Revealing mistake: When Barbara and Adam are digging up Beetlejuice's grave, you can see that a piece of cardboard states "FRAGILE" or something in small print which is proportional to Barbara and Adam at that time. However, the lettering should be ten times larger if the cardboard was proportional to the actual model. (00:44:35)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Plot summary
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Geena Davis, Annie McEnroe
Adam and Barbara are enjoying a quiet day in their idyllic town of Winter River, Connecticut. However, while attempting to avoid a dog on a bridge, their car crashes and they find themselves back in their house, seemingly unharmed. It quickly becomes clear that they have died and are now stuck in their own home.
As Adam and Barbara try to figure out the afterlife, they notice a book called The Handbook for the Recently Deceased and learn that they can't leave their house or be seen by the living. They also discover a model of their town in the attic, which features a miniature version of the house they are haunting. Barbara decides to attempt to scare away the Deetzes, the new owners of their home.
Meanwhile, the Deetzes move in with Charles, a real estate developer, his second wife Delia, and Delia's strange goth daughter, Lydia. Lydia, who can sense the presence of ghosts, becomes fascinated with the Maitland house. While exploring, she encounters and befriends Adam and Barbara, though she initially believes them to be in costume for a costume party.
Desperate to get rid of the Deetzes, Adam and Barbara come across Beetlejuice, a "bio-exorcist" ghost with a reputation for rudeness and chaos. In exchange for getting rid of the living inhabitants, Beetlejuice insists they release him from the model town. However, Adam and Barbara realise that Beetlejuice is far too dangerous and refuse his help.
Frustrated with their inability to drive the Deetzes away, Adam and Barbara attend their daughter's school dance, disguised as guests from the Netherworld. Beetlejuice, having grown increasingly impatient, takes advantage of their absence and lures Lydia into summoning him. Despite the Maitlands' warnings, Lydia says "Beetlejuice" three times, triggering his entrance.
Beetlejuice begins causing chaos, conjuring up monsters and trying to marry Lydia against her will. Adam and Barbara, having realised their mistake, return to stop him. In a dramatic climax, they manage to save Lydia while tricking Beetlejuice into saying his own name three times, banishing him to the underworld.
With Beetlejuice defeated, Adam and Barbara decide to help the Deetzes appreciate the beauty of their house. They reveal their true ghostly forms, scaring the Deetzes into agreeing to leave. Lydia, however, pleads with her father to let her stay and befriends the Maitlands, ultimately convincing her father to embrace the supernatural. The Maitlands and Deetzes coexist harmoniously, with Charles planning to turn the house into a haunted attraction.
In the end, Adam and Barbara ascend to the afterlife, having helped Lydia and realizing that they are at peace. The film concludes with the Maitlands happy and content, while Lydia, despite the loss of her ghost friends, remembers them fondly and embraces her new life with her unconventional family.
More mistakes in Beetlejuice
Beryl: Paranormal? Is that what they're calling your kind these days?
Otho: Don't mind her. She's still upset because somebody dropped a house on her sister.
Trivia: The model tree falling over after Beetlejuice kicks it was never supposed to happen. This caused Michael Keaton to ad-lib the "nice fucking model" line. Tim Burton enjoyed it so much he kept it in the film.
Question: When the Maitlands return to their home after it's been altered by the new owners, Juno tells the Maitlands that they should be thankful that they didn't die in Italy. What did she mean by that?
Answer: It's in reference / added on to her previous statement about being quiet/peaceful: Italy, presumably, has a louder, more raucous group of the living.
Answer: Italy, is a trendsetter. There would be constant art-deco changes that conflict with the Maitland's personal taste. In comparison, the Deets' are pretty tamed.
Chosen answer: When the Maitlands first meet their case worker, Juno, they tell her how miffed they are with the new family that has moved into their home. Juno glances around the peaceful house and remarks, "Things seem quiet here. You should thank God you didn't die in Italy." The case worker's name, "Juno," is a traditional Italian girl's name; and we see (when she smokes a cigarette) that Juno's throat has been slashed open from side to side, implying that she died a very violent and grisly death. Based on her personal experience (probably being murdered in Italy), Juno is commenting that the Maitlands could have died a far worse death under far more horrific circumstances, and that they really have little reason to complain.
I'm Italian: there's literally not a single female being, girl or woman, who has (had or have) this name in this country. Let alone being "traditional." "J" is not even in our original alphabet, go figure. I also think it's about us Italians being noisy and the place being quiet, that's all.
You may be Italian, but you're not informed. While the formal Italian alphabet (derived of Latin) does not have a "J" character, the letter "J' is used in modern Italian writing every day. "Juno," in your limited world, would be spelled "Diuno," who was a Roman goddess (queen of the heavens). As this pertains to Beetlejuice, she is a Roman goddess in charge of organizing.
Juno slashed her own throat. It says earlier in the movie that people who commit suicide become civil servants, which is what Juno is as their case worker. The beauty queen at the desk implies the same when she talks about what happens to people when they die. She says "if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have had my little accident" holding up her slit wrists, implying that she wouldn't have committed suicide if she knew she'd become a civil servant (as a desk girl).
It's never stated or established that Juno committed suicide.
I really think she was supposed to have had a tracheotomy due to her smoking.
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Answer: Italy is the center of the Roman Catholic Church, which includes exorcisms as a real-life ritual. Presumably, ghosts in Italy are at greater risk of encountering trouble in Italy because of this reason.