#58: What is it that makes something transcend the time in which its created?
At the pressing of these keys, its Halloween Eve. The spooky season is upon us and will reach its zenith tomorrow as day is engulfed by the night. In the weeks leading up to the holiday, our household has been celebrating by watching more light-hearted Halloween movies this year. After all, we have a toddler running around who occasionally glances up at the TV screen.
This morning, my wife and I were chatting about the Halloween-themed movies of our youth, and we both reminisced about 1995’s Casper. Casper is a film dripping with 1990s tween and teenage sensibilities. The story is simple enough: there’s a treasure located in a house haunted by some ghosts, and a “ghost-psychologist” and his daughter (played by Bill Pulman and Christina Ricci respectively) are called in to help the haunters move on. The daughter ends up developing a relationship with the titular character, and the father explores more of an adult-arc of letting go of his wife, who passed on years prior.
There’s a little bit for everyone here, which is something many of these 1990s kid-movies have in common. (Reader, there was no Netflix then, remember? Someone had to take these kids and sit with them in the theater.) Live-action children’s movies like Casper, Hocus Pocus, The Mighty Ducks, Little Giants, and others all share similar DNA in this regard.
About twenty minutes into Casper, a scene plays out that I swear I’ve seen in multiple movies from the time. Christina Ricci’s character Kat and her father just moved into town, and she starts her first day at school. As the bell rings and students take their seats, Kat’s new teacher announces to the class, “Quiet everyone! We have a new student.”
She shyly looks down at her notebook as attention is brought on her.
“Why don’t you come up here and introduce yourself,” the teacher suggest.
As Kat makes her way to the front of the classroom, other students verbally make fun of and bully her all while the teacher silently watches.
Nevertheless, Kat stands in front of the room and introduces herself through all of this. (I’ve been a teacher for almost thirteen years, and I’ve thankfully never seen this happen to a new student.)
Reader, whether you’ve ever watched Casper or not, you’ve seen this scene before. Maybe it’s from one of the movies mentioned earlier, or maybe you saw it in an episode of Boy Meets World or it’s TGI-Friday counterparts.
Earlier in the season, we, like many other cliché millennials, watched the long-awaited to sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus. Hocus Pocus is a story not too dissimilar from Casper. Both take place during Halloween, and both involve teenagers going up against a trio of supernatural specters, and I would even argue that both movies are solid, family-fun entertainment. However, one of them has grown into a cult classic that’s shared and beloved by multiple generations and one has been left behind.
Reader, you already know which one that is.
Since its release in 1993, Hocus Pocus has only grown in popularity. My generation knows it well, but so does the current one. Before the release of Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+ many of my students were excited for it. Even my nieces, both under the age of eleven, willfully watched it. Reader, while I haven’t conducted a survey of this, I’m confident if I questioned them all about this version on Casper, they’ll answer with a resounding, “Huh?”
What is it that makes something transcend the time in which its created? What makes something remembered only by original audience and forgotten by all else? That answer will be different depending on the variables at play. In the case of Hocus Pocus and Casper, I think it’s clear: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy’s performances as the Sanderson sisters leave a lasting impression on all viewers. (Reader, they are that good.) Their lore and history are just as intriguing, and even in, what would be a forgettable sequel, the Sanderson sisters make Hocus Pocus 2 an enjoyable experience, too. Casper just doesn’t have anything close to that.
While this adaptation of everyone’s favorite friendly ghost hasn’t grown to a cult-like status, Casper still has its place. Even if it’s just with me, my wife, and our little family enjoying it on a chilly October morning.
Thanks for reading.