The director’s newest feature film Tim Burton 66, “The Ghosts Still Have Fun” premieres on Thursday (5) in Brazilian cinemas. The feature film is a sequel to the classic “Beetlejuice” released in 1988, and brings back stars who were present in the original work, as well as references to the iconic work, such as costumes and sets.
The film released almost 40 years ago features a couple, Bárbara (Geena Davis ) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin ), who, after suffering a car accident, are left with their spirits trapped in their old home. When a new family and their teenage daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder) move into the residence, the ghost couple tries, unsuccessfully, to scare the new residents, in order to make them leave.
The new story will show Lydia’s return to the house where her family was haunted in the original plot after a tragic event involving one of her loved ones. Accompanying her will be her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who will be responsible for finding a model of the city, built by the ghost couple in the 1988 story.
Spoiler alert: The following text contains spoilers for the story of “Beetlejuice.”
With more colors and even more visually rich scenarios of the “afterlife” environment, Tim Burton explores more of stop-motion, an animation technique that consists of taking several photos of inanimate objects to assemble the scenes, and brings his classic style, which involves the fantastical, dark and “gothic”, already seen in both the original production of Beetlejuice, as well as in works such as “Edward Scissorhands” and “Corpse Bride”.
Some references and similarities to the original plot are also seen in “Beetlejuice”. Check it out!
City model and film opening
The classic opening of the film released in 1988 is also seen in the new production. The soundtrack and the credits appearing alongside the iconic model of the fictional city from the film are the same in “Beetlejuice.” Even the font used refers to an aesthetic used in older productions.
The model built in the first film is also featured in the new film and, once again, is an integral part of the plot, mainly to show where Beetlejuice lives.
Lydia Deetz’s classic red dress
Classic costumes from the work are “recycled” in “Beetlejuice.” The main ghost wears the same striped clothes that the audience loved, but the highlight is the red dress worn by Lydia Deetz when she is forced to marry Beetlejuice.
At the end of the new film, Winona Ryder’s character finds herself once again involved in a wedding ceremony with the protagonist. The dress worn by the actress, almost 40 years later, is identical to the original.
Original iconic death scenarios and the afterlife
Throughout the film, the audience is transported to the same settings as in the first film. First, the main characters return to the house they lived in in the original plot, which remains the same. The city also contains the same elements, such as the places visited by the couple Adam and Barbara. The exact location of their accident even appears in a moment starring Jenna Ortega’s character.
The world of the afterlife, portrayed literally underground, also features scenarios with elements already seen in the version from almost 40 years ago. These are even more developed in the current story, which features new and unexplored locations for the public.
Musical scenes
Although not classified as a musical, “Beetlejuice” does have some singing moments, which were intensified in “Beetlejuice Still Have Fun.” There is no such scene during a dinner party, as in the 1988 classic, but there is a large singing and dancing scene during the fictional wedding between Lydia and Beetlejuice.
The character Bob
One of the most caricatured characters in the new film is Bob, who works for Michael Keaton’s character. Bob’s appearance had already been seen in the first film, but briefly, almost as an “extra” and more as an integral part of the scenery.
In the new work, the same “feature” of the character, with a tiny head on a large body, is seen in Bob and others who resemble him and work for the ghost protagonist.
This content was originally published in “The Ghosts Still Have Fun”: see 5 references to the 1988 film on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
