Casper vs. Thackery Binx: Let's End This Ghastly Debate Once and For All

The ghosts of Casper and Hocus Pocus, respectively played by Devon Sawa and Sean Murray, became unexpected heartthrobs of the '90s. But which one haunts supreme?

By Tierney Bricker Oct 30, 2022 12:00 PMTags
Watch: Devon Sawa REACTS to Christina Ricci's Casper Critique

Chocolate or vanilla? Dogs or cats? Casper or Thackery?

OK, so that last one might not be as universal a question when it comesto defining a person, but for young people who came of age in the '90s, it's arguably one of the most important. Casper (Devon Sawa) and Thackery Binx (Sean Murray), the respective ghosts from 1995's Casper and 1993's Hocus Pocus, became two of the most unexpected heartthrobs of the decade and their allure continues to haunt us all these years later.

Over the years, there's been countless headlines about Thackery being a "colonial crush," millennials dissecting that a ghost cat literally led to their sexual awakening, while Casper gave them unrealistic expectations for every corporeal boy they would date throughout their formative years. 

Seeing as how Halloween was the day both Casper and Thackery briefly appeared in their swoonworthy human forms, we decided to pit them against one another to finally end the debate. Welcome to Confusing and Weird Halloween Teen Crushes Thunderdome, let's officially meet our competitors:

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The Basics:

Universal Pictures

Casper McFadden
Age: 12 (died of pneumonia)
Height: Around 2 feet
Weight: 0 lbs
Hometown: Friendship, Maine
Box Office: $287.9 million worldwide

Thackery Binx
Age: Likely 16 (then lived 300 years as an immortal cat)
Height: Approximately 18 inches
Weight: Approximately 10 lbs
Hometown: Salem, Mass.
Box Office: $39.5 million

Universal Pictures, Disney

Now, let's compare their stats when it comes to their respective performances:

The Voice: Ironically enough, both human actors who portrayed the respective ghostly heartthrobs did not voice their respective characters, even when they briefly appeared in human form. 

American voice actor Malachi Pearson provided the vocal chords for Casper, something Sawa once poked fun at on Twitter when someone posted a photo of the Casper DVD and tagged him in it. 

"I'm not the voice even in the the 30 seconds I'm in it," he wrote. "Can't take credit for anything. Please untag me."

Instagram

Thackery, meanwhile, was voiced by Boy Meets world actor Jason Marsden, who originally auditioned for tie-dye enthusiast Max Dennison (Omri Katz). Now here's where it gets a little weird: After being called back to read for Thackery, Marsden landed the role...sort of. While Murray had been cast as Binx, the filmmakers wanted Marsden to voice the character, meaning Marsden (who was also friends with Murray!) had to dub the lines for both the cat and human forms of the character. 

However, Marsden revealed Murray's voice was initially used, saying in a 2019 interview with The Daily Beast, "They were using him first and animating his performance. It's absolutely no detriment to Sean, who's a friend and fantastic actor. It's one of those things that happen in movies all the time. Movies are shot, written, go into production, and then take on a voice of their own. Sean has a very contemporary sound."

Murray wasn't too bothered by the decision, telling Bustle in 2018, "They originally wanted a sort of California vibe with the voice, and then at some point thought [they] should do it Olde English. I'm not a voice actor; I couldn't do an English accent, I'd never been trained to do that, and I was young."

Winner: Draw. 

The Kiss: So this one really isn't fair, as Thackery's is just a sweet cheek peck he gives Dani (Thora Birch) after he is finally able to cross over as a human. (Let's not even discuss the years of therapy that girl probably went through after her first love was an immortal cat.) It's very touching, but she's 8 years old, ya know?

Universal Pictures

Casper, however, is a different story. From the moment he walked down those stairs, it was on like Donkey Kong. Casper and Kat's slow dance at the Halloween dance was literally a middle school girl's DREAM. And their kiss as they levitated helped many a fan cross over into not-a-girl-not-yet-a-woman territory. It also helped that Sawa and Ricci, who had worked together (and kissed) on 1994's Now & Then had chemistry to rival the greats!

Even more haunting? They almost chose to end the movie without showing Casper in human form. THOSE FOOLS. 

"It was crazy, because they didn't know whether that was going to be the ending or not," Sawa told The A.V. Club in 2012. "I think [executive producer] Steven Spielberg decided in the last couple of weeks of shooting to shoot an alternate ending of Casper coming back as a real boy. And then they went with that ending."

Can you imagine all of the sexual awakenings that would've been stalled—possibly forever—had they not gone with that endings?

Winner: Casper.

Iconic Line: Casper's "Can I keep you?" vs. Thackery's "I shall always be with you"?

Winner: Casper. 

Sense of Style: Listen, both boys were straight up livin' for that loose white blouse look, so...

Winner: Draw.

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You Have to See Devon Sawa's Sweet Message to Casper Co-Star Christina Ricci

The Legacy: Alright, this is tough, because you need to separate the characters from the movies' legacies. While both Casper and Hocus Pocus have endured as Halloween classics and two of the season's most beloved (and played) films, Hocus Pocus' legend has only grown with time, turning into a cult classic that wasn't fully appreciated when it was released in July 1993.

Freeform always kicks off its iconic 31 Days of Halloween programming with Hocus Pocus, and will literally play it for 24 hours straight on Halloween. Plus, its long-awaited sequel finally premiered on Sept. 30 and quickly set a steaming record for Disney+. So, when it comes to his movie's legacy, the winner is Thackery.

However, when it comes to character legacy, Casper has the advantage, as the character spawned a few direct-to-film sequels, video games and a hit animated series. Thackery, meanwhile, has endured more as a confusing object of our adolescent affection and some people still think his name is Zackary.

Winner: Casper. 

Jim Smeal/Shutterstock, MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Now let's look at the actors' relationships with their respective characters decades later. 

Aside from Casper, Sawa's turns in Little Giants, Now & Then and Wild America made the Canadian a full-blown teen idol, with his image serving as wallpaper in many bedrooms in the '90s.

"There was a point where Jonathan [Taylor Thomas] and I were in London, and we shared a limo," Sawa told The A.V. Club. "It was, like, [we were] The Beatles! They were chasing our car and smacking the windows, and that's when I finally realized that, 'Holy s--t, this is getting crazy.'"

Also, Sawa, now 44 and a father of two, is down for a sequel! (He also loves to poke fun at his teen heartthrob past and has an ongoing faux-feud on social media with Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin.)

Murray's time as Thackery didn't lead to him taking over the pages of Tiger Beat or J-14, but he continued to work, making appearances on TV series like ER, Touched By an Angel and starring in TV movies, before landing a role on NCIS in 2003. That's right, Binx got that CBS procedural money as NCIS is still on the air today and is one of TV's most successful drama series ever.

Though he doesn't talk about his experience working on Hocus Pocus much, Murray, also 44 and a father of two, opened up about playing one pf pop culture's most beloved cats in an interview with Bustle in 2018.

"I consider myself very fortunate to be a part of that," he said. "It was a really good time and I learned a lot. I'll always remember it fondly."

And on the 25th anniversary of the movie's release, Murray acknowledged the milestone on Instagram (though he did not appear during Freeform's Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash TV special).

Winner: Casper. 

ULTIMATE WINNER: It was a close call, but Casper ultimately takes the crown in this ghastly (and probably slightly inappropriate) debate, not like he could wear it though. 

(Originally published on Thursday, Oct. 31 2019, at 1:00 p.m. PT)

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