Betelgeuse, commonly referred to as Beetlejuice, is the titular protagonist and antihero of the 1988 fantasy film Beetlejuice, and the spinnoff animated television series of the same name.
Biography
Beetlejuice is a freelance polturgeist who specializes in the art of "Bio-excorcism", the act of scaring living occupants out of their own house. Beetlejuice lives in exile inside of a small miniature remake of the town of Winter River, buried in the model towns graveyard. Beetlejuice can only be resurfaced by manually traveling to the town and being re-dug from his grave, and if his employers hire him can then on be instantly summoned by reciting his name three times in a row. Beetlejuice's date of birth, and death are unknown but it is known by context that he died a long time ago, and has been enjoying his afterlife for what has most likely been centuries.
Personality
Beetlejuice's personality varied significantly between the tv series and the film; while still being an agent of chaos, and a fairly macabre character, he was more heroic than he had originally been portrayed in the film and even had a human friend (which contrasts his personality in the original film, where he labeled himself a "bio-exorcist").
Beetlejuice
In the film, Beetlejuice was darker and more openly malicious than he would become in the cartoons, arguably being one of the main antagonists, though he also acted as a benefactor of sorts to the heroes; though there was no attempt to hide the fact that Beetlejuice was not meant to be a nice character, even the heroes who summoned him knew that he was, pretty much, a demon. But Beetlejuice was still used as a force of (relative) good, as his chaos was directed largely at a group of human antagonists, though he was still rude, obnoxious, and hostile towards the heroes as well, not to mention the fact that he also tried to force one of the main characters to be his unwilling bride, much to her disgust.
Beetlejuice: The Animated Series
In the animated series, Beetlejuice was depicted as being more heroic (though he'd still be a bit dishonest sometimes). He is often referred to as "BJ" for short. A recurring gag has him using figures of speech and idioms and then changing himself and / or his surroundings to match the pun (e.g., if he says something bugs him, he'll turn into an insect).
Appearance
Beetlejuice's appearance is consistent with what a deceased corpse generally looks like, his skin is decayed with a pale chalky coloring, his eyes are surrounded by thick black rings of decay, and his teeth and fingernails are severely decrepid and discolored. Beetlejuice's hair is an odd putrid green color that sticks out at all ends. His outfit consists of matching black and white striped pants and blazer, with a white undershirt, and black tie.
Trivia
- Originally, Beetlejuice was an assistant to Juno until he went on his own as a freelance bio-exorcist until Juno banished him in a model cemetery. It wasn't long until he was released from his prison and once again spread chaos.
- Beetlejuice was voiced by Stephen Ouimette in the animated series.
- Beetlejuice's appearnce in the original script had him as a tall, black, winged demon, that could transform into the appearance of a small middle eastern man.
- Originally Tim Burton wanted Sammy Davis Jr. to play the role of Beetlejuice, Dudley Moore was also considered.