With the hit 1995 feature, Casper, came a renewed interest in the friendliest ghost around.  The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper, otherwise known as Casper, set itself up on the Saturday cartoon line-up and spun-off from the feature film.  While it had some of the same elements of their original Casper the Friendly Ghost, and none of the ill-fated Casper and the Angels, it broke apart from other versions, as the story played out more like a sitcom, with zippy one-liners and pop culture references, much like the 1995 film.  Turns out, the formula worked, and it debuted as a top-rated kids program.

Kat Harvey, the human teenager who befriended Casper, and the daughter of ‘ghost therapist’ Dr. James Harvey, played a big part in the series, which would run for nearly 2 years on FOX.  The show brought together the typical teen and pre-teen style of humor along with the friendly adventures associated with the shy Casper.

The series helped set up the success of a few direct-to-video sequels, including Casper: A Spirited Beginning, the supposed prequel to Casper; Casper Meets Wendy, which introduces Wendy the Good Witch, and was future teen idol Hillary Duff’s first major role; Casper’s Haunted Christmas, the theme of which should be somewhat obvious; and Casper’s Scare School, in which Casper has been enrolled into a Scare School to learn how to be scary.