Adam and Barbara are a normal couple...who happen to be dead. They have given their precious time to decorate their house and make it their own, but unfortunately a family is moving in, and not quietly. Adam and Barbara try to scare them out, but end up becoming the main attraction to the money making family. They call upon Beetlejuice to help, but Beetlejuice has more in mind than just helping.Written by
ahmetkozan
The 10th biggest grossing film of 1988. See more »
Goofs
At the school Lydia is going to, the school uniform was solid black skirts, based on all the other girls outfits. Only Lydia's is a black and white pattern. See more »
Quotes
Lydia:
[Lydia hears wild moaning through the wall and assumes it's her stepmother Delia]
God, how can you stand that woman...
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Crazy Credits
When the Geffen logo appears right after the end credits, it's a darker gray color See more »
Alternate Versions
A workprint of the film surfaced with some added/alternate scenes. This version of the film runs around 2 minutes shorter than the theater release, has a few extra scenes and is missing some others, is in black and white, and has a time-code on the bottom.
This version has 4 major differences:
Alternate scene:
The scene were Adam attempts to leave the house after him and his wife die is different. Instead of a desert he sees empty darkness filled with rolling cogs.
Extra Scenes:
There is an added scene were Lydia is developing the pictures she took of Adam and Barbra. Then after her mother yells at her and blames her for cutting holes in her sheets Lydia runs upstairs and tries to convince her dad the pictures are real.
There is more to the scene where the adults search the attic for the ghosts were we see the desert monster trying to eat Adam and Barbra as they hang from the attic window.
Finally there is an extra 2 minute scene at the end were we see Lydia riding her bike home from school and her parents talking to Jane on the phone telling her they do not want to sell the house.
Lydia's dancing scene is shorter in this version, and there is no scene with Beetlejuice in the waiting room. The film ends with a final exterior shot of the house. See more »
This movie always was: 1 - very popular; 2 - very different; 3 - very entertaining; 4 - a very fast-moving hour-and-a-half of a film.
Several characters in here - mainly Michael Keaton's unique and sometimes- revolting title character "Beetlejuice"- are always fascinating to watch. With him - and the whole movie - you also get a lot of humor and scary special-effects..
It was odd to see Alec Baldwin in such a low-key role. In the '90s, he played very few of these type of guys. Davis looks and acts like...well, Davis, who has almost always played nice, cute people that viewers like. It took me four viewings before I finally appreciated Catharine O'Hara's comedic talents in this movie. Now, she's my favorite and someone I find absolutely hilarious as the messed-up wife/mother of a family who moves into a "haunted house" inhabited by Baldwin and Davis.
Keaton made himself a name as an actor with this whacked-out Robin Williams-type role, although he never really followed up with anything that was as popular as this film. Winona Rider is cute as the teenage daughter and we get other fun supporting roles from diverse people as talk show host Dick Cavett, singer Robert Goulet and actor Jeffrey Jones. All of them are good.
Tim Burton directed the film and so I wasn't surprised there were the typical occult themes with ghosts and the like, and no heaven or hell but some other strange existence being touted where dead people go....a ridiculous picture of the afterlife. However, I just chalk it up to someone just trying to make a fun, entertaining picture and on that, it succeeds.
Overall, a unique and entertaining film. It's different, to say the least!
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This movie always was: 1 - very popular; 2 - very different; 3 - very entertaining; 4 - a very fast-moving hour-and-a-half of a film.
Several characters in here - mainly Michael Keaton's unique and sometimes- revolting title character "Beetlejuice"- are always fascinating to watch. With him - and the whole movie - you also get a lot of humor and scary special-effects..
It was odd to see Alec Baldwin in such a low-key role. In the '90s, he played very few of these type of guys. Davis looks and acts like...well, Davis, who has almost always played nice, cute people that viewers like. It took me four viewings before I finally appreciated Catharine O'Hara's comedic talents in this movie. Now, she's my favorite and someone I find absolutely hilarious as the messed-up wife/mother of a family who moves into a "haunted house" inhabited by Baldwin and Davis.
Keaton made himself a name as an actor with this whacked-out Robin Williams-type role, although he never really followed up with anything that was as popular as this film. Winona Rider is cute as the teenage daughter and we get other fun supporting roles from diverse people as talk show host Dick Cavett, singer Robert Goulet and actor Jeffrey Jones. All of them are good.
Tim Burton directed the film and so I wasn't surprised there were the typical occult themes with ghosts and the like, and no heaven or hell but some other strange existence being touted where dead people go....a ridiculous picture of the afterlife. However, I just chalk it up to someone just trying to make a fun, entertaining picture and on that, it succeeds.
Overall, a unique and entertaining film. It's different, to say the least!