That happy-go-lucky apparition from yesteryear, Casper the friendly ghost, spent most of his years haunting comic books and cartoons. But in 1995, he finally got a shot at a feature film, thanks to the modern marvel of CGI, in Casper, starring alongside Christian Ricci, Cathy Moriarty and Bill Pullman.

There’s a new owner of long-neglected Whipstaff Manor, when Carrigan Critterden (Moriarty) inherits the old mansion from a deceased relative. Unimpressed with her new abode, she intends to have it set afire until her inept accomplice named Dibbs, stumbles upon a map suggesting that the hidden treasure is located within. The only stumbling block to the potential wealth is that the house is reputed to be haunted.

It’s time to bring in a professional, and ghost therapist, Dr. James Harvey (in a nod to Harvey comics) is assigned the task of giving the inhabiting spirits the Dr. Phil treatment and talking them into curtailing their shenanigans. Meanwhile, his teenaged daughter Kat (Ricci) learns that one of the ghostly spirits isn’t scary at all. He’s a friendly ghost of a little boy and doesn’t want to scare anyone. Unfortunately, his uncles - Stretch, Fatso and Stinkie aren’t quite as benevolent a delight in trying to scare the “fleshies” out of the house. Kat is soon forced to decide whether to save her new ghost friend or her father from the sinister spirits and the even more sinister homeowner.

With a handful of celebrity cameo appearances and lot of high-tech computer eye candy for the kids, Casper proved to be a successful film, spawning two direct-to-DVD sequels and a new animated series – and proving that there was still plenty of life (afterlife?) to be found in this spirited friend.