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Movie · Fantasy, Comedy · 1995 · PG

Casper: parents' guide

8+our pick

Best for ages 8 and up. Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements.

A spooky-sweet 90s fantasy that plays like a family comedy, though it is darker and more grown-up than the old cartoon. The friendly ghost is a boy who died young, and the heroine is still grieving her mother, so death and loss run through the whole story. Expect slapstick ghost pranks, a few jump scares, characters who die on screen (bloodlessly) and come back as ghosts, adult smoking and a drunk scene, and language that includes 'bitch' and 'piss off.' Fine for most kids 8 and up who can handle talk about death; grieving or very young children may need a parent close by.

What's in it

Violence

Moderate

Mostly slapstick: ghost uncles toss people around, a man fends them off with a plunger, and a villain tries to run someone down with her car. Characters fall to their deaths without any gore and reappear as ghosts.

Language

Mild

Mild but steady: 'damn,' 'hell,' 'crap,' 'jerk,' and 'Jesus' and 'for Christ's sake' as exclamations, plus 'bitch' and a tween girl telling someone to 'piss off.' The UK board lists 'bitch' as the strongest word.

Sex and nudity

Mild

Light. Casper has a crush on Kat and kisses her on the cheek, adults kiss, a ghost briefly morphs into a curvy woman in a low-cut dress, and ghosts pull a man's pants down for a joke.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Moderate

Adults and the adult ghosts drink and smoke cigars, the main villain smokes cigarettes, and Kat's father gets comically drunk with the ghost uncles one night.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

Haunted-mansion jump scares softened by comedy. The heavier parts are emotional: a dead child's backstory, a girl missing her late mother, and a parent who dies on screen before the story reverses it.

Sensitive topics

  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a child
  • Bullying

Worth talking about

Kat and her father are both stuck on missing her mom. Talk about what helps people move forward after a loss without forgetting the person they lost.

Where to stream →

On our lists

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, bbfc.co.uk, movieguide.org, Wikipedia, screenwiseapp.com. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.