Beetlejuice

As a kid, Beetlejuice: The Animated Series was my gateway into the weird and wonderful. I didn't fully grasp the Tim Burton film it was based on, but the cartoon? That was my jam. It was spooky without being scary, funny without being too grown-up, and just the right amount of bizarre to keep my little brain buzzing.

Looking back now, I'd give it a solid 7/10. The show takes the skeletal framework of the movie and spins it into something entirely its own. Beetlejuice is less menacing and more mischievous-a fourth-wall-breaking, pun-slinging ghost with a flair for the theatrical. His friendship with Lydia is oddly wholesome, even if their adventures in the Neitherworld are anything but.

The animation is bold and surreal, with twisted landscapes and grotesque characters that feel like they crawled out of a haunted sketchbook. As a kid, I loved how unpredictable it was-one minute you're in a sandworm-infested desert, the next you're at a monster beauty pageant. It didn't always make sense, but that was part of the fun.

Rewatching it now, I appreciate how clever some of the writing is, even if the humor leans heavily on wordplay and slapstick. It's not deep, but it's inventive. Lydia's goth-girl intellect and Beetlejuice's chaotic energy make for a dynamic duo that somehow works, even when the plot goes off the rails.

It's not for everyone, but if you like your cartoons with a dash of macabre and a whole lot of personality, Beetlejuice delivers. For me, it's a nostalgic ride through the weird side of childhood-one I'm glad I took.

Want to dig into more spooky animated series or explore how cartoons handled the supernatural back in the day? I've got a few eerie picks up my sleeve.

A noticeable difference between the movie and the series is the absence of the house's original owners. But we can ignore that and luxuriate in the sheer weirdness that "Beetlejuice" celebrates. I always got the feeling that BJ was the only person who truly understood Lydia; her emotionally vacant dad and empty-headed stepmother never pay attention to anything, so it makes sense that Lydia befriends BJ.

Anyway, it's always fun to see BJ's and Lydia's adventures in the domain of everything that's creepy, gross, and otherwise undesirable. And you gotta love the references to pop culture, although the tykes won't get those.

Lots of fun.

This show is largely responsible for making me the twisted person I am today. Where to begin? First off, don't expect a whole lot of resemblance to the movie. A few elements carried over, like the Sandworms, but there are no Maitlands, Lydia is much younger, and Beetlejuice has been rewritten from a sleaze-ball into...well, okay, he's still a sleaze-ball, but a LOVABLE sleaze-ball. He is Lydia's best friend (though how they met is never explained) and in addition to being able to summon him by saying his name three times, she can also send herself into his world, the Neitherworld, which introduces us to new characters such as Jacques the fitness-crazed skeleton, Ginger the tap-dancing spider, and the Monster Across the Street. Of course the real reason to watch the show is Beetlejuice himself.

The quality of the animation itself is superb, especially considering that this was a late eighties/early nineties cartoon. Compare the quality of the animation to other Saturday morning shows at the time and you'll see that this was top-notch. Heck, they even made use of CGI years before it became commonplace. The writing, too, has held up surprisingly well over the years. True, the show relies a lot on puns and sight gags, so if you don't like that sort of thing, this isn't for you. But they also happen to be GOOD puns and sight gags.

All in all, it's definitely more than a worthy successor to the movie. Why hasn't it been released on DVD yet??

I remember when i was little i used to watch this show all the time, and from what i can remember of it It was a great show. Taking after the great movie. I mean most of the time when you make shows after movies they suck but this show was really great!

As is the case with many cartoons, many of the jokes are not for children. I found the animated series highly entertaining. Silly and gross are the norm. Fast paced jokes keep coming. I liked the character of Beetlejuice in the cartoons better than in the movie. I did not particularly love the movie but, the cartoon is very funny. I love the way they draw Lyds. Enjoy.