Blu-ray Review: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

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Nov 24 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

It’s been 35 years since we last saw Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), the goth, angsty teenager with the ability to see ghosts, who was nearly forced to marry trickster demon Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) so that he could make his way back into the real world. Now Lydia has an angsty teen of her own, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), and hosts her own reality TV series Ghost House, where she communes with the dead that are “living” in haunted homes. She lost her husband in an accident several years earlier, but for some reason this is the one ghost she’s never been able to make contact with. Lydia has been dating her ambitious producer, Rory (Justin Theroux), and while she doesn’t have the best relationship with her own daughter, things between Lydia and her tortured artist stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) have definitely improved over the decades.

In the Afterlife, Beetlejuice has been assigned a position in the boiler room, working alongside shrunken head Bob and a dozen other shrinkers. He’s up to his usual trouble-making when he learns that his literal soul-sucking ex Delores (Monica Bellucci) has returned and is hunting him down. He figures that if he can get married first, there’s nothing Dolores can do, so he once again pursues Lydia. Meanwhile, former actor-turned-1970s hardboiled Afterlife vice cop Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe) is on the case, following the trail of dead dead bodies Delores has been leaving in her wake.

Meanwhile, after the sudden passing of Delia’s husband, Charles, the three generations of Deetz women reunite and return home to Winter River for the funeral. Recently, Lydia has been haunted by visions of Beetljuice. She isn’t sure why he has returned, but is eager for these visions to go away. But after a portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened, she finds herself having to deal with his antics (and desire to marry her) all over again.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice does an excellent job of recapturing the fun, look, feel and spirit of the original film, but in a way that doesn’t just feel like a needless retread. It also gives us a chance to see these characters grow and evolve…well, all except Beetlejuice, who’s exactly the same as he has always been. It may have been 35 years since the last film, but Michael Keaton hasn’t missed a beat, bringing back that same disgusting ghost with the most we all loved from the first movie. It’s amazing how he is able to step right back into this character, with the crazy deep voice, unique walk, and offensive antics. It was also nice to see the filmmakers not try to tone him down or reinvent the character to appease some of today’s more easily offended audience members. This is the same Beetlejuice from 1988, and he’s still hilarious.

The rest of the cast is also great. It is so much fun to see Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder back in these roles, and especially how their characters’ relationship has evolved. Jenna Ortega is also a nice addition. While Astrid is a lot like teenage Lydia from the first film, there are also enough differences to make this character feel unique. Justin Theroux gives this fun smarmy undertone to Rory that you know something isn’t quite right, Willem Dafoe is so campy (in a good way) as this actor deep into his role as a vice cop, Monica Bellucci is deliciously evil as Delores, and Burn Gorman is underrated as Father Damien, the priest who gets sucked into all of this. The film also features a fun cameo by Danny DeVito.

If I had one disappointment, it was how briefly Adam & Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin & Geena Davis’s characters from the original film) are explained away in just one line. I was actually really surprised by how they handled the character of Charles. It was pretty much guaranteed that actor Jeffrey Jones would not be reprising his role after becoming a registered sex offender a while back. I expected his character to also just be silently written off, but Charles plays a surprisingly large role in this sequel, with his demise recreated in fun stopmotion animation that looks like Jones. I also appreciated the way they handled the Charles and Delia relationship, which seemed to be much more loving this time around than in the first film. All that said, my absolute favorite character had to be Bob, who always stole the scenes he was in, often without saying a word. He and the other shrinkers were a really fun Minion-like addition to this sequel.

The Afterlife looks very much the same as it did 35 years ago, with a very Tim Burton aesthetic. We also see a whole new array of people who died bizarre deaths waiting to get checked in. The sandworm is back, but the effects look so much better now and blend in more naturally—that sandowrm scene is the one sequence that really doesn’t hold up when re-watching the original movie today. In fact, nearly all of the sequel’s effects are done practically, which adds this unique charm to the film.

It’s hard to follow up such an iconic movie as the first Beetlejuice, but this sequel comes very close, not only injecting lots of fun and nostalgic references and callbacks to the first film, but also finding several ways to add more creativity and uniqueness into the sequel. These range from a fun black and white Italian horror movie style flashback to the 1300s to see how Beetlejuice became who he is, to a couple of entertaining musical sequences, including an over-the-top 7+ minute scene set to Richard Harris’ version of “MacArthur Park”, which is the sequel’s attempt to recreate the magic of that iconic “Day-O” sequence from the original movie.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has released Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on 4K UHD, Blu-rau, DVD and Digital. We were sent the Blu-ray version for review. The picture quality looks excellent on the Blu-ray, from the brighter exterior scenes, to the darker nighttime scenes, to the colorful oddness of the Afterlife, everything looks amazing, and is captured with an excellent level of detail. All of the practical effects also blend in seamlessly with the rest of the action and make this bizarre world really come to life. The film’s audio track is also impressive, making excellent use of the surround and stereo channels to provide an immersive experience. The film’s iconic score also sounds great, and this time around the soundtrack makes use of a lot of 60s and 70s music that feel perfect-paired with the scenes.

The Blu-ray release includes just a single Blu-ray disc packaged in a standard HD keepcase, along with an insert providing instructions for redeeming an HD Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. Our review copy did not include a slipcover, so I’m not sure if the retail release does either. The disc contains around 80 minutes of interesting behind-the-scenes bonus material with the cast and crew, as well as a director commentary track.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:44:40)

Blu-ray:

1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible), English Descriptive Audio (US), English Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Digital (code may not be valid after 12/31/2025):

HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:

Audio Commentary by Director Tim Burton (1:44:40)
Director Tim Burton provides an interesting and informative commentary throughout the film. He starts off talking about the film’s title, why it was the right time to make a sequel, how the characters have changed, and more. Over the course of the commentary, he shares lots of behind-the-scenes stories about the production, talks about the filming process, the cast, and more.
The Juice is Loose! The Making of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (27:37)
The cast and crew discuss revisiting these characters after 30 years, how the sequel finally came about, keeping digital effects to a minimum, the sets, the look of the film, filming the Italian horror film flashback, the dance/musical sequences, returning to the original filming location in Vermont, building the house, the ticking clock of the pending SAG strikes, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Tim Burton, producer Tommy Harper, writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, director of photography Haris Zambarloukos, production designer Mark Scruton, editor Jay Prychidny, choreographer Corey Baker, set designer David Morison, co-producer Natalie Testa, East Corinth, VT residents Sarah Poll, David Parent, and stars Michael Keaton (“Beetlejuice”), Winona Ryder (“Lydia”), Catherine O’Hara (“Delia”), Jenna Ortega (“Astrid”), Justin Theroux (“Rory”), Monica Bellucci (“Delores”), Willem Dafoe (“Wolf Jackson”), Santiago Cabrera (“Richard”) & Burn Gorman (“Father Damien”).
The Ghost with the Most: Beetlejuice Returns! (8:34)
The cast and crew talk about discovering the character of Beetlejuice, revisiting the character after 35 years and recreating the look, working with Michael Keaton, and more. Includes archival interviews’, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Tim Burton, producer Tommy Harper, hair and makeup designer Christine Blundell, costume designer Colleen Atwood, and stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Justin Theroux, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Monica Bellucci & Willem Dafoe.
Meet the Deetz (6:52)
The cast and crew talk about the dynamic between the three generations of Deetz women, working with the actresses, how 35 years have changed the characters, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer Tommy Harper, writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, director Tim Burton, and stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton & Justin Theroux.
Shrinkers, Shrinkers Everywhere! (6:26)
A look at expanding the shrunken head guy from the first film, bringing in Bob and a whole lot of other shrinkers, utilizing practical effects to give each of the shrinkers a unique personality, and the challenges in bringing them to life. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with creature effects creative supervisor Neal Scanlan, producer Tommy Harper, writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, director Tim Burton, key prosthetics artist Jennifer Kewley, fabrication supervisor Fiona Barnes, costume designer Colleen Atwood, and stars Michael Keaton, Justin Theroux, Winona Ryder & Nick Kellington (“Bob”).
An Animated Afterlife: The Stop-Motion Art of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (9:14)
The filmmakers discuss the use of stop motion animation in the film, the process of creating sequences such as the plane crash and the sandworms, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Tim Burton, producer Tommy Harper, stop motion supervising producer Ian Mackinnon, stop motion producer Glenn Holberton, animation supervisor Chris Tichborne, animator Andy Biddle, stop motion cinematographer Malcolm Hadley, sculptor Beth Jupe, lead painter Paul Davies, workshop supervisor Kevin Scillitoe, and animators Fabrice Pieton & Anna Pearson.
Handbook for the Recently Deceased (12:07)
The cast and crew talk about creating the new Afterlife characters for the sequel, their unique deaths/backstories, the Delores reassemble scene, baby Beetlejuice, using practical effects, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, concept artwork, and interviews with director Tim Burton, producer Tommy Harper, creature effects creative supervisor Neal Scanlan, costume designer Colleen Atwood, hair and makeup designer Christine Blundell, key prosthetics artist Jennifer Kewley, fabrication supervisor Fiona Barnes, and stars Willem Dafoe, Danny DeVito (“Dead Janitor”) & Monica Bellucci.
‘Til Death Do Us Park: Beetlejuice and Lydia’s First Dance (7:54)
The cast and crew talk about filming the bonkers musical “MacArthur Park” wedding scene reminiscent of the first film’s “Day-O” sequence, using the Richard Harris version of the song, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Tim Burton, producer Tommy Harper, writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, director of photography Haris Zambarloukos, choreographer Corey Baker, editor Jay Prychidny, and stars Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Willem Dafoe, Burn Gorman, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux & Monica Bellucci.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a thoroughly-entertaining sequel that manages to re-capture the same look and feel of the original film, while also expanding the story and characters. Michael Keaton feels like he never stopped playing the role, and is just as hilarious as ever. The rest of the cast is also great and work well as an ensemble. Warner Bros’ Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing and includes a solid selection of bonus material. Fans of the original Beetlejuice will definitely want to check out this sequel, and fans of this film should be pleased with the disc’s presentation and contents.