Beetlejuice's Move to Animated Television

Witness The Con-Artist Zombie's Success on the Small Screen

Oct 30, 2009 Heather Ashley

Loosely based on the 1988 film, the animated Beetlejuice series is miles ahead of many of the cartoons on television today.

Premiering in 1989, Tim Burton's hit movie Beetlejuice was turned into a kid-friendly series that aired on ABC and Fox until 1991. It was short-lived, but it was known for its clever, offbeat humor and funny characters.

Although several ideas were changed from the movie, the animated series still contained some essences of what made the film great.

The town's name was changed from Winter River to Peaceful Pines; the ghosts of the previous owners of the Deetz house, Adam and Barbara Maitland, were nowhere to be found; and Beetlejuice was not a complete lust-obsessed scam artist!

In fact, he and residential goth girl Lydia Deetz were actually best friends in this series (unlike the movie, where Beetlejuice only lusted after Lydia and, in turn, she just seemed disgusted by him).

Once she and her family settled in the New England area, Lydia was sent to Ms. Shannon's School for Girls, where she had to wear a plaid school uniform and try to fit in with the other girls.

However, she had some difficulty finding her place in the real world considering the fact that she was interested in anything creepy or weird, unlike her classmates.

This was the very reason she called her friend Beetlejuice, an undead prankster who had the ability to take Lydia to the Neitherworld, a warped underworld where they often had crazy or downright dangerous adventures together.

Beetlejuice is a Funny Cartoon

For a show that was released in the 1980s, Beetlejuice is actually well-animated. There aren't nearly as many laughably stupid errors like heads disappearing or more than two arms being present on a character because the animators took enough time and effort to make sure the art was top-notch.

Characters lips move in synch with the words they utter and their movements are smooth and lively. Colors are often rich, usually with cool blues, violets, blacks and more against the backgrounds.

The character of Beetlejuice himself is mostly the same as in the movie, if not a bit toned down to make him more kid-friendly. Instead of behaving like a lustful sleaze-ball, he is more of a sly jokester who will do anything to pull a well-constructed prank.

Dare it be said, the animated version of this character is actually more likeable than the Michael Keaton-based movie version. Deep down, he actually has a good heart and will do anything it takes to protect his best friend, something that would most likely never happen with the movie Beetlejuice.

The score is brilliant for a cartoon. Danny Elfman and Ray Parker Jr. reworked the main theme from the film, placing it into the background during the well-animated opening scene, making it sound nearly as good as the original.

Even the voice work is pleasing to the ears, especially since the characters sound nearly identical to their movie counterparts, an impressive feat since the voice actors are completely different from the movie's actors.

There are plenty of comical nods and real-world references that usually break the fourth wall, a great example being the jack hammer that is a Jack Nicholson look-alike in episode 4.

The writers have created a clever script, which usually consists of witty and literal puns (like Beetlejuice turning into various things or acting out in certain ways, such as when his head pops off as he says that he "screamed his head off").

All of the more mature sexual humor from the movie has been zapped out of the cartoon, but this is understandable since Beetlejuice is a children's show, thus it must be adjusted to fit the target audience.

This Decently-Made Animated Series Doesn't Have Many Problems

Several of the plots are contrived and clichéd at times. The usual scenarios exist, such as someone needing to help a friend win a contest and even a Wild West episode (every series has to have one, of course).

Gross-out humor is also present at times, although it isn't done so much to where it feels forced and overdone. It's just more like a small nuisance instead of a huge problem.

Perhaps the most glaring issue has to do with the supporting characters. They're honestly just not that imaginative or interesting, especially because of the fact that Ginger the Tap-Dancing Spider is so much of a crybaby that it's a bit annoying sometimes.

The two main characters are likeable and structured well, but everyone else seems rather flat and boring.

It may not be anything like the movie, but Beetlejuice has much to offer to people of different age ranges. It's good, wholesome fun that parents can watch with their kids, something that the animation industry desperately needs in this new generation.

Rating: 4/5

The copyright of the article Beetlejuice's Move to Animated Television in Animated Films is owned by Heather Ashley. Permission to republish Beetlejuice's Move to Animated Television in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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