Summary
The originalBeetlejuicewas released in 1988 as a horror comedy. It has since gone on to become a cult classic that mostTim Burton fans love. It got a cartoon adaptation in 1989, which is probably how most 90s kids got to know Lydia Deetz, Beetlejuice, and tons of other characters. There were also plenty of video game adaptations too.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceis finally here to give those late 80s and 90s fans some good old-fashioned nostalgia. It has plenty of callbacks to the original movie and maybe even some cartoon nods too. Let’s get to the best ones with spoilers in effect.
8The Model Town
Look Out For The Maitlands
The original Beetlejuice opens with a great theme song composed by Danny Elfman. Elfman composesmost Tim Burton moviesandBeetlejuice Beetlejuiceis no exception. The credits roll through a model town just like in the original movie showcasing the Deetz’s old home, the red-covered bridge, the church, and so on.
Eagle-eyed fans will also notice a new addition to the town model, Adam and Barbara Maitland who are stranded by the river after their car kills them. While the characters don’t appear as flesh in the movie, these figures are a nice callback to their accident in Beetlejuice.
7Singing Banana Boat (Day-O) At The Funeral
How Long Did It Take Those Kids To Learn That?
One of the most iconic scenes in the original movie has the Maitland’s haunt a dinner party thrown by the Deetz’s. They force them to sing and perform the song Banana Boat (Day-O) by Harry Belafonte. A lot of Harry Belafonte’s music can be heard in the background of the original film and this specific song is inBeetlejuice Beetlejuicetoo.
It’s the one the choir children are singing at Charles’ funeral. It’s also the song in the initial teaser trailer for the movie, seemingly giving away this Easter Egg early but it still feels impactful in the final product as an all-time classic banger.
6Delores Is Teased In The Original Movie
Beetlejuice’s Origins Are Dived Into
During the wedding scene with Lydia in the original movie, Beetlejuice steps aside from the priest to mumble himself. He alludes to the fact that he promised to only get married once which could be interpreted that he has married before. When he gives Lydia the ring, it’s attached to a finger.
InBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, his ex-wife Delores was torn into pieces and boxed up. She had to staple herself together, including her fingers, when she got found. This could be a case of retconning with the original movie to make Beetlejuice have a wife or it could beTim Burton making good on a characterelement decades later.
5Charles’ Fascination With Birds
And Tim Burton’s Fascination With Animation
Jeffrey Jones is not in the movie reprising his role as Charles Deetz. The reasons are a bit hairy, but to the point of the movie, there are two callbacks involving his character. First, there is a small scene establishing Charles as a bird watcher in the original movie and this is partly why he died inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice.
He was on his way to an island to look at rare birds when his plane crashed followed by Charles getting eaten by a shark. This backstory is told through an animated sequence akin toThe Nightmare Before Christmas, which Tim Burton also worked on.
4The Handbook For The Recently Deceased
It Returns To Cause Trouble
When Adam and Barbara die in the original movie, they findThe Handbook for the Recently Deceasedin their home. This is when they realize they passed away. It’s filled with knowledge that they need to learn to cope with death and small snippets are shared in the movie.
It returns inBeetlejuice Beetlejuicewhen Astrid finds it in Jeremy’s room, a boy she meets in town. At first, he plays it off like he found it at some kitschy bookstore but eventually, he comes clean and reveals heis a ghost. Not a good ghost either as he uses the book’s knowledge to try and steal Astrid’s soul to save his own.
3Beetlejuice’s Scare
It’s Not A Figment
Adam and Barbara are not happy that the Deetz family moved into their home while they were still haunting it. They try many times to scare them away but to no avail. That’s when they get desperate and call Beetlejuice’s name three times. When they ask for proof that he is scary enough to make the Deetz’s go away, the camera shows a behind-the-head angle with a bunch of snakes popping out of Beetlejuice’s sides.
It’s never revealed what it looks like but this same angle is used on Lydia and Rory. Rory thinks Beetlejuice is a figment of his imagination which prompts this action and line from Beetlejuice. “Does this look like a figment of your imagination?”
2Beetlejuice Gets The One F-Bomb Again
Nice Model Dostoevsky
Movie fans will know that most PGand PG-13 moviesare given a leash so that they can say the F-Bomb once in a film. InBeetlejuice, the titular character gets to say, “Nice F***ing model!” about Adam’s model tree falling over easily. Beetlejuice gets the one F-Bomb again in the sequel.
When Jeremy thinks he is about to win by getting his passport for Astrid’s soul, Beetlejuice reveals himself. He stamps the passport, but it’s basically a banishment to hell instead and he says, “In the words of Dostoevsky, later f***er.” This is a reference to Jeremy readingCrime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky earlier in the movie.
1The Wedding: Another Callback To Banana Boat (Day-O)
Imagine A More Elaborate Dance Number
While Harry Belafonte’s songs are not as prominent throughoutBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, there is one more callback to the dinner scene from the original movie. Once again, Beetlejuice is trying to marry Lydia.
During the wedding, a big dance number begins wherein Beetlejuice puppets everyone there into singing “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris and it’s a lot more elaborate too since the song is quite lengthy. Nerdy fans may recognize that singer as also an actorwho played Dumbledorein the first twoHarry Pottermovies among hundreds of other roles throughout his time.
