RJ Writing Ink Talks about the Beetlejuice Cartoon
The 1980s and 90s were a golden age for a particular kind of cartoon: the kind based on popular movies. There was The Mask, RoboCop, Ghostbusters, Bill & Ted, and all the shows based on Disney Renaissance films. If it was a big movie, then someone would try making it into a cartoon…with varying results. Many of them lasted only a short time, often only a year or two. However, that doesn’t make them all bad or a quick cash-grab by default. In fact, one of the better ones happens to be about a character that has recently come back into the limelight with a new film. All you have to do is say his name…Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. BEETLEJUICE!!
Created by Warner Bros. and produced by Nelvana, Geffen, and Tim Burton Inc, the Beetlejuice animated series was Warner’s attempt to capitalize on the massive success of the original film. The fact that it premiered on ABC in 1989, only a year after the film’s release, is a testament to how confident Warner Bros was in its success. And it paid off. The ghost with the most’s cartoon adventures ran for four seasons over two years on ABC and Fox Kids. And with his new film now available on digital, now is the perfect time for people to start remembering this long-lost cartoon.
It does beg the question, though: is the cartoon any good? Yes, yes it is.
Don’t Worry. This Version is Kid-Friendly
Despite being based on the film, first-time viewers should know it’s a loose adaptation in its own separate timeline. The Deetz family and Beetlejuice are the only ones that return, and they each get an overhaul to their personalities and relationships, especially concerning Beetlejuice.
Since it wouldn’t be appropriate to have a cartoon about a character that’s known for being a pervert and generally untrustworthy ghost, Beetlejuice got an overhaul for the cartoon. He’s still gross, lazy, rude, and loves causing chaos and mischief. But whereas his film counterpart was an all-around jerk, toon Beetlejuice doesn’t do anything out of malice. He’s happy simply pranking the denizens of Earth and the Neitherworld and driving them up the wall with his antics. And since he’s basically a cruder version of Genie from Aladdin before that movie was even thing, he’s very good at doing that. The only time he tries to hurt people is if they wrong him, or worse, they try to hurt Lydia.
The Ghost and Lydia Deetz!
Like the ghost with the most, Lydia gets a revamped personality for the cartoon. She’s as into the macabre and strange as she is in the films, but she’s also notably sweeter than she starts out in the original film. The biggest change, though, is her relationship with Beetlejuice. While she would come to hate and fear Beetlejuice in the films (and rightfully so), toon Lydia and BJ are best friends. In fact, Lydia is probably the chaotic ghost’s only friend, as while she thinks he’s funny, most Neitherworld residents hate him.
If you still need to figure it out, the Neitherworld is what the show calls the Underworld in the show. It’s got surreal-looking monsters like the sandworms, talking skeletons, an invisible man, this monster that’s a walking pair of lips, and this commercial announcer made from this super-primitive CGI. The Neitherworld can best be described as what everyone imagines Tim Burton’s imagination would look like if it manifested in the real world.
Tim Burton Helped to Make This Show
Speaking of Tim Burton, he had an active part in developing the series. In addition, Danny Elfman, who already worked on the music for the original film, came back to do the opening theme for the cartoon. Altogether, the Beetlejuice cartoon proved to be a big success for everyone involved.
So why don’t more people remember it?
It’s Time for the Juice to Make a Comeback
As successful as the Beetlejuice cartoon was, it wound up being one of those shows that had a rough time being preserved for future generations. For a long time, Warner Bros only released a handful of episodes on home media like VHS and DVD, and finding legal ways to stream it was all but impossible. For all the praise the film got, it’s cartoon spin-off looked set to become lost media.
Thankfully, Warner Bros had a change of heart in the months leading up to the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Now it’s available for purchase on YouTube, Prime Video and Apple TV. Better still, the entire series can be streamed on Tubi. With the new movie available on demand and set to release on disc in November, and it being spooky season, now’s the perfect time to get into the show. It’s a good watch, and the more attention the ghost with the most gets, the better chance we have of getting another movie.
