That BEETLEJUICE cartoon: The Story of Beetlejuice: The Animated Series

Throughout the series, ghostly con-man Beetlejuice often scammed residents of the Netherworld or the mortal world.

The Beetlejuice show was one of the most popular cartoons on TV when it aired.

The cartoon show Beetlejuice: The Animated Series (1989-1991)—loosely based on the 1988 horror comedy movie Beetlejuice—mostly followed the friendship between ghostly con-artist Beetlejuice and his best friend, mortal Lydia Deetz. Episodes usually revolved around their supernatural adventures together in both the Netherworld and the New England town where Lydia’s family lived. Throughout the series, Beetlejuice often tried to scam residents of either the Netherworld or the mortal world.

Like the movie that inspired it, Beetlejuice: The Animated Series was also a hit. It was one of the most popular cartoons during the time it aired. The video below talks about the world created by the Beetlejuice cartoon...

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This Cartoon Didn’t Fail: The Story of Beetlejuice: The Animated Series - Halloween Special | Secret Galaxy

From the video: “A breakout hit like the film it was inspired by surpassing expectations to become one of the most popular cartoons during the time it aired the unlimited canvas of animation reproducing the unconventional otherworldly sense of creativity and spontaneity from the original film as closely as possible turns out that kind of exaggerated reality is standard operating procedure in cartoon land.”

The original film is one of the most loved horror comedy movies of all time. In addition to the cartoon TV show, Beetlejuice has also gone on to inspire video games and a popular stage musical. There is even a cookbook on the way!

I also want to mention the fun—and somewhat surprising—crossover that came when the cartoon version of Beetlejuice guest starred on the 2020 Teen Titans Go! episode “Ghost with the Most.” For this appearance, Beetlejuice was voiced by Alex Brightman, repeating his role from the Broadway musical.


Chris Well

Chris Well been a writer pretty much his entire life. (Well, since his childhood.) Over the years, he has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio, and books. He now is the chief of the website Monster Complex, celebrating monster stories in lit and pop culture. He also writes horror comedy fiction that embraces Universal Monsters, 1960s sitcoms, 1980s action movies, and the X-Files.

https://chriswell.substack.com/
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