Beetle Juice (1988)

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers:

Michael McDowell (screenplay)
Michael McDowell (story)

Release Date:

30 March 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Say it once... Say it twice... But we dare you to say it THREE TIMES

Plot:

A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a "bio-exorcist" in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Yuppie | Car Crash | Attic | Spiritual Show

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Alec Baldwin	...	Adam Maitland
Geena Davis	...	Barbara Maitland
Annie McEnroe	...	Jane Butterfield
Maurice Page	...	Ernie
Hugo Stanger	...	Old Bill
Michael Keaton	...	Beetlejuice
Rachel Mittelman	...	Little Jane Butterfield
Catherine O'Hara	...	Delia Deetz
J. Jay Saunders	...	Moving Man #1
Mark Ettlinger	...	Moving Man #2
Jeffrey Jones	...	Charles Deetz
Winona Ryder	...	Lydia Deetz
Glenn Shadix	...	Otho
Patrice Martinez	...	Receptionist
Cindy Daly	...	3-Fingered Typist (as Cynthia Daly)

Also Known As:

Beetlejuice (USA) (alternative spelling)
The Maitlands (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Spain:T | Ireland:15 | South Korea:All | France:Unrated | Germany:12 | West Germany:12 (f) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | Israel:PG | New Zealand:PG | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Canada:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Geffen Company, The

Trivia:

As the Geffen logo rolls during the intro, soundtrack composer Danny Elfman is heard singing "Day-o, he say day-ay-ay-o." This was added during post-production and is heard on the released soundtrack.

Goofs:

Continuity: The post in the attic moves between shots (presumably to keep the hinges on the drawn door covered).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Adam: [about a spider on his hand] Now that's a big fella! Whoa!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool (2001)

Soundtrack:

I Dream

Now this is life after death!

You gotta figure that only Tim Burton could come up with this! An ultra-zany story of rural couple Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis), who accidentally get killed and witness a tasteless couple moving into their house, forcing them to hire "bio-exorcist" Beetle Juice (Michael Keaton), is truly something else. With a new joke almost every minute, the movie never gets dull. And how about that soundtrack? "Day-O" in the most morbid comedy ever? Yep, it's all here. Great support from Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones as the tasteless couple, Winona Ryder as their disaffected daughter Lydia, and Sylvia Sidney as afterlife counselor Juno, make this one of the coolest movies of 1988!