The main characters are ghosts and the entire film has an eerie mood. Plenty of scary/cartoonishly gory moments, such as a woman blowing cigarette smoke out of her slit throat. An afterlife waiting room holds people in various states of death, including states implying violent deaths. Main characters are chased by giant striped worms in a desert. A character shrivels up like a mummy in a matter of seconds. A teen contemplates death by suicide, and there are other suicide references. Beetlejuice tries to coerce Lydia into marrying him and kisses/gropes Barbara without her consent.
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The characters eventually learn to live together peacefully, but this is more anecdotal than a deliberate positive message.
Positive Role Models
very little
Beetlejuice is rude and crude. Lydia is going through depression and contemplates death by suicide. Barbara and Adam are good people who are understandably unhappy in their situation.
Diverse Representations
very little
The cast is mostly White, with almost no characters of color except as extras in the background. Lydia's depression is handled sensitively. Barbara looks after Lydia. Women often stand up to Beetlejuice. Otho is heavier set than other characters, and through feminine behavior meant for laughs, it's implied that he's gay.
Parents need to know that Beetlejuice is a fantasy film directed by Tim Burton that's darker than you might remember. It deals with serious themes: Young married couple Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam (Alec Baldwin) come to grips with the fact that they're dead, and a teenager contemplates death by suicide. There's a lot of creepy imagery, and strong language includes both "s--t" and "f--k," as well as "hell," "dammit" and "piss off." There's also smoking, drinking, and a reference to Valium. The undead title character, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), finds a brothel; women invite him inside. Sexual references and gestures include Beetlejuice grabbing his crotch and dry humping. He also kisses Barbara without consent and lifts her skirt. He also tries to coerce teenager Lydia (Winona Ryder) into marrying him. An afterlife waiting room abounds with people in various states of death, including gory-looking ones that imply violent deaths. Main characters are chased by giant striped worms in a desert, and a character shrivels up like a mummy in a matter of seconds. On the representation front, the film has no characters of color except in background parts, women characters stand up to Beetlejuice, Lydia's depression is sensitively addressed, and one man is heavier set than others and implied to be gay through stereotypical feminine behavior. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
Violence:5.5/10 There is quite a bit of violence and death in this movie. A couple dies in a car crash, a teenager writes a suicide note but never does it, and if they step out of the house they get attacked by a giant sandworm. Beetlejuice turns into a giant snake, quite scary for youngsters.
Sexual:7/10 First of all, Beetlejuice is a pervert who forces Lydia to nearly marry him, and tries to kiss a mans wife. (And later lifts her skirt.) He also enters a whorehouse, however nothing is shown (Although there are some scantily clad women waving at him) Lydia also mistakes ghosts moaning for her parents having sex.
Swearing:3/10. Not much. There’s one f-bomb and a couple of swear words however nothing too intense.
Drinking/smoking:3/10 One women smokes and some adults drink wine. Nothing bad.
I would recommend this to people with mature children. It’s a funny and great movie, and you’ll like it. But don’t show it to young kids.
i remember watching this movie with my parents when i was seven about. there’s one scene that i wasn’t allowed to watch as a kid and i haven’t revisited this movie in such a long time but you can probably easily skip it if you watch it beforehand. i’m pretty sure there’s some innuendos but those will go right over a kids head.
What's the Story?
BEETLEJUICE starts with Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) driving off a bridge into a river. Arriving back home, they realize that not only are they now dead, but they're also trapped in a sort of limbo in their own house. The cryptic Handbook for the Recently Deceased they've been left with offers little guidance. When a new family moves in and assertive Delia Deitz (Catherine O'Hara) starts remodeling, the ghosts decide they want them out. But the ghosts' attempts to scare off the new inhabitants fail miserably. The only one who can see them is Lydia (Winona Ryder), the Deitz' teen daughter. Sympathizing with the Maitlands' predicament, she summons the mischievous Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), "the afterlife's leading bio-exorcist," to their aid. It doesn't take her long to regret the decision.
Director Tim Burton has an abnormal talent for capturing morbid, cartoonish imagery on-screen. Beetlejuice uses all of his best tricks. As played by Keaton, Beetlejuice is a scum-covered, bug-eating ghoul dressed in something akin to a dirty umpire's uniform. Keaton gives such pungent life to the title character, and to the movie as a whole, that it's no wonder Burton cast him as the unlikely star of his two Batman films, too.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Beetlejuice's portrayal of depression through Lydia. How does she deal with it, and is her way of coping effective? How do you deal with sadness?
What do you think of this movie's take on the afterlife? What movies best depict how you imagine an afterlife?
This movie was released in 1988. Has it aged well? Why, or why not?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
