Beetlejuice
Series, 1989, The '80s, Set in The Neitherworld
Beetlejuice is #7 of 22 in release order and #7 of 22 in chronological order in the ABC Saturday Morning Cartoons.
The story
The adventures of preteen goth Lydia Deetz and her undead friend Beetlejuice as they explore The Neitherworld, a wacky afterlife realm inhabited by monsters, ghosts, ghouls and zombies.
Beetlejuice recap
Beetlejuice (1989) turns Tim Burton's ghost comedy into a friendship between the con-man ghost and Lydia Deetz, a goth girl who visits him in the Neitherworld. Burton developed it and served as executive producer with David Geffen; Nelvana animated it in Canada, and Danny Elfman adapted his film theme. It ran on ABC for three seasons from September 9, 1989, to October 26, 1991, and a fourth season of 65 episodes aired weekdays on Fox Kids in late 1991, for 94 episodes in all. Beetlejuice (Stephen Ouimette) is still a prankster with shapeshifting magic, but gentler and more sympathetic than in the film, and he and Lydia (Alyson Court) are best friends; she summons him or crosses over by saying his name three times. In the New England town of Peaceful Pines, her father Charles (Roger Dunn) and stepmother Delia (Elizabeth Hanna) are frequent targets of his pranks, and the spoiled Claire Brewster is Lydia's school rival. The Neitherworld supplies Jacques LaLean, a French skeleton bodybuilder, Ginger the tap-dancing spider, the Monster Across the Street, Mayor Maynot, the car Doomie and the feared Sandworms. The humour runs on sight gags and wordplay, and later episodes increasingly parody films. The show shared the 1990 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program and became one of the first cartoons to air on two broadcast networks at once.
Beetlejuice ending explained
Beetlejuice ends with "Not So Peaceful Pines," the last of the Fox weekday episodes, aired December 6, 1991. Beetlejuice does the mayor of Peaceful Pines a favor, and when the mayor refuses to pay, Beetlejuice splits in anger into his good and bad sides, Posijuice and Negajuice; Negajuice wrecks the town until Lydia and Posijuice bring in Dr. Zigmund Void to fix things. It is not a finale, and the friendship stays as it was. The characters returned on film in the live-action sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).
Where to watch Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is streaming on Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.3/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, before The Pirates of Dark Water.
- Chronological order: after The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, before The Pirates of Dark Water.
Cast
- Stephen Ouimette as Beetlejuice (voice)
- Alyson Court as Lydia Deetz (voice)
- Tabitha St. Germain as Ginger (voice)
- Len Carlson as The Monster Across the Street (voice)
- Elizabeth Hanna as Delia Deetz (voice)
- Roger Dunn as Charles Deetz (voice)
- John Stocker as Bartholomew Batt
- Tara Strong as Claire Brewster
- Dan Hennessey as Bully the Crud
- Keith Knight as Armhold Musclehugger
- Susan Roman as Miss Shapen
- Don Francks
Created by Tim Burton, David Geffen.