When ranking Tim Burton movies worst to best, the earlier half of his career dominates the best of the list, and vice versa. Suffice it to say, the filmmaker has struggled to maintain the quality of his glorious first 15 years of film. But Burton’s reputation saw an upswing with the release of “Wednesday,” returning the Barry Sonnenfeld-inspired Addams Family to prominence with his hit Netflix series. So when the long gestating “Beetlejuice” sequel was finally poised for release in 2024, with Burton at the helm, it came at a time when people were ready to be cautiously optimistic that he would manage to follow up on one of his biggest hits.
Sure enough, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” blew everyone away at the box office, even scoring a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Among Burton-directed movies, it is now second only to the massively successful “Alice in Wonderland” — at least in terms of domestic box office tallies.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” managed to do the nearly impossible. Not only is it a “Beetlejuice” sequel that wasn’t a total embarrassment — which was the best result that the most skeptical Burton fans were ready to settle for — but was actually hilarious. As we wind down Spooky Season 2025, it’s the perfect time to check out “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” — especially since it is ready to leave Netflix on November 6.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice follows an adult Lydia and her teenage daughter, Astrid
In case this will be your first viewing of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” you might be wondering what it is actually about. Not surprisingly, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is the second main character, behind the titular ghoul (Michael Keaton). The adult Lydia hosts a TV show that leans into her paranormal abilities, something that embarrasses her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega) — so much so that the two have become estranged. The rift only deepens after the death of Astrid’s father (Santiago Cabrera).
When Lydia receives word from her mother (Catherine O’Hara) that her father has died (a fine way to avoid difficult discussions about a problematic former “Beetlejuice” star), Lydia and Astrid are forced to spend some quality time together as they travel back home for the funeral.
Lydia began recently seeing visions of the demonic Beetlejuice, though she tried to dismiss them. But when Astrid is duped into traveling to the land of the dead with the promise of reuniting with her father, Lydia has no choice but to reach out to Beetlejuice for help — which goes about as well as it went for her the last time she tried it.
What follows is a movie that walks a clever line between multiple call-backs to the original film while forging its own path. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” also admirably resists the urge to be a parade of awkward cameos, instead focusing on a core group of returning characters and introducing only a few new ones. There’s even another musical number, though that, too, had the confidence to be its own thing — different song included — rather than just a redux of the original film’s iconic “Day-O” dinner scene.