by Chelsea Alexandra, Staff Writer

In the 1980s, animated adaptations swept through children’s television. Many iconic live-action films were getting their own Saturday morning cartoon, that were easily digestible for children's consumption along with their bowls of cereal. This trend brought unexpected characters and stories to life in new, family-friendly ways. It made sense that some films were getting kid-friendly adaptations. However, there were some like Police Academy that were unexpected.  From Star Wars to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, it seemed as if every major movie franchise of the time had a cartoon. It came as no surprise that Beetlejuice happened to be a film that went from the big screen to the small screen.  

Beetlejuice: The Animated series was one I thought was a fever dream for a while. Growing up I remember catching reruns on Cartoon Network. Then finally the network stopped running the series. It became one of those childhood memories that felt distant, like something only I recalled, while no one my age seemed to remember it. 

The animated series immediately drew me into the strange and imaginative world that Tim Burton had created just a few years prior. The vibrant and twisted animation style, combined with the oddball characters and slapstick humor, made it feel like a show from another dimension. Watching Beetlejuice outwit strange creatures or playfully twist the macabre into something funny shaped my dark sense of humor in those formative years.

The animated series originally aired from 1989 to 1991, starting on ABC and eventually finding a home on FOX. Burton was still involved with the development of the series, serving as an executive producer during its run. Each episode its young audience followed Lydia (Alyson Court from The Big Comfy Couch) and Beetlejuice (Stephen Oiumette from 1992’s X-Men animated series) have fun quirky adventures in the Neitherworld. Lydia and Beetlejuice relied on one another's strengths to get them out of each situation they fell into. The animated Lydia was resourceful and was the problem solver of the duo. Like most children’s shows, the common theme is friendship and teamwork. Their solid friendship and showcased teamwork were at the center of every episode. Lydia’s bond with Beetlejuice allowed her to express herself freely, while Beetlejuice found a friend who appreciated him for who he is, despite his chaotic tendencies. Even though Beetlejuice is very much the trickster, he is very protective of his friend Lydia and genuinely cares for her well-being.

For me, the animated series was my earliest introduction to the world of Beetlejuice. It wasn’t until I was a little older that I saw the film for the first time. Having been quite young still, I had no concept of what came first—I was excited to experience the film for the first time expecting it to be similar to the cartoon just “in real life.” I assumed the relationship between Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Ryder) and Beetlejuice (played iconically by Michael Keaton) wouldn't be so different from what I had seen in the cartoon.

It was a complete shock how drastically different the two were. In hindsight, the two were going to contrast each other. The animated series was catering to children primarily, whereas the film was for an older general audience. When you think of a Saturday Morning Cartoon, like Beetlejuice: The Animated Series, it would have to tone down the more grotesque and absurd details of the Burton film while still having to make its spooky charm family friendly. Still, my child's brain was blown to bits when I realized that the film centered around the Maitlands (Barbara and Adam played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) trying to haunt the Deetz family out of living in their home. Beetlejuice is more of a supporting character, rather than the main focus of the film. In the animated series, the Maitlands never made an appearance and the Lydia Deetz we are introduced to in the film versus its animated counterpart are two different Lydias. 

The original concept and screenplay for Beetlejuice developed by Michael McDowell was far darker and more violent than what made the big screen in 1988. McDowell’s original vision for Betelgeuse was to be a murderous demon. However, in the end, Burton made changes to the script and decided to lean into comedy, rather than full-blown horror. The film eventually went on to be one of the most iconic cult classics. It was a film that began to solidify Burton’s signature visual style.

The couple, Barbara and Adam Maitland die in a car accident and return to their home as ghosts. They soon find out that their home had been sold to the Deetz family who don’t share the same taste as the couple once did. To reclaim their home, they summon a trickster demon, Betelgeuse. He promises he is the guy for the job and can rid their home of the living.

The Deetz family consists of passive patriarch Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones), his eccentric artist wife Delia (Catherine O’Hara), and their daughter Lydia, a doom-and-gloom teenager who can communicate with the dead. Lydia’s relationship with the Maitlands becomes central to the story, as they try to find a way to co-exist without Betelgeuse’s disruptive influence.

Lydia Deetz in the Beetlejuice film and the animated series are both still true to what makes the character iconic. The one thing the two Lydia’s have in common is their obsession with the “strange and unusual” and keeping true to her goth aesthetic. However, the cartoon Deetz is a lighter version of the character. In the film, Lydia doesn’t “lighten up” until the end when the Maitlands and the Deetz decide to coexist in harmony. Cartoon Lydia is a lot more upbeat and adventurous than our film version.  

Most of us are familiar with the darker and layered character Lydia. She is an emotionally complex character. In the film, Lydia’s role is to be the outsider and find solace in the supernatural. It is where she feels more understood. She’s a teenage girl who feels alienated from her father Charles and her stepmother, Delia. She has a hard time connecting with them.

Most of Lydia's arc centers around her accepting the beauty that the living world can offer. She feels unseen and misunderstood, and her fascination with death reflects her feelings of emotional detachment. It is the Maitland's light-hearted wholesome spirits who help her understand the beauty in being alive. Lydia builds trust with the Maitlands. Although they wanted the Deetz’s out of their home at first, they genuinely cared for the young teenage girl. It is this connection that she builds with the couple that allows her to find harmony.

The relationship between her and Beetlejuice is more antagonistic than the dynamic duo portrayed in the animated series. Beetlejuice is more of a manipulative character who tries to use Lydia to escape the afterlife by marrying her. She is disgusted by him and only calls on him out of desperation to help her friends, the Maitlands. When Beetlejuice’s true nature is revealed, Lydia wants nothing to do with him.

Which brings us to the recent release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Burton takes us back to where it all began thirty-six years ago and reintroduces us to Lydia Deetz and the annoying trickster demon, Beetlejuice. Now a mother and a famous psychic medium, Lydia is struggling to make a connection with her daughter, Astrid (played by Jenna Ortega). The focus of the second film centers around Lydia and Astrid's relationship and trying to build a strong bond after the passing of Lydia’s husband and Astrid’s father. As expected, something goes amuck, and Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to help her.

When we catch up with Beetlejuice, he is still up to his sleazy, crude chaos. When the trickster demon and Deetz reunite to set things back to normal, it is rocky at first. Although Beetlejuice is the antagonist to Lydia in some form, the sequel puts them in situations where they act as a team. Don’t get too excited, the two are still at odds with each other most of the film. However, it was interesting to see some form of the animated series dynamic play out on the big screen (even if it was just a glimpse).

The one thing the animated series and film have in common is the escapism it brings to its audience. Beetlejuice, the movie, and Beetlejuice, the animated series, offer two very different interpretations of the same bizarre world. The lasting imprint it has left on a nostalgic audience speaks to Burton's legacy overall. It solidified Burton’s unique visual storytelling that leans into the macabre while being filled with whimsy. The animated series introduced me to a darker, more irreverent type of humor, whereas the film added layers of complexity to those themes. Whether through animation or film, everyone knows what will happen when you utter Beetlejuice three times.