself" | Kathy Fisher |
Cast[]
| Actress/actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Cathy Moriarty | Gert |
| Shelley Duvall | Gabby |
| Teri Garr | Fanny |
| George Hamilton | Desmond Spellman |
| Hilary Duff | Wendy |
| Richard Moll | Jules |
| Vincent Schiavelli | Vincent |
| Blake Foster | Josh Jackson |
| Rodger Halston | Larry Tullby |
| Michael James McDonald | Spike-Stretch |
| Travis McKenna | Phil-Fatso |
| Patrick Richwood | Vinne-Stinky |
| Alan Thicke | Baseball Announcer |
| Casper Van Dien | Crewcut Hunk |
| Billy Burnette | Chef |
| Maria Ford | Playmate |
| Jim Jackman | Jerry Jackson |
| Sheila Travis | Jean Jackson |
| Logan Robbins | Logan |
| Clay Crosby | Honeycakes |
| Tami Logan | Squeekums |
| Ramsey Krull | Newsboy |
| Paul di Franco | Spectactor |
| Howie Gold | Agitated Fan |
| Charles Moere | Amused Fan |
| Emily Jennifer Grunfeld | Pretty Fan |
| Manny Fernandez | Handsome Fan |
| Michael Spagnoli | Panicked Fan |
| Jim Wise | Hungry Fan |
| Ricky Luna | Catcher |
| John Rizzi | Cubana Boy |
| Sebastian Hitzig | Desk Clerk |
| Pat Elliott | Snotty Woman |
| Sue Ellen Enright | Maid |
| Cecile Krevoy | Snooty Lady |
| Rodman Flender | Agile Dancer |
| Michelle Marie | Rockin' Dancer |
| Lisa Salazar | Smart Dancer |
| Elizabeth Gage | Swift Dancer |
| Karen Welch | Spinning Dancer |
| Rick Dean | Table Occupant |
| Lacey Taylor Robbins | Kim |
| Larry Robbins | Boogie-Lovin' Dude |
| Pauly Shore | The Oracl |
| Jeremy Foley | Casper |
| James Ward | Stretch |
| Bill Farmer | Stinkie |
| Jess Harnell | Fatso |
| Sten Davis | Singer |
| Uncredited | |
| Claire Andrew | Startled Baby |
| Norm MacDonald | Human Stretch |
| Sean McNamara | Wendy's Broom |
| Hugo Orellana | Baseball Player |
| Lex Robbins | Boy at Pool |
| Joel Ross | Hotel Desk Clerk |
| Ben Stein | Lawyer |