WTF Happened to Beetlejuice?

With Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice 2 finally being confirmed yesterday, with a September 2024 release date set by Warner Bros, now’s the perfect time to revisit the 1988 classic that made Burton and his star, Michael Keaton, household names. The film is about an obnoxious “bio-exorcist” named Beetlejuice, hired by a ghostly couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) to rid their home of its new human owners, it was such a phenomenon that the studio trusted the director to take on Batman as his next movie. They even let him cast Beetlejuice himself, Michael Keaton, as the Caped Crusader, in what was seen as the most against-type casting of its era.

In this episode of WTF Happened to Beetlejuice, we track the film’s journey to the small screen and how this bizarre movie became a comedy classic that’s stood the test of time. We examine how Keaton and his co-stars Winona Ryder and Geena Davis became megastars following the film’s success, with Alec Baldwin and Catherine O’Hara also getting notable early roles. We also take a look at how Danny Elfman’s score added to the film’s vibe, with it notably making the late Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) and Jump in the Line (Shake Señora) massive hits decades after they original came out.

This episode of WTF Happened to this Movie is written and narrated by Mathew Plale and edited by Ric Solomon. Are you excited for Beetlejuice 2? Let us know in the comments!

#Beetlejuice #WTFHappenedToThisMovie #MichaelKeaton

[trinaq]

Michael Keaton has only seventeen minutes of screentime in this movie, yet he absolutely makes the most of them.

[wstine]

This is a childhood favorite of mine. The undead makeup effects, the stop-motion animation, and the characters were great.

[wstine]

Poor Lydia Deetz. Trapped in the house with that creepy and Beetlejuice.

[kaw]

Beetlejuice is a legendary example of how to create a memorable character.

[chasehedges]

Still a Tim Burton classic and one of his absolute best

[CaptainCat]

This is definitely my type of movie: something that doesn't really make sense, but is just so much fun

[smcveen]

I remember seeing this when I was a kid. What a fantastic flick to watch and still holds up to this day.

[mmclaurin]

It's so funny that Winona Ryder was hoping being in a movie would help her be popular in high school. Knowing 2 years later she would be dating Johnny Depp and be followed by paparazzi 24/7.

[trinaq]

I love the theme of Found Family in this movie. Adam and Barbara weren't able to have biological children, but they bond with Lydia, and she perceives them as surrogate parents.

[easeone]

this film is still in my top 5 of all time. absolute classic film.

[jamesmorant]

Michael Keaton playing Batman in the Flash and playing Beetlejuice again next year so cool

[ogami]

One fall day in 1988, i skipped school and went back home, stole some pot from my dad and watched the movies we had recently rented: Beetlejuice and Evil Dead 2. It was an incredible day.

[christopherwaldrop]

Beetlejuice was so brilliant but I just can't imagine a sequel without Otho. I was lucky enough to meet Glenn Shadix. Super nice guy, so unlike his screen persona.

[grapeshot]

I love it when he's goes to say Beetlejuice and his lower jaw falls off.

[timerowco]

I've seen the Exorcist about 167 times, and it keeps getting funnier, every time I see it.

[jeremysiron]

I watched this movie so much as a kid throughout the late 80s and early 90s that it is burned into my brain…my mom actually taped it when it was on TV onto VHS and she did it like a pro, stopped taping when the commercials started, continued taping when the commercials ended…, I had the old school copy of Beetlejuice on that black spine tape….edited by my mother, thank you mom I love you…. I’m not gonna lie some of the images in the movie messed with me when I was a kid, like when the old lady is smoking and it’s coming out a hole in her throat, and I smoke now! You think after watching that scene over and over as a kid I would never smoke

[thegood]

Got to meet Glenn Shaddux before his passing. His role in this movie cannot be over valued.

[Omar-wqdz]

Still 1 of the best Tim Burton movies ever

[FNHot]

As a kid, I didnt know this movie existed, but I loved the cartoon. When I found out "They made a movie of the cartoon!" I had to rent it. It was nothing like the cartoon, but I loved it. Same goes for Ghostbusters.

[amiejohnston]

When I first saw a preview to this film back in the 80’s I was like, “Nope.” Then my mom had rented it from our local video store because the owner said it was great. We ended up watching it that night and after that I completely changed my mind. It wasn’t what I had expected and it became one of my favorite movies. So every time I hear “Day-O” I think of Beetlejuice. 😁