I love beetlejuice the movie, hated the musical 😢

I hoped Lydia said his name three times so we could see him human

When I took film studies classes, I latched onto that idea of diegetic sound and, especially, music, as a really interesting concept. I tried to explain to my mom that many musical songs are not diegetic, but she thought that ruined the magic. I love a lot of musicals, but I never thought the characters were *actually* supposed to be singing except when it's diegetic like your examples in The Music Man.

"I always think there's a band, kid" is the most important line in the entire show. It's the entire key to Harold's character.

I still like the dark ending just because Audrey II's voice in "mean green mother" is so hilarious.

This is great! Thanks!

So the narrator is a priest.

Well let's hope for that sequel!

To clarify me killing otho- DELIA BASICALLY TOLD ME TO JUST LOOK UP THAT CLIP OF THAT SCENE after Otho confessed that he was a fraud SHE HAD NO HESITATION WHATSOEVER 💀 and said “SPIN THE WHEEL!”

yes, the roxy soundtrack is the best

Where can i find full recording of the musical? (and not just songs because they dont incl the plot in between)

Finish puberty before you make your next video.

I liked the ending because it gave him the power to change.

I'm so glad I found this video. I thought I was the only who was bothered by the ending. See, the first exposure I had to this musical was the song "Dead Mom" and the first thing I thought after listening to it was "Oh, so it's an edgy Lilo and Stich". The set up is basically the same, with raunchier jokes. I thought it was a neat way to mix the movie and the cartoon, so I watched the musical. So you can imagine my disappointment when I saw the ending. It seems like they were too scared to stray away from the original source material (oh the irony) so they wrote an ending more fitting for the movie character, only with Lydia killing him this time (and she has apparently no problems killing alive human beings? Whatever) but with a sort of hasty "redemption arc" tackled at the end...when he was already dead. Couldn't his mother show up when he was alive at least? Also, Barbara is the one who suffers the most at the hand of Beetlejuice but unlike the movie she gets no revenge. That's so unfair.

This is the most horrible review I've ever witnessed....

Seymour as a faustian character works best when he's nearly just like the scumbags found around skid row. The play has us question if Seymour has a criminal heart like the bums right outside his flower shop. Rick Moranis was just too likable as a lead character as cast by Frank Oz. Showing "nice" Seymour lure people to their deaths would make audiences unsettled about rooting for the lovable pushover. The theatrical movie's message is that even the tiniest foray into evil will doom a person to extreme guilt which Rick Moranis Seymour successfully overcomes in the good version. Because of this the movie works more as a comedy than a horror.

I really like the ending. It really reminds me of Jack Sparrow from pirates of the Caribbean. He starts beetlejuice and he stays beetlejuice. And I don't think that he just goes off and leaves forever, I think he probably just pops in from time to time to annoy everyone

I way prefer the dark ending, but only because I have in mind that this ending was made for a different movie. Movie where Seymour actually contributes to deaths of two people, movie where Seymour continues feeding the plant because he is afraid of losing Audrey, a movie where Seymour is a bad person making bad choices that eventually come back to devour him It's a great story like that, of course the happy ending works better with the movie that was made, I just think that it's sad that they decided to change the tone like that

We just ignoring the death of that guru? Or are we ignoring it because he's a fraud who's only in it for the money? Also, like, I can't imagine it not being incredibly awkward to live with your underage ex-wife who murdered you after you coerced into marriage. I don't think he's irredeemable, but it wouldn't be right for him to stay after all the trouble he caused- leaving it in that he'll come if he's summoned, but won't bother them if they don't want him to, would have a better ending. Also, like, he is going off to find his dad, which is an example of the family thing, and kind of parallels Lydia, it's just really clumsy. I think that him going on his quest to find his dad, and either reminding them how to summon him, or saying that he'll come back to introduce his dad to him once he finds him, would have been an ideal ending.

I can't remember if Lydia's wedding dress in the movie is red or white, but I'm pretty sure I've interpreted the change from a black dress to a red dress to at least be a nod to the cartoon, where her gothy outfit always turns red when she travels to the Netherworld to hang with Beej.

"And such a bold departure from the original source material!"

Honestly, I don't really think the focus is much on family. We're told multiple times "this is a show about death", and that really is the main focus. It's not just death, though, but also coming to terms with death, acceptance, and moving on. Like there's definitely a family subplot going on, but it's not the main focus. Lydia and Charles are dealing with the death of a mother and wife. The whole thing with the focus being shifted from Adam and Barbara to Lydia is to flesh out how the loss of her mother is affecting her. She's so heartbroken and lost that she considers killing herself, not just because she's sad, but also because her father refuses to acknowledge her and her feelings. At the end, though we see Lydia and Charles come to accept things and work towards moving on. Adam and Barbara are dealing with their own deaths, not just their physical deaths, but the death of their future and what they might have had. They have to come to terms with the fact that they never got to have a family or even find themselves. But then they come to terms with their loss, using their deaths as a means of letting go of their past to become better people so they can be there for Lydia. They accept what they've lost in order to gain something else. Dehlia is also dealing with death, in a way. She fears her own future has died, that she has no chance to really fit in anywhere because of past rejections and abandonments. She's insecure, but at the end she lets go of all that to actually *be* there for Lydia, even though in her own words she doesn't understand it but she's part of it. She lets go of that fear of a dead future in order to try to have one, and winds up being accepted and finding her place. Hell even Beetlejuice has to deal with death and acceptance. He literally comes to life and then dies within less than a minute, then has to process the things he's experienced during that (very) brief time of living. He accepts that he can't stay, accepts his own death as having been necessary in order to actually move on, and does so. That's the main reason he doesn't stay at the end; he's accepted that he needs to move on and better himself, because he is still the Bad Guy for most of the musical. I'll also point out that a lot of BJ's "emotions" prior to him being alive are very likely played up to earn him sympathy. The only thing he likely really feels before that are things like selfishness and frustration when his plans to get what he want don't go how he wants them to. He himself says after coming to life that he's basically never experienced emotions before. He's overwhelmed by them, to the point that he falls back on something that's familiar; violence and chaos. So a lot of what he says that could be construed as him being lonely or wanting friends/a family is likely much more meant in the sense that he wants to cause chaos easier. He wants to be seen not to meet people, but to terrify them easier, and likely kill them easier too. He seemed content to remain in the house with Lydia because people were coming to the house for him to scare and cause chaos with. When Lydia left to try and find her mom and then when she went "into Hell to avoid him", it's likely less that he felt betrayed and abandoned and more that he was experiencing narcissistic emotions that other things were more important to Lydia than he was. He then wants to be alive so he can leave the house, thus not needing to rely on anyone else to do what he does best; cause chaos, terrify people, and kill. Also let's not forget he only said Adam and Barbara were going to be his best friends because he thought he could get something from them, and the same with Lydia. They were "best friends" up until he couldn't get what he wanted from them. He up and bails on Adam and Barbara after they prove useless for his plans, despite them *trying.* Instead of being supportive of Lydia about her mom and understanding her grief and all, he decides he's going to kill people, who include Lydia's father. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I don't see behaviors like that as stuff a person would do to people they *truly* consider best friends. TL;DR: Beetlejuice has to leave at the end because like the rest of the main characters, he has to accept death and move on, because as sympathetic as he is, he's still actually a Bad Guy, and moving on is his way to better himself and all.

Maybe they’ll address it in the sequel

ok I wish that the cut song was in the musical it was so perfect

i totally agree with you. from what i've seen, most people in the fandom seem to prefer the idea that he stayed with the deetz-maitlands instead of just leaving. it does undermine his whole arc a bit

Also he did kill Otho although Otho was a fraud so yeah..I mean Kevin ofc

Also in Creepy Old Guy it’s stated that he did torture people after the Exorcism scene when Lydia left to the netherworld

I feel like the Say My Name repetition is a foreshadow of the song Say My Name

In the DC version Barbara and Adam have a miscarriage, so that could’ve been passed on from the DC version

Thanks for this video essay. I watched the full 1986 film adaptation for the first time recently, and I have to say, the film is at its most enjoyable when watched for the first time only. After that, you can only start noticing the flaws in the narrative. I don’t hate the film, but as someone who absolutely loved the original stage play, the film comes across as a bit of a disappointment. What really hurts about it is how fantastic everything else is. Every song is memorable, and the theatrics and puppetry are amazing. Even today, Audrey II’s puppet is unrivaled by any form of CGI or modern effects. However, the effort that went into these things may simultaneously have contributed to the movie’s failed ending. It feels as though the narrative itself was given the least amount of attention, or perhaps it was given too much attention, as it was changed to a point where neither of its existing endings satisfy. Perhaps the writers intended for the movie to be darker by portraying Seymour in a more innocent light, but in my opinion, it just makes the movie feel clunky and awkward. Out of both endings, however, I dislike the darker ending less, as it still tries to remain faithful to the play, even if the rest of the narrative fails. The happier ending just feels like a cop-out and totally betrays the moral of the story: Don’t sell your soul to the devil.

Musical Beetlejuice strikes me as someone with BPD and an abusive childhood. While not excusing his actions, it does make him reformable. With therapy and time he could get better. Didn't you say musical Delia was a therapist? And didn't we get to see his trauma clearly laid out? Ending the musical with Beetlejuice admitting he has done bad stuff and genuinely seeking to do better, with the help and more importantly, acceptance of those around him could have been a more thematic ending. That being said, I did think it suited Beetlejuice's character how, in the end Beetlejuice jumped between a bunch of different emotions before stilling for the most self-destructive action. Unfortunately he didn't have the character growth to try and change his nature. For an even darker ending, but one possibly more thematic - Delia could have offered Beetlejuice help, a way to get the love and friendship he so clearly craved but in the end, being to unable to change his nature, does something self-destructive and gets sent back to hell. Ending with him feeling trapped in his hopelessness, going back to him believing himself as evil but willingly excepting his punishment.

I don't know anything about the musical, but this version of Betelgeuse sounds a lot more like the character from the animated series.

Can you talk about newsies

I actually think the happy ending works really well. Not if it was done in the original off broadway musical, but the movie is its own beast and has a very innocent good-natured feel to it. Sure there are deaths and there is malice, but it's all done with a bit of a nod and a wink. They deliberately didn't go the realistic route with the movie, but used the theatrical nature of it as a style element, which is a deliberate fourth wall break. They amplify and exaggerate the surrealistic and fantastical elements. It's also a bit of a triple whammy in that the play tries to bring the effects of a horror movie to the stage, whereas the movie then takes that theatrical adaptation of horror effects and translates them back to film, so there's actually multiple layers of deliberate unrealism there, forming a sort of visual pastiche or hommage to both the primitive effects of early horror movies, and stage effects. The movie isn't just the depiction of a story, it's a depiction of an exaggerated stage performance of that story. Rick Moranis adds a lot to the feel of the movie as well with his wide eyed goofy loveable nerdy performance, which works amazingly well with Ellen Greene's vulnerable and cute depiction of Audrey, you just want to hug both of them and you want life to work out well for these two lovely well-meaning but imperfect people. A dark ending is more unexpected, and it's more offbeat, fitting with some of the darker themes in the story, and I like that that was the original end to the stage version, which also took a lot more of a classic horror approach to the protagonist, a man being driven to his own downfall by the temptation of fame and wealth. But I think that the movie works so well, because it lets all the weird supernatural and dark elements just be the backdrop to what is basically a classic hollywood romance, and it needs that redemption at the end, it needs that happily ever after for that to work.

7:47 surprise shower scene

I just saw the show in SF twice and I was so happy to see this video because I think the musical is really fun and I enjoyed myself a lot, but I don't really feel like it stuck the landing. I think one of the things that I really enjoy about the movies is the Maitlands, so I felt like my problem with the show was that it becomes more about fixing Lydia's relationship with her dad over giving the Maitlands a more satisfying resolution.

Saw the show in San Fransico on December 29, 2022 *GREAT* show, though the strobe lighting pre-show and intermission were *ANNOYING*

Oh wow, I’ve never thought of it this way. The song ain’t it strange wasn’t touched in a lot in the video so if people are curious, it is mainly just them practically doing group therapy after beetlejuice saves their lives and it also ties in the family bit because they all say they were assholes and accept it and care about each other, but when Lydia says she’s an asshole for pushing everyone who loved her away they all disagree and forgive her, they also redeemed beetlejuice for being a weird pervert and murderer because they realize that he wants people to care about him. They talk about how strange it is that they were all bad people but “however hard you suck you can be redeemed”. Not so much about how it’s weird that because changed but a meaningful song about how everyone can change and if a horrible demon/creep can change that they can too. I love the way they ended with shake senora to complete the story with Lydia and Charles but this song would’ve also wrapped it up nicely, showing that their still being angry at him but accepting each other and him just like beetlejuice has always wanted and paving the way towards forgiveness by throwing things out there and getting things off their chests. As a person who studies therapy and psychology it’s a fun way to see how they couldve ended it. It’s a shame they scrapped the song just to keep it closer to the original.I think eddie perfect said something about how it might offend people with them forgiving when he did do some messed up shit. Although in the california tour, or atleast the show I saw, there were a few changed lines about how he’s welcome there and their glad to see him once in a while after he finished traveling the world or whatever he does. Anyways thanks for listening to my Ted talk about redemption and the (flawed) ending that could’ve been an interesting way to show the family theme :)

I mean it makes sense to me, he just recently died and was therefore suppoaed to leave to the netherworld. My headcannon is that he does eventually come back anyways after figuring himself out. It's Beetlejuice afterall.

I like all the points you made in this video! I’ve seen it a few times on Broadway. I guess what I took from the ending is that Beetlejuice knows he’d still be a burden to this particular family in the long run, and they don’t really protest him leaving because there’s a part of them that believes that too. But there’s is also a part of them that validated his attempt to redeem himself a little, and they did see some good in him in the end, so that kind of gives him the confidence that he can go on and find his own people (demon friends?) now because he believes if they can see it, there’s a chance others will see and accept him too. Maybe even more.

Ik I'm late but my take is that since becoming alive gave him humanity, which is shown thru the Maitlands to not end after death, he realised his actions weren't redeemable enough and did the best thing for both parties when something goes very wrong and left. Loved your take tho

It probably would have made more sense if he'd stayed with them, had a short reprise of "Fright of their Lives" from the Maitlands to Beetlejuice about kindness, and then wrapped it up basically the same, otherwise.

Love the director's cut ending but do agree that the happy ending fits the movie better overall.

Late to the game, but I was actually super depressed when I realized he goes to the netherworld! When I read the wikipedia summary and said that he *left*, I assumed that since his mother was dead/defeated, he could not only be seen by the living, but also LEAVE THE HOUSE. I figured he was going on a world tour! I personally think that would've been the right ending with his heel-face turn. He gets the "murder bad" thing now, so he's safe(r), gets to leave and live (as much a dead guy can). He deserves it!

Beetlejuice isn't the main character, despite that being the name. He's the narrator in the musical and as you said the antagonist in the movie. The story includes him and he's necessary to it, but he is not the _main_ character as far as that goes. The Matelands are the main characters technically in the movie, and Lydia is the main character in the musical. Beetlejuice plays a critical role but it is still to a degree a supporting role.

The way you explained it and the way I watched "The Music Man" harmonize. Well done!

I like to think beetlejuice just went Oh well gg i got killed i kinda deserve it ok BYE YALL

I’ve just been to see Beetlejuice twice in the last month or so, so I’m sosososo happy to see your video!! Cause it’s definitely in line with what I was thinking. After making Bj sympathetic and the Lydia/Bj friendship so strong it really bugs me the conclusion of wanting to kill him. Especially when you think of the fact he would have been 100% human, no powers, nada and that actually bugs me a lot more than I thought it would. Especially as I think he talks more than does any sort of murder

I agree with everything you said…

I really want to see this musical, but cannot see it live. Does anyone know of another way to watch it?