The first “Beetlejuice,” directed by Tim Burton, is a hilarious film known for its memorable special effects. Its sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” is an equally enjoyable take on the first movie but loses some of the charm of the original.
The original “Beetlejuice” movie, which came out in 1988, follows the story of a recently deceased couple that encounters problems when an artistic family moves in. The daughter of the family, Lydia Deetz, is able to see the ghosts and gets to know them while the couple makes attempts to scare her family away. Throughout the movie a demon known as Betelgeuse tries to disrupt the family through any means necessary.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” follows Lydia Deetz’s daughter, Astrid Deetz, as she’s brought back to the home in the original film. Astrid does not believe in spirits, unlike her mom who has made a living off of her paranormal encounters, until she encounters one face-to-face.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” starts off by using a lot of CGI, which makes the film look tacky. One of the main reasons the original movie stays a classic is due to the special effects that give it its character.
However, the plot of the movie continues to get better, and special effects end up getting used more often than CGI. A noticeable similarity between the first and second movie is the screen time of Betelgeuse, with both films averaging only about 17 minutes throughout the whole movie. This keeps the film similar to the classic, and doesn’t overdo Betelgeuse’s character.
While most sequel movies that have come out recently have made little effort and are simply made as cash grabs, with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” it’s obvious to the audience that a lot of thought and energy was put into its production. No parts of this film were boring, nor was the movie hard to follow. It flowed well and is worth watching.
One of the downsides of this film was how watered-down the jokes became. Betelgeuse became more of a ‘good-guy’ and his character was a lot more helpful and appropriate compared to the first movie. In this rendition, Betelgeuse doesn’t even seem like the personality the first film is known for. I understand the point of having this movie be family friendly but it gives an entirely different vibe than the first movie, which I don’t think most audiences will enjoy.
Even though there’s a couple downsides to this film, I would rewatch this movie. Though the CGI can be a bit much at times, and the obvious capitalizing off of the Betelgeuse character is annoying, the plot is interesting. The few twists in the film keep you invested and the use of the original cast makes the movie nostalgic. I recommend seeing this movie.
