The Most Offensive Moment of Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’
Beetlejuice is one of Tim Burton’s most beloved movies. However, Burton made a mistake or two with the original film that could have been corrected in the sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Instead, he doubled down on some material that was problematic in the first place. Here’s a look at what was going through the Batman director’s head when he returned to the afterlife for one more go-around.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ takes a Looney Tunes influence too far
The original film has aged well in a lot of ways. The current revival of the Goth subculture shines a favorable light on it, as well as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and Corpse Bride. All of the performances in Beetlejuice are pitch-perfect. In addition, a lot of the jokes in the film are just as funny as they were in 1988. But not all of them work that well. For example, the titular ghost kisses some of the other characters without consent.
Clearly, this is meant to recall the similar actions of Looney Tunes icons like Pepé Le Pew and Bugs Bunny. After all, Michael Keaton’s ghost is more or less a live-action cartoon creation. What was humorous about these scenes in 1948 or 1988 just doesn’t land today. Today, these kissing gags are uncomfortable at best and disturbing at worst. They raise questions about the way women are treated in works of art made by men.
In the new film, there’s no nonconsensual kissing. Instead, the “ghost with the most” discusses possessing a woman, having her do sexual things, and posting pictures of those acts online. Yikes. There’s a lot of edginess in the new movie — including unnecessary gore and violence — but the sexism in the possession joke takes things a step too far.
How did this happen?
One would expect that a belated sequel to Beetlejuice would be less upsetting than the original. Instead, this version of Beetlejuice is just as obscene as the 1980s version, if not more so. This is shocking on so many levels.
Modern Hollywood seems more attuned to feminist concerns than ever before. How on earth did this joke make it in theaters? Perhaps Warner Bros. felt that the line wasn’t too offensive because we don’t see Beetlejuice do the horrible things he mentions. However, that’s a poor excuse for a moment of bold-faced misogyny in an otherwise fun and inoffensive movie.
Tim Burton wanted Beetlejuice to stay politically incorrect
During a 2024 interview with Collider, the Batman Returns director discussed why he wanted to keep Beetlejuice politically incorrect. “My whole career, there have always been people, like, ‘This is too dark,’ which I never saw my films as dark,” he said. “I’ve seen much darker films than my films. I don’t really know what they’re talking about, you know what I mean?
“But I think Michael [Keaton] and I both love the fact that he was politically incorrect then, and he’s politically incorrect now,” he added. “[Laughs] I’m just laughing because somebody asked him the other day, ‘Michael, how does Beetlejuice’s character evolve?’ And we just started laughing because he doesn’t evolve — that’s the whole point!”
Well, if Burton wanted to keep one of his most famous characters politically incorrect, he clearly succeeded at his goal.
