Beetlejuice is an American animated television series that ran from September 9, 1989, to October 26, 1991, on ABC, and on Fox from September 9 to December 6, 1991. Loosely based on the 1988 American film of the same name, it was developed by its director, Tim Burton, who also served as an executive producer. The series follows Lydia Deetz and her friend Beetlejuice and their adventures in the "mortal world" and the Neitherworld, a supernatural realm inhabited by various monsters. Danny Elfman, who composed the theme for the film, also arranged it for the series.

Plot

The series follows the adventures of ghostly con-man Beetlejuice and his best friend Lydia in the Neitherworld and the "mortal world", the New England town of Peaceful Pines. As in the film, Lydia could summon Beetlejuice from the Neitherworld or go there by calling his name three times. The series' humor relied heavily on sight gags, wordplay, and allusiveness. Many episodes, notably towards the end of the series' run, were parodies of movies, books, and TV shows. The episode "Brides of Funkenstein" was based on an idea submitted by a teenage girl who was a fan of the show.

Episodes

Characters

Main

Supporting

Peaceful Pines inhabitants

Neitherworld inhabitants

Voice cast

Production

Following the major critical and commercial success of the Beetlejuice film in early 1988, it led to an animated spin-off series being created by Warner Bros. Television. The production was provided by the Canadian Nelvana Ltd., The Geffen Film Company and Tim Burton, Inc. The series premiered on September 9, 1989, on ABC. The animated series was a mega breakout hit for ABC in its initial seasons, and later became one of the first cartoon animated series to ever air on Fox's weekday afternoons children's lineup, though also remaining on ABC's Saturday morning schedules, making it one of the first animated shows to air concurrently on two different U.S. broadcast networks. The premise of the animated series differs in a number of ways from the original film in order to be acceptable for children. In the TV series, he and Lydia are best friends, Beetlejuice is made out to be more of a prankster, and Lydia is given a much quirkier, but positive demeanor. Lydia often travels to the "Neitherworld" (changed from "Afterlife") to have adventures with Beetlejuice. These adventures could involve fun activities together, Lydia saving Beetlejuice from a bad situation, or scolding him for a money-making scam.

Merchandise

Much as with the original 1988 film, various merchandise was released for the Beetlejuice animated series in 1990. This included trading cards by Dart, a sticker album and sticker/activity book by Panini, a jigsaw puzzle by Golden, a coloring book, novels, a lunchbox and thermos set, Valentines, a party centerpiece by Party Creations, a PC game by Hi Tech Expressions, a Game Boy game by Rare, and six PVC figures available with Burger King Kids' Meals. Kenner, the company behind the film's action figures, had begun developing figures for the animated series, but the project did not come to fruition (at least one prototype for that ill-fated collection has been showcased online).

Home media

Warner Bros. released most of the first season of the show on six video-cassettes by December 21, 1993. In September 2008, three episodes ("A-Ha!", "Skeletons in the Closet", and "Spooky Boo-tique") were released as bonus features on the film's 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition DVD. In 2012, Time Life (under Warner Home Video license) acquired the rights to the series and planned to release it on DVD for the following year. Shout! Factory released Beetlejuice – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 as an Amazon exclusive on May 28, 2013. They also released Season 1 on the same day to retail stores. Seasons 2 & 3 were released on March 18, 2014. On June 25, 2024, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (through Studio Distribution Services) re-issued the complete series on a DVD box set in Region 1. Around the same time, the series was made available as transactional video on demand purchases through streaming retailers including Amazon Prime Video and the iTunes Store.

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards