Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Arthur Conti, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe
Written By: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Seth Grahame-Smith
Directed By: Tim Burton
Studio: Warner Bros
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The highly anticipated sequel to Beetlejuice was released this fall and is now available for home viewing on 4k, Blu-Ray, DVD, and streaming platforms. While the original film remains a classic, the sequel offers many entertaining elements.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice takes place a few decades later from the original, where Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is a supernatural TV host and medium and dating her producer (Justin Theroux). She’s estranged from her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) since Lydia’s ex-husband died in the Amazon. An event happens that brings them all back to Connecticut. Lydia’s almost-husband Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) keeps appearing to her and things get crazy that she has to join forces with him.

I’m always skeptical of sequels, especially ones where the original came out decades earlier. Thankfully, this one was pretty good and decent but nowhere near the original. Does it really have to be? I laughed a lot, liked the characters and enjoyed Tim Burton’s macabre humor. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice special effects were not overly gorey, although I’m sure skirmish people might get grossed out at some things.

I think my biggest complaint about the movie was the writers trying to cram many storylines into one movie. Each one was fine on their own but felt like some of the sub plots got short changed a little. I thought Betlegeuse’s ex subplot was a fine storyline, but just seemed crammed in there and needed more time to be fleshed out. We got some backstory but it wasn’t enough. Then Astrid’s Halloween date I liked (although felt adjacent to the recent Ghostbusters movie which I didn’t like how that was executed). But again, it felt short and not fleshed out enough.

It was a delight to see the original cast back again and the new cast held their own. Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice was slightly different from the original but seeing him back in the black & white garb put a smile on my face. Winona Ryder was good and Catherine O’Hara was hilarious as well. Not sure why Alex Baldwin or Geena Davis weren’t involved with the storyline but in the movie it’s explained. Jeffrey Jones, for very obvious reasons, wasn’t in the movie but there was still a lot of his character in there that kind of put a bad taste in my mouth seeing his picture. It’s his character but still.

For the new actors, Jenna Ortega was a perfect choice for Lydia’s daughter. I actually thought Justin Theroux was a scene stealer in just about every scene he was in. I think I laughed at the majority of stuff from his character. I also liked the addition of many shrunken head characters that added some comic relief to the sequel.

The final sequence with “Macarthur Park” was a funny one, but like most things doesn’t compare to Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line.” I couldn’t help but put Richard Harris’s song on again immediately after seeing the movie though. I liked the addition of stop motion animation sequences to tell stories instead of just showing it in a flashback. It was one way to get around Jeffrey Jones not being in the movie.

The 4k disc looked fantastic and the audio was good as well. The special features commentary, a making-of featurette, a feature on the Deetz ladies, the shrinkers (shrunken head guys), the stop motion animation and other things. I really enjoyed the stop motion featurette since I’m an artist myself, as well as really like the making of as well. There’s plenty of things to watch to keep fans and movie buffs happy.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a fun sequel that made me happy and laugh. The special effects were good and I enjoyed getting just a smidge of a backstory to Betlegeuse. The performances were very good but I think overall, the movie is a bit overstuffed with storylines. It doesn’t mean don’t see it or anything, I just wished they focused on 1 or 2 of the storylines instead of 10. Fans of the original will like this.

Features:
Audio Commentary
The Juice is Loose: The Making of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
The Ghost with the Most: Beetlejuice Returns
Meet the Deetz
Shrinkers, Shrinkers Everywhere
An Animated Afterlife: The Stop-Motion Art of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
The Handbook for the Recently Deceased
‘Til Death Do We Park: Beetlejuice and Lydia’s First Dance

Video:
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (79.62 Mbps)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio:
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Atmos
Spanish: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Italian: Dolby Atmos
Italian: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Audio descriptive

Subtitles:
English SDH, French, Italian SDH, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Bottom Line: A satisfying yet overstuffed sequel
Running Time: 104 mins
Rating: PG-13
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: