Beetlejuice is one of the only morally black characters that actually works better as a morally grey character imo. Keatonjuice is amazing villian, and musicaljuice is an amazing CHARACTER. I love both

I don’t think the movie was awful. It just didn’t have any theme to the movie. It only had the gothic aesthetic. Meanwhile the musical had more light and meaning. Like, Lydia trying to move on without her mom. Lydia didn’t have that much of a character in the movie

I like all versions of Beetlejuice. It's a fabulous concept for a character that works in many formats. The ACTUAL best version of Beetlejuice would be an adult animated musical where BJ can show off all his potential shapeshifting powers, while also being dark and Tim Burtony.

I feel like this video is a little unfair to the movie. It and the musical have clearly very different goals. The musical is trying to tell an optimistic story about family, overcomeing grief, and living your life while you have it. While the movie is going for a nihilistic story about how cool its goth aesthetic is. And you have to admit that Winona Rider is rocking being goth.

I have to add my "Yes, but..." comment here. Because you are absolutely right. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it as a musical and then I saw bits and pieces and then saw the whole thing and realized they had made so many really amazing improvements and turned a fun film with great visuals into a real and affecting work of art. But...the musical wouldn't exist without the film, and without the creators loving pieces of the film enough to write a fix-it fic that helps justify the place of Beetlejuice in popular culture and introduce a whole new audience to the visuals, which were definitely the best part of the film. Also introducing a wider audience to the genius that is Catherine O'Hara, and incidentally introducing Catherine O'Hara to her husband.

Can't get my hands on a good enough bootleg for any of my peers to want to watch it :(

Jesus! The musical is so good that my mind retroactively induced a Mandela effect where I remember that some aspects of the musical were actually in the film until I rewatched it. I'm actually sad that Beetlejuice 2 will be a continuation of the film and not the musical.

I approached this from the opposite side: I watched the movie so I could have some foundational understanding when I watched the show. And although after watching your essay I agree with like 95% of it, what's really weird is that while watching the musical I had the stark impression that I had liked most of the characters more in the movie (except for Otho and Beetlegeuse) I don't know if it's because of Catherine O'Hara being the powerhouse that she is, and managing to make a character that is built to be unlikable one of the most enjoyable to watch, but I found myself missing her Delia. Not that this Delia was worse, it was such a different character that it's like comparing apples to oranges, but I kept wondering what the show could have been with a posh, high art, thinks she is so much better than anyone in this small town, big city woman. With Lidia, I disliked her in the musical because she found so much delight in scaring others, including random people she had no gripes against. For as much as her character had been in mourning, there's a difference between having suicidal ideation and wanting to make others miserable when you are feeling that way. In the movie though, she is the picture perfect representation of a moody teenager who thinks they are the most different person in the world that no one can ever understand... I've been that girl. Every girl you meet who was unpopular has been that girl, albeit in different flavors and not all goth. Hell, even the popular girls were probably that girl. I also disliked how dumb and gullible the main couple was in the show. In the movie there was something really compelling about this couple, who had lost a child/pregnancy, who were clearly overly attaching themselves to their house and their miniature-town project, who refused to accept yet another loss and proactively tried to stop it. In the show, while I appreciate that their hobbies were a metaphore, they remove a lot of the passion the characters had in my eyes, they straight up admit to not even liking what they were doing and using those activities as a way to run and hide from themselves. The way they were just... completely manipulated into the narrative also made them less interesting to me, less likable. After watching this I see how the new characters are just straight up better constructed for a narrative, each with their own arcs and tied to the plot in more valuable ways. I still feel I am more attached to the old ones, but yeah they are straight up not working for a modern adaptation. We are way past the days of movies or stories being a string of odd happenings without theme or substance...

The movie was special in its time as a sleeper horror comedy from told from the "ghosts' point of view" and put Tim Burton on the map for his unique visual cartoon-goth style. The best thing about it is it inspired the musical which improves on it in almost every single way by demoting the Maitlands to secondary protagonists in favor of Lydia and making Beetlejuice the star/narrator of the show. Miss Argentina's line that inspired the song wasn't originally intended as deep philosophy; it was a throwaway joke that people who commit suicide are chosen as the clerical office workers in the bureaucracy of the Netherworld and _that's_ what she regrets "If I knew then what I know now, (that I'd become a receptionist in the waiting room for the dead for all of eternity) I'd have thought twice about doing what I did." This is exactly the kind of missed opportunity that can be built on during adaptation and they gold-mined it for the musical. Originally the musical didn't even have Miss Argentina and a different song was performed by a boy-band who died in a plane crash. Since "What I Know Now" was a late addition, that is the reason Delia's actor originally played her: Leslie Kritzer was so awesome and didn't have a song or much to do in Act 2 - that saved them from hiring another performer since the cast was set and the ensemble already had busy tracks through the show. Since it's an extremely fast and difficult costume change, they split the role when they remounted the show and going forward made sure to cast an ensemble member who could handle that song.

Before I watch most of the video- my thoughts on the musical is that part of what makes it so genius is that it took this movie and adapted it so incredibly well. It wasn't a bad movie on its own, I enjoyed it the first time I watched it and so many of the actors are absolutely incredible and iconic. Winona Ryder is one of my favorite actresses. But the musical took this movie that never would've adapted onto stage and it recognized that fact. And they changed it to be better. More specifically, they changed it to fit the stage. The bones of the plot are all still there- most character names, general story, etc. But the actual story is nothing like it, and that's great. Delia's completely different, Lydia goes to the netherworld instead, etc, etc. But they still threw in all the little details for the fans. Like, one of Delia's statues comes in as they're moving into the house. Obviously, the red wedding dress. All those types of things that are just iconic. It's such an excellent adaptation. It's also a great comedy because it still makes you feel something in the midst of all the jokes, which is absolutely incredible. Home is one of few songs to ever make me cry, and it's surrounded by jokes on every side, even the dialogue that happens in the middle. It's just incredible, especially when you look at its sister musicals such as mean girls, heathers, most Disney musicals from what I've seen, etc. Where they did things for sure, but mostly changed the order of a few things, maybe cleaned it up a little, put it on a stage, and added music. They're not automatically bad, many of these are good, but they're just not nearly on the level of adapting power that Beetlejuice is (along with Anastasia)

I first experienced beetlejuice when youtube randomly put "Say my name" in a generated playlist and I could not stop listening to it. Si I then decided to listen to the album and then I watch the movie and found it mid at best (I did like Adam and barbara's relationship and the visuals, but the rest felt kinda undercook). I manage to find find the whole show on youtube and was completly blown away. So now I listen to the soundtrack everytime I walk my dog wich is twice a day.

Excellent analysis. I also had the experience of discovering the musical first THEN seeing the Movie. Though, I think the whole "Beetlejuice mom appearing and killing her and goodbyes" stops the plot and makes Act 2 clunky for no reason, I do agree the MUSICAL is far superior in terms of Character development and emotional throughline- also the killer score helps. Great vid!

I grew up watching the movie and saw the musical about a month ago. I like both versions. Remember… the movie wasn’t about being deep, it was just a weird stylish expression from Tim Burton’s crazy mind. And it was a fun ride! I watch it every year around Halloween time. I think Beetlejuice was actually more of threat in the movie than he was in the musical. You also miss the netherworld experience, that you don’t really get in the play. And my favorite… the Danny Elfman theme song, which I would rewind my tape and listen to over and over cuz I loved it so much. Not in the play at All 😢… even tho they do a little reference to it at the end of The Whole Being Dead thing. Both the movie and the musical have their positive and negatives… the movie is a classic in my mind. And it’s nice to see it build upon to adapt it to musical theater. I hate to see people dislike the original. If it wasn’t so loved, this play would’ve never existed in the first place.

Okay... But have you seen the old school Beetlejuice cartoon? That was my first exposure to Beetlejuice, as I was obsessed with it as a kid. I loved alex Brightman, because he seemed to embody all the things I remember loving about the cartoon portrayal of Beetlejuice, while making the material his own.

The only criticism I have is to just slow down on the cutaways, cutaways are usually entertaining when it pops up every now and again but when it gets too much, it gets really annoying

i wouldve loved to finish this video but i cant get through every sentence being ended by a family guy esque cutaway 😭

Ok Josh gad as bj and James cordon as otho is more terrifying than I could ever think of

I don’t disagree with the points in this video, mostly because I haven’t seen either the movie or the musical, but you keep saying “it’s supposed to be like this” when talking about the movie but since the movie came out first that means the way it happens in the movie IS how it’s supposed to happen. You can say it’s down better in the play but you can’t say that’s how it’s supposed to happen

The only thing I have to say I’ll always prefer in the movie is the characterization of Adam and Barbara. That being said, their characters still work in the musical. Not only as a contrast to Beetlejuice, but so that they come to terms with themselves before knowing they’re ready to be there for a kid. They’ll never be able to have their own, but at least now they can be there for Lydia. However, in the film they’ve already lost a child (I believe it’s implied to have been a miscarriage) and are holding onto their home because it’s all they really have left now. That and each other. So, when they die and have to watch them lose their home, you genuinely feel horrible for them. In the movie, ironically enough, they’re kind of the most “normal” people around and that’s how they end up contrasting with the other characters. And sure, it’s a joke that they’re normal in the musical. But like…beyond that. As Beetlejuice describes them, “middle class, suburban, and White” in every sense. Whereas in the musical they lost their chance to have children before dying, in the film, they already took the chance and lost it. Being there for Lydia, making her feel seen, is their second chance . They couldn’t save their child, but they saved her.

“20 years too late. kinda like me getting into the youtube game.”

The movie will always have a special place in my little baby goth heart. But I have to agree with you about the musical. It took Beetlejuice to it's logical conclusion. Seeing it live was such a spectacular experience! The musical somehow made the story fuller with more limiting art form - theater vs film. Though I think you're a little too harsh on the movie I understand your point - I'd probably feel the same if I saw the musical before the movie. Great video! Subbed! 🙌

HOW does this have so little attention? This is genuinely such a good analysis that clearly had so much effort poured into it! I barely remembered the movie when I recently saw the show and I really enjoy seeing such a thorough dissection of how it improved on the story!

A lot of your arguments about the movie having massive flaws are correct, but you tend to weaken your arguments by asking dumb questions like "where's *this* plotpoint from the musical????" just because you structured your essay from the perspective that the movie is a worse version of the musical, instead of the musical being an improved version of the movie. You're basically complaining about Parks & Rec season 1 being a shittier version of season 4 just because Ron Swanson isn't the flanderized caricature of a hardcore libertarian yet. If you had gone by chronological order, you also wouldn't have to ask yourself why people consider Beetlejuice scary or a halloween classic: Because it came first and had some groundbreaking imagery, and because a lot of people watched it as kids when there was nothing else like it. You might get the same reaction from watching the first Halloween or Evil Dead nowadays... although I think that Beetlejuice is still creepy af. If you were just being hyperbolic to be entertaining, well, I'd advise against it in the future. It just makes you sound like someone who can't appreciate practical effects from a time before CG. Which is unfortunate because all your narrative criticisms were really good.

Coming from someone who watched the musical before any other Beetlejuice content out there, I can't say I disagree. The way you put it, the musical rebuilds the story, fills in the gaps, and gives more purpose to characters and their actions.

I love the musical version of beetlejuice, it's my favorite version of the character, but because of your pre conceived notion on the character, you miss the point of Keatons beetlejuice, he's the villain. He's not supposed to be likeable, we're supposed to find him disgusting, crude, and an asshole.

I agree that the musical is definitely better, I try not to make people choose between two things but I fucking loved this essay, it was hilarious and it's great to finally find someone who agrees the movie wasn't all that and the musical is an improvement

I love how I saw the title and immediately went "oh boy I need to hear this take that I 100% already agree with :D", and here I am. I never really understood the popularity of the original when I was growing up in the 90s, so I wasn't super interested in the musical. Until I heard "The Whole Being Dead Thing" and fell in love. (Alex Brightman is MY Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton who?)

Me when I’m in a “can’t to your point” competition and my opponent is this guy 😰

2 things. Dude, you need to slow down with the cutaways, not every sentence needs to be punctuated with a meme or reference, this isn't family guy - it gets exhausting. Secondly, I like both, but feel the musical is weaker in the second half whereas the movie is stronger there, likely because the movie really ends at the first act of the musical. It's also insane how many of the more iconic songs happen in the first half than the second. I dunno, I think the second act is interesting but Lydia basically gets her arc entirely realised in a single song, so do the maitlands - feels like it needed some more pacing - and I'm not sure how I feel about BJ being assassinated - feels like way too much of a dark turn for one of the main characters.

You summed up my thoughts perfectly! I fell in love with the musical and expected to love the movie, but to be honest it just left me feeling kinda… meh. None of the characters felt as genuine or interesting as they did in the musical, the comedy fell flat and the plot felt like it was being bullshitted the entire time. I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking the musical is a better version of the story.

I saw the original on its release. Couldn't figure the appeal. Saw the musical on tour - gift from a friend. Wasn't sure I'd like it. I LOVED it, and yes, a vast improvement.

Honestly, the musical reminded me that the Maitlands where even in the movie. Like I remember the face streetch scene (great effect btw) but the characters it self where so forgetable and really had a huge glow up with the musical. And as someone who knew the cartoon first, I love that the musical kinda combined the movie and cartoon, with Lydia and BG kind of being friends. Really an adoptation that surpasses the original, which specially nowadays is an incredible rare task. Just shows what can happen if you give a franchise to people who actually have love and respect for it. Also for once I thank the youtube algorythm gods to recommend me this video. SOmething prefect to listen to while I work on my halloween fanart for this year, which will include beetlejuice ;)

I completely agree. The movie is a classic, but the musical is just so much better. It always have and always will be my favorite musical. I also love the cartoon though, it’s one of my favorite shows.

I think it's worth judging the movie as a product of its time. There was no movie adaptation of the Addams family yet, and the original TV Wednesday was really quite different. Matilda also didn't exist, even the book only came out the same year. It would have been interesting to acknowledge how it clearly set a lot of trends. It's very easy to look back at old TV and find it formulaic and tired, because we are so used to newer stuff that builds upon it. IMO the movie has much more in common with Donnie Darko, Heathers, and Labyrinth that all came out around the same time. These movies didn't have such 'likable' protagonists but were more about feeling out of place amongst your peers and family, the banality and/or simple evils of American suburbia and using dark fantasy as an escape, embracing a bit of macabre nihilism (and as such had some mixed endings). These weren't about hard and fast rules, in fact they had worlds that deliberately laughed at protagonists who expected clear consistent rules, but were instead about atmosphere and emotion (a lot of metaphor for entering the confusing, contradictory and unfair world of adults). The musical is more current and tackles overcoming nihilism, with a happy ending. (It's interesting that the musical adaptation of Heathers went a similar way, softening the dark sections by making them more over the top and cartoony and adding redemption to more characters). I think because at the time, this sort of edgy humor was fresher and many young teens felt seen in the non-black and white, unapologetically weird stories (that perhaps their parents wouldn't approve of). These now feel old fashioned and false because so many stories since have aped them. Whereas current teens I think get a lot more from the hopeful, sappy, queer, found family vibes (which aside from the queer part, might have read as old fashioned in the 80's, like a lot of movie musicals from the 50's and 60's).

I went to see the musical a few days ago and I was just blown away. I will never go back to the movie again.

I know I'm super late to this video, but it's amazing! I totally agree with you, plus the Bettlejuice musical is one of my favorite musicals ever! You did such a good job breaking down the fundamental story differences between the two versions. Fun fact, a lot of those major changes happened because when he was approached by Warner Bros, the director Alex Timbers said the musical would need 3 things to work: focus on Lydia with her emotional journey as the core of the show, one single location (the house) that would transform with each new resident, and Beetlejuice breaks the 4th wall. Timbers was so right to say this, these changes and everything that came with them made the story so much stronger in the musical

Dude I was RAISED Winona Rider movies so I adore Beetlejuice (1988). But I watched Beetlejuice the Musical for the first time This Morning, and I fully agree with you. Literally every bit of one of my favorite movies is improved on by its musical adaptation.

Ready Set not Yet is also one of my favorite numbers it’s amazing 11:54

The only good part of the movie is the villain, Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice is hilarious. Edit to add:Musical Beetlejuice is still better, but Movie Beetlejuice is fun. His commercial is my favorite scene in the movie.

this was great! ..... the musical is the best mix of the original movie and the cartoon! I think it works as a great tribute to both! x also the musicals songs breathe new life into the property whilst also fitting in so well with the original concept x

Can’t believe you only have 500 subs, this was a great essay

I watched both the film and the musical back to back for the first time cause of the sequel coming out, and the musical is what I thought I was gonna get when watching the film. I was genuinely surprised that Beetlejuice himself is barely in the movie!

I like how you used the random brothel music from the movie when discussing it. I thought it slapped myself. Lol! Also, I think there should be a movie version of the musical. I haven't seen it on Broadway, just clips online.

Listening to the soundtrack but never seeing the show was crazy cause it literally goes from you should live! To get imma marry this old ass man and then I’m finally home :) I’m autistic and can’t tell tone so I didn’t realise creepy old guy was like a secret plan so for the longest time I FULL THOUGHT The ending of this musical was a minor getting married to a very old demon and living happily ever after

Great video generally but the constant inserting of random videos and memes got a bit much. Oh also, the “spoken unbroken” rule was from the musical not the movie, so it wasn’t a rule in the movie. As for Otho? He’s a main character in the movie but honestly seems like an afterthought in the show.

The musical is far more akin to the cartoon than the movie.

As much as I appreciate the development of the characters in the musical, I think the movie is still solid, it might handle things differently but I think a lot of your disappointment comes from it being built up so much in your mind. It's a bit like watching the original Ghostbusters movie after seeing the Ghostbusters cartoon, or like how you're comparing it to Addams family and Matilda movies that were made after it came out -- honestly I had a similar experience the first time watching Beetlejuice (the movie) because I compared it to Beetlejuice the animated series, which is very different and even makes Beetlejuice basically a protagonist, but on a second viewing I learned to appreciate the original for its own thing, though it still confuses me that they turned the character from the movie, who is just a horrible sleazebag, into a loveable weirdo in the cartoon (if the cartoon had made Beetlejuice a recurring villain it might have made more sense), but I feel the musical at least bridges the gap there by making him somewhere in the middle. Regarding some of the "rules" criticisms: the "say the name three times" thing is a fairly common ghost summoning trope. The "home home home" bit a bit hazy but I assumed it's a thing only ghosts can do to return them, well, home. I think Beetlejuice ought to be banished by saying "Sujelteeb" three times though, Y'know, the reverse, but it still works as a rule. The contradiction of "it's no good trying to scare them if they can't see you" also isn't inherently contradictory by that point in the movie because the Deets are aware of the ghosts by then and will no longer actively ignore them, it was established that they "won't" see ghosts, no that they can't, remember? I think that's also why Otho could see Adam when he only glanced him, like it's a "corner of your eye" thing. Speaking of Otho, I think in the movie he's built up as a character who CLAIMS to be experienced in a lot of things but is proved to be all talk when he actually tries to put it into practice -- his interior design is ugly, his seance goes wrong, etc. it's show vs tell, and what we're shown is different from what we're told because Otho's a fraud. I actually wish Otho had been around more in the musical and retained his role trying to summon/exorcise the Deets, it would make Beetlejuice have a little bit less of a scumbag heelturn as he'd just be taking advantage of the situation rather than causing it, and make Otho in the musical less of an irrelevant character who's included just because he was in the movie. P.S. side note re the msg thing, remember it's a movie made in the 80s when the msg health scare was in full swing and there was no internet to fact-check with. If anything the shrunken head guy is the more racist element, and they kept that in the musical, and the original pitch was WAY worse than EITHER of those things, honestly that'd be valid criticism of the whole concept of the film alone. In conclusion, the musical makes some improvements to the story, but is messy in other ways, but it's understandable to be disappointed watching them in reverse order and expecting more from the movie. The musical is better in a lot of ways because it's built on the foundation of what came before.

I love this. It's honestly so true, the musical is just so much better! Everything in it just fits better, in the plot and characters and literally everything. Thank you so much for this amazing video!!

Great video, I wish the audio was better though. Especially if you make a two hour video. (Yeah I get the video is two years old, still thought Id point it out)

not even 15 minutes in and this is already the video of all time 13:00 ALSO FOTC REFERENCE HOLY SHIT

I think you make a lot of good points, ultimately I think a lot of the issues with the movie are simply the characterization and writing, it has the potential to be good, and I see why it’s so popular but yeah the musical dose it better

I know this was posted 2 years ago but I need more beetlejuice content!!

also, the fact that even with less acting time, because of the songs, the musical tells a more detailed and better story that the film

Do you have any Bettle juice slime tutorials? Or is that what the mashups are?

as someone who also fell in love with the musical without ever having seen the movie, I appreciated the analysis of the characters and plot points a lot + you saved me a few hours of my life that I now won't spend watching this movie but instead ruining my voice by singing Dead Mom on repeat at the top of my lungs. Very cool and well made video!

1:50:51 I would love isf the musical got the hamilton treatment though, I saw it well it was on tour yesterday it great I was a bit sad Alex Brightman wasnt performing but Justin Collette still does a great job

They would make. So much god damn money. If they actually recorded the damn musical.

Hey Warner bros… GIVE US A PROFESSIONAL RECORDING WITH THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST OR DO A PROPER FILM ADAPTATION WITH THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST… sorry almost lost my cool there

I saw Beetlejuice the movie several years back for the first time. I've regarded it as a fun Halloween movie with practical effects, but you cannot think about the plot at all if you to enjoy it. A fun movie to put on on an October Saturday Night with a glass of wine. I also recently stumbled into the musical, and I agree that the musical improves everything tenfold. It took a fun premise and fleshed out all aspects in the right way. The best way, I think, is that Beetlejuice himself is somewhat relatable as you mentioned at the end of your essay. May or may not have listened to this whole thing on the car trip back from my 5th attendance of the touring show.

I was thinking of seeing the movie after watching and falling in love with the musical. After looking up some clips like the Day-O one, it just felt boring to me. Then your video popped up in my fees. It's really interesting to hear about the movie. And I can see the improvements from the movie whenever I look up songs where Delia sings, and how people went from hating her to loving her. After this I love the musical and know I won't miss much if and when I decide to check out the movie. I'm glad the algorithm blessed me with your video!

After seeing the musical and the film, I agree.

I'm so glad I'm not alone. This was spot on.

Genuinely wish the musical got a theatrical adaptation even though I loved the original and am excited for the sequel the musical is just so much better and despite being very different still has that Tim Burton feel

I am the one who first watched the 1988 film, back in my childhood, and even then the animated series, and then in 2018 the musical. I immediately fell in love with these versions, especially the movie. I review both the film and the musical every year. They're both gorgeous. Everyone has something of their own. Therefore, I do not understand the claims of the author of this video. The movie is as good as the musical.

I was skeptical about the musical because my old ass saw the movie as a kid when it first came out on vhs and I've loved it all my life, but now I truly do like the musical better. I think it just better expands on all the characters and lore, plus I love the nods to the cartoon with them actually having Lydia and Beetlejuice be friends. That being said, a lot of your arguments against the movie are really flawed. You argue about things not fitting into the standards of the current time rather than when the movie was made (the MSG joke), and Lydia doing an impression of Wednesday when that version of The Addams Family came out after Beetlejuice. The worst is how often you complain that the original movie doesn't fit within the rules of the musical, which makes no sense since the musical came later. These weaken your otherwise good argument in my opinion. Aaaaand hopefully that didn't come out sounding bitchy, because I didn't mean it to.

this is so good! i agree so much :D

I agree with what your saying but. I sounds well at least to me that you'd had to grow up watching the movie like I did. However the musical is a very nice remake of the original movie and Alex Brightman does bring a very nice mix of Keaton and his own Personality to it. But I wouldn't say that the movie is awful. Tim Burton has a very unique style to him that is why he's so famous. in short it's not for everyone

I just saw the musical in August and agree. It is better than the movie.

I saw the movie first, but the musical is the better version of the story.

Great review of the play, cinema-sins-tier movie 'review'

I don't think you can really say either version is better, because they're different enough that comparing them in that manner isn't really fair. Enough plot points were changed to make the musical more its own thing; it's not a sequel or a reboot.

The movie is a classic I grew up watching so it’s near and dear to me and is my favorite Tim Burton film… So when I say the musical is the superior version I don’t say that lightly.

i can’t watch this cause of a meme being inserted every second 😢

F I N A L L Y someone said it ! Keaton is _NOT_ your manual to the character of Beetlejuice! As an early 80's kid I grew up with the pretty imaginative and tounge in cheek cartoon and was honestly underwhelmed finally watching the movie. And no - Keaton's Beetlejuice has nothing going for him. The appealing thing about Beetlejuice is the potenial. Burton found potential in the bonkers early script and got rid of a lot of dragging plot stuff in it. The cartoon achived to make Beetlejuice a charismatic character. But it was the musical that finally made most of all the existing material. It is the best version to date. I never want to watch a sequel with Keaton as his 80's gross out creep ghost persona and Rider as an unconventiual medium - some kind of goth Prof. Trellawny type - fighting him of.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this opinion. The movie is trash and I knew that even as a child.

I think that any movie made into a musical will always work better (or maybe I’m just a biased person because musicals are my entire personality)

You're like Doug Walker as nostalgia critic on hocus pocus on that Tim Burton's Beetlejuice movie so hard. I'm not approving it, but respecting your opinion so in other words I like both Beetlejuice's as sort of hardly recalling on the animated series plus a crossover with teen titans go (which ttg the series is a mockery of the 2003 series on cartoon network.) Also you'll find Beetlejuice at universal parks wherever else

Too much recap. Not enough comparison. You didn't even bring up the cut Otho subplot from the musical. I was expecting you to say "the musical had the sense to trim the fat." But by the time I got to the comparison segment I was exhausted. The video just dragged on, the jokes outstayed their welcome. Why'd the intro need to be 8 mins? 8 minutes is the length of any other video! As for the movie, I do feel like the musical had the benefit of hindsight to write a better plot, whereas the movie is trying to play with the original concept of "Oh look the main characters are the ghosts, and the people moving in are the bad guys!" We get to see the Maitlands act like real ghosts and do scary stuff (which the musical doesn't do.) And the idea of the afterlife being too casual is the whole joke (which the musical doesn't do.*) All of this is to say the musical doesn't play with the core premise as much as the movie. I mean I think THATS A BIG THING to discuss when making a 2 HR analysis. Maybe discuss how the two properties approach the core premise. Instead we get nitpicky recap. God. That potshot about not knowing if the Maitlands own the store just made it feel like I was watching CinemaSins. It's not even about the length, its about how you used the 2hrs.

I'm only here because beetlejuice is voiced by fizzarolli,temeluchus and pugsley ( and say my name is great)

Not gonna lie, I haven't watched your video. I clicked on this because of the controversial title and I came to say that the movie is amazing and in no way compares to the Musical. The stories are completely different. The only thing Betlegeuse from the movie and Beetlejuice from the musical have in common is their name.

I also have the shared experience of watching the musical before the movie, and I think that you're absolutely spot on. Great video!

Do you have any other criticism of the film that "i didn't like it", "They did it better in another medium decades later", and cut aways? Do you have ANY negative thoughts about the play? Ive never made a feature length video essay before, but where's the actual criticism?

genuinely tweaking with how bad this take is, my god

I think the nigh sickly sweet "redemption" at the end, as well as the surprise villain, are lame as FUCK. And I prefer movie Beetlejuice's design, as well as many of the movie's designs. BUT I absolutely believe the musical is better overall. I hope they do a movie musical with more movie oriented designs and some tweaks someday. Pipe dream of mine. Edit: Ok just watched it what the fuck where's ur sense of whimsey that "while adam reads the rules the writers didn't bother to finish" really pissed me off. Not everything needs D&D in-depth logic it's supposed to be vague and unusual, it's magic. It doesn't need to be expositioned to death, I think reading out how stupid and "like a bad dvd player manual" the handbook reads should be enough implication for that part of the world. Do you really need to know anything more than the few rules that matter directly to the story? I think it being absurdly complicated so much that no one can be bothered to read it is great. Overall I agree overall but a lot of your nitpicks would actually make the story and atmosphere worse if they were removed, and I think you (and others I've seen) are just extending your anger towards the disappointingly misused opportunities in the movie towards every tiny little detail, without regard to its actual reason or logic to the story. "The time dilation makes no sense and just serves to raise questions." Dude calm down and think about that. Is that not more fun than if she actually went into detailed exposition on how it works? Would the be better if all the rules were over-explained? I think you're doing the nostalgia critic thing, letting your anger for wasted potential and bad movies totally set aside logic and the intent of the creators. Many of the features that simply infuriate you would have made the movie a flop if they were removed. I mean c'mon. "rare or routine juno?" Serial killers aren't easy to come by but for an FBI officer they're gonna be routine.

Yikes

"Awful Movie"- homie I think you need to rethink that title.

the worst imaginable take out there. congrats.

i watched both the movie and the musical for the first time one after another, and I cant agree more how awful the movie is. i don't even know how it got so big, but hey, at least we got the musical out of it.

Which version has Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice? The movie. Therefore the movie is the best version. Followed by the cartoon. I'm not going to even list the musical because I hate musicals. It doesn't surprise me that most people who prefer the musical are part of Gen Z. Of course they would prefer the musical. I'll stick with the movie and cartoon. I hope the sequel is good.

Saw the title started watching and no the movie is way better, the musical just piggybacked off the films hard work. Would you be saying such high praises if they'd done everything themselves. The movie of a cult classicand will be fondly remembered, the musical will be forgotten about and lost in the annals of history.