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{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Casper Meets Wendy
| image          = File:Casper Meets Wendy - official poster.jpg
| caption        = VHS cover
| director       = [[Sean McNamara]]
| producer       = [[Mike Elliott (film producer)|Mike Elliott]]
| writer         = [[Jymn Magon]]
| based_on       = {{based on|[[Casper the Friendly Ghost]]|[[Seymour Reit]]<br />[[Joe Oriolo]]}}<br>{{based on|[[Wendy the Good Little Witch]]|Steve Mufatti (artist)}}
| starring       = [[Cathy Moriarty]]<br>[[Shelley Duvall]]<br>[[Teri Garr]]<br>[[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]]<br>[[Hilary Duff]]<br>[[Richard Moll]]<br>[[Vincent Schiavelli]]<br>[[Blake Foster]]<br>Voices:<br>[[Jeremy Foley (actor)|Jeremy Foley]]<br>[[Bill Farmer]]<br>[[Jim Ward (voice actor)|Jim Ward]]<br>[[Jess Harnell]]
| music          = Udi Harpaz
| cinematography = [[Christian Sebaldt]]
| editing        = [[John Gilbert (film editor)|John Gilbert]]
| distributor    = [[20th Century Fox Home Entertainment]]
| studio         = [[The Harvey Entertainment Company]]<br>[[Saban Entertainment]]<br>Brookwell McNamara Entertainment
| released       = {{Film date|1998|09|22}}
| runtime        = 94 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $10 million<ref name="HarveyFoxFamily">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/fox-family-squeezes-club-in-youthful-sked-1117478323/|title=  Fox Family squeezes 'Club' in youthful sked   |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=January 2, 2025|archive-date= |archive-url=}}</ref>
| gross          = 
}}

'''''Casper Meets Wendy''''' is a 1998 American [[Fantasy film|fantasy]] [[comedy film]] based on the [[Harvey Comics]] cartoon characters [[Casper the Friendly Ghost]] and [[Wendy the Good Little Witch]]. The film is a [[standalone sequel]] to ''[[Casper: A Spirited Beginning]]'', and the second [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]]/[[prequel]] of ''[[Casper (film)|Casper]]'' (1995). [[Saban Entertainment]] co-produced the project.

This was [[Hilary Duff]]'s first major film, and was released on September 22, 1998, six days before her 11th birthday. The film also marks the second ''Casper'' film for co-star [[Cathy Moriarty]], who previously starred as the main antagonist in the 1995 film.

The film was met with mostly negative reviews from critics, but was considered an improvement to its predecessor. Its television premiere was October 24, 1999 on [[Television networks preceding ABC Family#Fox Family|Fox Family]].

==Plot==
The [[Ghostly Trio]] cause panic at a baseball game, and their nephew [[Casper the Friendly Ghost|Casper]] fails to settle the terrified crowd. The park empties, and after watching their effect with satisfaction, Casper's uncles plan a vacation.

Meanwhile, a malevolent warlock named Desmond Spellman is told by the Oracle in the Mirror that in the future, a good little witch named [[Wendy the Good Little Witch|Wendy]] will surpass him. Desmond plans to get rid of her with the advised "Mystic Abyss", a dimensional rift that can destroy living beings. He then creates a pair of spies: Jules and Vincent, and assigns them to bring Wendy to him from where she is living in the country with her three mischievous aunts: Gert, Gabby and Fanny.

Jules and Vincent arrive at Wendy's house to escort the young witch to Desmond, but she narrowly escapes with her aunts. To keep Wendy safe from Desmond, her aunts hide and vacation at the same resort hotel in which Casper and his uncles are vacationing. Wendy meets a boy named Josh Jackman and they start to become friends until he shows his true colors by pushing a girl away from her game at the arcade and ignoring Wendy when she tries to talk to him in the middle of the game. Casper and Wendy meet in a barn and become friends, but they fear that their guardians will not get along because ghosts and witches are natural enemies. Casper and Wendy devise a plan to make them meet at a party. Casper gets the Ghostly Trio to possess three men who happen to resemble them. Wendy convinces her aunts to go to the party to meet men. Thanks to their plotting, they meet and soon the Trio are flirting with the three witches, who are posing as regular women.

The plan is spoiled when the possession wears off and the Trio's real selves are revealed to Wendy's aunts, who, in turn, reveal their real selves and threaten them with magic. Wendy explains to Casper that she and her aunts cannot use high-level magic or else Desmond will be able to track them down. When the Trio suspects Casper is protecting the witches, they pressure him into blurting out that the witches cannot use their powers, prompting the Trio to terrorize Wendy and her aunts. Wendy feels she has no choice but to cast a high-level spell to cover the Trio in plaster, alerting Desmond of her location.

Distraught that Casper broke his promise, Wendy ends their friendship. Casper soon confronts his uncles and tells them that Desmond is coming after the witches and they should help, at which the Trio scoff and refuse. Before the witches can evacuate the resort, Desmond and his spies arrive. After finding and confronting the witches, Desmond explains the Oracle's prediction, and after she tries to resist him, summons the Mystic Abyss and casts Wendy into it, with Casper diving inside in an attempt to rescue her. Wendy apologizes to Casper for yelling at him earlier. Her aunts battle Desmond but are no match for him. Before Desmond can turn the witches into fertilizer, a giant three-eyed monster appears and frightens the warlock who trips over Wendy's broom and falls into the Abyss himself. The monster turns out to be the Ghostly Trio, who had a change of heart. While they hold the door to the Abyss open, Wendy's aunts pull her and Casper out.

Both Casper and Wendy are unconscious from being inside the Abyss, but with encouragement and comfort from their guardians, Casper is restored by his uncles, and Wendy is treated by her aunts. After a touching reunion between the witches and an awkward one between the ghosts, the witches thank the Trio for helping them and the Trio admit it was nice getting to know them. Casper and Wendy's friendship is restored. The Oracle then proclaims that Wendy is the greatest witch because she did something no other witch ever could: she befriended a ghost. Later, Casper, his uncles, Wendy, and her aunts, all bid each other goodbye. Before flying back home with her aunts, Wendy gives Casper a goodbye kiss, causing him to blush.

==Cast==
===Main===
====Live-action====
* [[Hilary Duff]] as [[Wendy the Good Little Witch]]
* [[Cathy Moriarty]] as Gert, Wendy's aunt
* [[Shelley Duvall]] as Gabby, Wendy's other aunt
* [[Teri Garr]] as Fanny, Wendy's other aunt
* [[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]] as Desmond Spellman
* [[Richard Moll]] as Jules
* [[Vincent Schiavelli]] as Vincent
* [[Blake Foster]] as Josh Jackman
* Rodger Halston as Larry Tullby
* Logan Robbins as Logan
* [[Michael McDonald (comedian)|Michael James McDonald]] as Spike, the body of Stretch
* Travis McKenna as Phil, the body of Fatso
* Patrick Richwood as Vinne, the body of Stinkie

====Voice====
* [[Jeremy Foley (actor)|Jeremy Foley]] as [[Casper the Friendly Ghost]]
* [[Bill Farmer]] as Stinkie, Casper's uncle and the Ghostly Trio
* [[Jess Harnell]] as Fatso, Casper's other uncle and the Ghostly Trio
* [[Jim Ward (voice actor)|Jim Ward]] as Stretch, Casper's other uncle and the Ghostly Trio

===Supporting===
* [[Pauly Shore]] as The Oracle
* [[Alan Thicke]] as Baseball Announcer
* [[Casper Van Dien]] as Crewcut Hunk
* [[Billy Burnette]] as Chef
* [[Maria Ford]] as Playmate (Fanny)
* [[Jim Wise]] as Hungry Fan
* [[Patricia Elliott]] as Snotty Woman (credited as Pat Elliot)
* [[Rodman Flender]] as Agile Dancer
* [[Elizabeth Gage]] as Swift Dancer
* [[Larry Robbins]] as Boogie-Lovin' Dude
* [[Ben Stein]] as Lawyer (uncredited)

==Critical reception==
''Casper Meets Wendy'' received mostly negative reviews from critics, with a total of 6 reviews from critics on the review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]]. 17% gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 4.10/10, which gives the film a slight improvement over its predecessor, but still low compared to the 1995 theatrical film.<ref name="RottenTomatoes">{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/casper_meets_wendy|title=Casper Meets Wendy |accessdate=July 5, 2020|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref>

Hilary Duff was nominated for a [[Young Artist Award]].<ref name="Young Artist Awards 3">{{cite web|url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms20.htm |title=The 20th Annual Youth in Film Awards |publisher=Young Artist Awards |accessdate=2017-03-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128203408/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms20.htm |archivedate=2016-11-28}}</ref>

==Soundtrack alteration==
In the original airing and VHS release of the film, the Casper theme can be heard in the opening sequence performed by Shana Halligan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Shana Halligan - Casper the Friendly Ghost (with lyric)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuI53sRblW8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ZuI53sRblW8| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|website=You Tube| date=7 September 2012 |accessdate=2 March 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In the subsequent DVD releases the lyric is muted though the melody and sound effects remain intact. Halligan is still credited with performing the theme song.

==See also==

* [[List of ghost films]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* {{IMDb title|0140883}}

{{Casper the Friendly Ghost}}
{{Harvey Comics films}}
{{Sean McNamara}}

[[Category:1998 films]]
[[Category:1998 children's films]]
[[Category:1998 direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:1990s fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s ghost films]]
[[Category:1998 comedy horror films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox animated films]]
[[Category:Saban Entertainment films]]
[[Category:1998 adventure films]]
[[Category:American children's fantasy films]]
[[Category:American comedy horror films]]
[[Category:Halloween comedy films]]
[[Category:American films with live action and animation]]
[[Category:American fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:American ghost films]]
[[Category:American direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:American sequel films]]
[[Category:Brookwell McNamara Entertainment films]]
[[Category:Casper the Friendly Ghost films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video comedy films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video fantasy films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video interquel films]]
[[Category:1998 English-language films]]
[[Category:American films about Halloween]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sean McNamara]]
[[Category:Films produced by Mike Elliott]]
[[Category:Live-action films based on comics]]
[[Category:Live-action films based on animated series]]
[[Category:Films based on Harvey Comics]]
[[Category:Films about spirit possession]]
[[Category:Films about witchcraft]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Jymn Magon]]
[[Category:1998 comedy films]]
[[Category:1998 fantasy films]]
[[Category:1998 American films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy horror films]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language adventure films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Casper Meets Wendy|access_date=2026-02-28}}