Lydia Deetz’s career inBeetlejuice Beetlejuicefollows her fame as the host of the fictional paranormal talk showGhost House, which is a meta nod to a big change that Tim Burton made to the 1988 original movie. Thereturning characters inBeetlejuice 2humorously fulfill the trajectories set out by the end of the original film, with Delia becoming a famous artist, Charles still being an avid bird watcher (though the hobby indirectly kills him), Betelgeuse taking over clerical work in the afterlife, andLydia rising to fame by turning her ghost-seeing gift into a TV show.
While Lydia films her final episode inBeetlejuice 2’s ending,Ghost House’s conclusion is seemingly a meta nod to Burton’s own career trajectory. Burton has frequently noted his personal connection to Lydia’s character, and explained her story as addressing the idea that people sometimes lose themselves and “sell out” as they grow older. Burton might have been referencing his own CGI-heavy Disney exploits of the 2010s, which ultimately led him to return to his roots withBeetlejuice 2. Given themeta nature of theGhost Housesubplot, it’s fitting that the title refers to aBeetlejuicedilemma for young Tim Burton.
Lydia’s “Ghost House” Show Is A Reference To The 1988 Beetlejuice Movie’s Original Title
Warner Bros. Didn’t Want The 1988 Movie To Be Titled Beetlejuice
ChoosingGhost Housefor the title of Lydia’s TV show may seem too simple, but it actually references Warner Bros.’ original choice for the title of 1988’sBeetlejuicemovie. According toTheWrap, whenBeetlejuice Beetlejuicescreenwriters Miles Millar and Alfred Gough discussed the idea of Lydia having a paranormal talk show with the director,Burton told them about the studio’s plan to name the original filmGhost House. The writers then opted to use this connection as anEaster egg inBeetlejuice 2, paying homage to Tim Burton’s successful fight in getting Warner Bros. to agree to theBeetlejuicetitle.
Beetlejuice 2marks Tim Burton’s first movie with Warner Bros. since 2012’sDark Shadows, which notably flopped at the box office and was panned by critics.
As the story goes, there was some intriguing back-and-forth between Burton and Warner Bros. overBeetlejuice’s title. At one point, Burton jokingly suggested to the studio that they should name the movieScared Sheetless, seemingly a tongue-in-cheek nod to Barbara and Adam’s first plan to scare offBeetlejuice’s Deetz family, and to the director’s shock, they actually considered it (viaE! News). Eventually,Burton won the fight to keep the title asBeetlejuice, which was a massive creative-vs-studio victoryfor the young director, whose only prior feature film wasPee-wee’s Big Adventure.
Hidden Beetlejuice 2 Detail Hints How Much Lydia’s Ghost Show Hurts The Afterlife
Lydia learned a lot about the dead and afterlife in Tim Burton’s original movie, but Beetlejuice 2 suggests that her show does more harm than good.
Over 36 years later, it seems Warner Bros. is able to have a good sense of humor about poking fun at the situation.Tim Burton also takes meta shots at two other studios he’s been involved with over the past three decades sinceBeetlejuice, such asBeetlejuice 2’s insult to Disney charactersand the wedding scene’s nod to Netflix executives being in attendance. Ultimately, it seems likely that Warner Bros. is grateful that they listened to Burton aboutBeetlejuice’s title, with both movies yielding big hits for Burton and the studio.
Why Warner Bros Wanted To Retitle The Original Beetlejuice Movie
The Studio Found That Ghost House Tested Better Than Beetlejuice
In the 1995Burton on Burtonbook, the celebrated director recalledwhy Warner Bros. wanted to changeBeetlejuice’s titleprior to the 1988 horror-comedy’s release. According to Burton,the studio was interested in using a title that was “more benign,” and told him that theBeetlejuicetitle didn’t test as well with audiencesas their alternate. The studio also wanted to make it more apparent to viewers right off the bat that the movie would be about two ghosts learning to adjust to the afterlife, especially since Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse only had 17 minutes of screen time in the 1988 hit.
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However, Burton thankfully got his way, and the franchise is better off for it. Tim Burton did finally give Warner Bros. theGhost Housetitle they originally wanted, but it also came with the caveat that the TV show was at the target of several jokes and insults inBeetlejuice 2.
Tim Burton Fighting To Change Beetlejuice’s Title Helped Save The Franchise
Beetlejuice Is Far More Memorable & Unique Than Ghost House
It’s hard to believe thatBeetlejuicewould have the same enduring popularity and cultural recognition today if it had been namedGhost House.Beetlejuice’s success can largely be attributed to its originality, stemming from the script and aesthetic to the direction, performances, and title.Ghost Housefeels like a broad, studio-driven title meant to emulate more approachable family-friendly supernatural films, but that’s far from the sentiment thatBeetlejuiceprojects. The 1988 film features anti-authority themes and feels as close to an anti-studio PG horror-comedy as one can get, whichmakes the memorable uniqueness ofBeetlejuicesuch a great title.
With fans jokingly saying “Beetlejuice” three times to call the mischievous ghost over the past few decades, there’s never any confusion about the title of the movie such a reference comes from.
Beetlejuice’s popularity has also doubtlessly been elevated by the idea that the title doubles as the forbidden word summoning the chaos of Michael Keaton’s iconic titular character. With fans jokinglysaying “Beetlejuice” three times to call the mischievous ghostover the past few decades, there’s never any confusion about the title of the movie such a reference comes from.Ghost Housedoesn’t have the same ring to it asBeetlejuice, andGhost House Ghost Housecertainly doesn’t incite the same anticipation for the return of Keaton’s character asBeetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
