Greetings Ghouls
and Goblins! I know it's been more than a month since we last
gathered for cartoony goodness, but give a ghoul a break, I've been
working and making a surprisingly successful attempt at a social
life! That doesn't mean I've forgotten about you nor have I abandoned
my love of all things animated. I've been watching cartoons that
don't meet the criteria for this article – like a pallet cleanser
of sorts.... for my brain. Thanks to the rather persistent nagging of
everyone Phavorite Phantom and a renewed enthusiasm for cartoony
reviewing, HERE WE GO AGAIN!
Luckily for us,
Tim Burton was an executive producer and developer on the animated
spin-off of his major motion picture, I'd say you can definitely
tell his influence on the show. It's got some differences from the
film version, as one would imagine, but what it lacks in
after-worldly vulgarity it makes up for in shameless gags. I'm a huge
sucker for puns and bad jokes, hence my rediscovered love for this
show.
Beetlejuice had
an excellent 4-season run from 1989 – 1991 with a total of 109
episodes. I picked up originally in the last season I'm guessing,
since I would have been five, but it was in reruns then as well so as
I'm going back and watching it I know a lot of the earlier three
seasons.
Our voice cast
is a slew of popular Canadian voice actors. Our ghost with the most
is brought to us by Stephen Ouimette, our leading lady Lydia Deetz is
Alyson Court. We have a special Monster Across the Street from Len
Carlson and Tara Charendoff (Strong) brings us many of the female
supporting characters, just to name a few. Ouimette and Court were
both on the X-Men animated series – making their appearances as
Archangel and Jubilee (ugh, Jubilee....). Many of the supporting
voice actors have been in previously featured BCEotMs, I just don't
have the time to list it all out for you, and obviously you have the
internet so you can do your own research!
Danny Elfman
composed the theme song, as is evident by it being absolutely
amazing. Beetlejuice even won an Emmy in 1990 for Outstanding
Animated Program (an understatement to say the least). The show aired
initially on ABC on Saturday mornings, but was quickly picked up by
Fox, airing throughout the week (which is where I did most of my
viewing as a wee babe). It's re-aired on several different networks,
has been released on VHS and DVD as well.
I really related
to Lydia, finding myself constantly an “odd one out” in even
those earliest of social situations. I tried many times reciting the
poem that would transport her to the Neitherworld -
Though
I know I should be wary,
Still
I venture someplace scary;
Ghostly
hauntings I turn loose,
BEETLEJUICE,
BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE!
But alas to no
avail. He never showed up to whisk me away from suburban mediocrity
to the creepy cool realm I so badly wished to explore. Lydia was a
character I think a lot of girls could relate to. Without going on
some quasi-feminist tangent, she showed girls like me that it was
okay to be unpopular or not the prettiest girl in school, that your
personality and interests didn't have to be what everyone thought
a girl should be interested in. Her friends, Prudence and Bertha
weren't part of the cool crowd either, another thing I definitely
picked up on even at such an early age. She also introduced me to a
fascination in photography that sticks with me to this day.
I personally
prefer the first two seasons to the latter two. The first two seasons
seemed to get away with more weird things than the later seasons
attempted, which happens quite often with shows, animated or
otherwise, that run for years. The show breaks the 4th
wall more often in the later seasons, which is fine, I've no qualms
with it in this case as it's always pretty appropriately done and
doesn't interfere with the story.
The animation
style for this toon is more nostalgic for me than some of the other
shows I've featured. It's difficult to explain, but it “feels”
(or I guess “looks” is more appropriate) like my childhood. It is
quintessentially early 90s animation and I just love it. The scenery
in both Peaceful Pines and the Neitherworld is amazing, though
obviously I aesthetically prefer the Neitherworld. I love the cast of
characters/creatures in this show. Ghouls, monsters, skeletons and
various creepy dead people, what's not to love?!? My favorite
supporting character was and still is the Monster Across the Street.
There is a lot
to love about this show, and I highly recommend sharing it with your
younger minions, sure beats the crap they're churning out for young
viewers these days. - Shakes fist grumpily – You don't have to have
seen the movie to enjoy this cartoon, but it's a great film that's
also worth your while. If you happen across this series and have
never seen it, or if it's been a while since you plopped down in
front of it, you will most certainly be delighted with your viewing
experience! If you're still on the fence, I'll leave you with a joke
from the show that tickled my funny bone in hopes you'll give it a
chance:
Q:
What does a ghost call his mom and dad?
A:
His Trans-Parents!
See. I told you.
A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
Great choice, I loved this cartoon. I don't actually remember seeing it on Saturday mornings, I think I caught it after school. It was one of those shows that I had little to no interest in seeing, but it only took a couple of episodes before I fell in love with it.
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