A Halloween classic, “Beetlejuice” was first released on March 30, 1988, and was considered a box office success. The success inspired an animated series in 1989, which consisted of four seasons and a rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes
After it attained its cult classic status, it was almost a guarantee for the film to receive a sequel, and in February 2022, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was announced.
Fans of the original — myself included — rejoiced that cast members of the original film would be appearing in the sequel to reprise their iconic roles. This included Michael Keaton as the titular character himself, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz.
Some new but recognizable faces were also added to the cast such as rising actress Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Willem Dafoe as B-list actor Wolf Jackson.
In the sequel, the characters kept their original charm. The actors’ chemistry with one another felt as if there was not a 36-year gap between movies, which was nice to see.
While some may find Lydia’s goth and rebellious character in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” contradictory to her original self, this Lydia is a matured character with a daughter who is giving her the same grief that she gave to her own family when she was Astrid’s age.
Winona Ryder’s on-screen and off-screen relationship with Jenna Ortega was endearing to watch and translated well throughout the film.
“The way Winona and I got along was quite weird. It was like we were reading each other’s minds a little bit,” Jenna Ortega said in an interview with The New York Times. Winona Ryder also agreed with that sentiment.
“I don’t think I’ve ever bonded with someone like I did with Jenna. It was Insane,” Ryder said during an interview with ScreenRant.
The plot itself took a little bit to get into, once the ball gets rolling it picks up the pace quite well. Some might say that the side plots like Beetlejuice’s ex wife Delores coming back to hunt Beetlejuice was unnecessary, and I would have to agree.
However, I also think it added a bit more excitement to the story. She adds ergency as to why Beetlejuice wants to return to the live world. I also think she was just a great character to add for complexity of how the afterlife is.
These characters have done things in the past that have caught up to them and while some of them were never shown on-screen, we still see the repercussions. The chaos adds another layer of amusement.
Astrid’s romantic side plot truly made it seem like an 80s movie with the semi-cheesiness to it but considering the original is an 80s movie, it fit right in.
Overall, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was a well-made sequel with enough balance between original cult classic and modern film to be entertaining to both new and older audiences who grew up only with the original.. There are of course some flaws—but it was everything it was supposed to be.
