These practical effects from the "Beetlejuice" comedy-horror flicks will blow you away! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the most eye-popping practical effects in both “Beetlejuice” movies.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most eye-popping practical effects
00:07in both Beetlejuice movies.
00:11Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't yet caught the sequel.
00:15Number 10, Beetlejuice Baby, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
00:19Tim Burton knew that if Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was gonna recapture the original's magic,
00:23it had to feel handmade.
00:25He wanted to get that feeling back where he was just so free to express himself and his
00:30amazing ideas.
00:31Thus, the filmmakers employed practical effects whenever possible.
00:35A standout scene sees Beetlejuice conduct a therapy session.
00:39Beetlejuice!
00:40Feel free to express yourself, don't be afraid.
00:43Lydia and Rory have little to say, but Beetlejuice spills his guts, literally and practically.
00:51The scene stealer, though, is a Beetlejuice baby that Lydia immaculately births.
00:56According to Burton, we went to a toy store and bought some dolls and cut them up.
01:00We obviously sculpted the thing, but we truly took basically a baby from the store and put
01:05some wires on it and moved it around.
01:17Inspiring merchandise, the Hellspawn is sure to become a popular Halloween decoration and
01:22a reminder about the miracle of contraception.
01:27Levitating Lydia, Beetlejuice How do you end a movie as random as Beetlejuice?
01:33By having Winona Ryder levitate above a staircase of ghostly football players set to jump in
01:37the line, of course.
01:46Mirrors were used to give the dancing athletes a ghostly appearance, while Lydia was lifted
01:50using hidden wires.
01:52Although it looks like Ryder is having the time of her life rocking out with the dead,
01:56the finale wasn't the most comfortable to shoot.
01:59According to the film's art director, Tom Duffield, Ryder, quote, hated being in the
02:03rig that pulled her off the ground.
02:09Funny to think that in one of the few scenes Lydia experiences pure joy, Ryder was ready
02:15for the scene to wrap already.
02:17We guess that's what you call tragic irony.
02:28Just about everything in this wild climax was practically executed.
02:42Due to the lighting, creature designer Robert Short says that some people assume the shriveled
02:47up bride and groom are green, although they're actually white.
02:52The decrepit Adam and Barbara were brought to life, or death, using makeup and puppet
02:56effects.
02:57Beetlejuice's carousel look was filmed in real time, while Delia's art comes alive
03:02through the wonders of stop motion.
03:13The actor inside the preacher costume is none other than Tony Cox, who you might recognize
03:19from Bad Santa.
03:20Now put on your hat and get out there, and try that professional for Christ's sake.
03:24Originally, the crew devised a functional zipper to seal Barbara's lips, although it
03:29didn't quite work because of Geena Davis' makeup.
03:35Despite being silenced, Barbara gets the last word with a sandworm.
03:39More on that later.
03:44Deciding to scare the Dietz family away themselves, Adam and Barbara show Juno the caseworker
03:49their best scary faces.
03:52Despite being newly deceased, both have some twisted looks in their repertoires.
03:56Adam stretches out his face and gives his fingertips eyeballs.
04:00Barbara opens her mouth about as wide as it can go, although she can still see with her
04:05mechanical eyes.
04:11These hilariously nightmare-inducing faces were realized through a mix of practical techniques,
04:16including sculptures and replacement animation.
04:19The designs came from Tim Burton himself.
04:21The crew considered alternatives that would've seen the couple distort their faces in a few
04:25different directions.
04:27Burton settled on just having these two faces, however.
04:30Probably for the best, as this scene was already skin-crawling enough.
04:45He'll never look at a shrimp cocktail the same way again.
04:56It might not be a practical phobia, although the practical effects here are still gripping.
05:01Under each table setting was a crew member, armed with a shrimp glove.
05:09Fitting several people into that compact space was one thing, coordinating everybody to get
05:14the timing right was another.
05:19Since the crew couldn't always see where their hands were going, actor Dick Cavett
05:22suggested they shoot the scene in reverse, which is precisely what they ended up doing.
05:27The set was initially a few feet smaller, but since Burton wanted the chairs to fall
05:32back, more room had to be made so the actors wouldn't hit the walls.
05:35This scene's technical challenges were anything but shrimpy.
05:49In the afterlife waiting room, Adam and Barbara encounter netherworldly residents like the
05:53charred man.
06:00While his body was puppeteered, a real person provided his burnt-up head.
06:04The roadkill man also had a real actor named Carmen Filpi inside a flattened suit.
06:21Those severed legs that Beetlejuice interacts with belong to Lena Giesecke, Tim Burton's
06:25romantic partner at the time.
06:27Speaking of Burton's love interests, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice features Monica Bellucci as Dolores,
06:32a soul-sucking bride stitched together with practical magic.
06:36The sequel's scene-stealers have got to be the shrunken head guys like Bob.
06:40Each of them has somebody inside operating things.
06:43With a combination of makeup, costumes, animatronics, and puppetry, the ghosts in both of these
06:48movies are anything but transparent.
07:01Headless Adam – Beetlejuice A fake skull was made for the scene where Barbara
07:05rips her face off.
07:06When that fails to scare the Dietz family, the Maitlands try separating Adam's head
07:10from his body.
07:14It doesn't get a reaction from Delia or Otho, but it certainly grabbed our attention.
07:19Initially, we merely see Geena Davis holding a prop head.
07:23For the instances where Adam's head talks, though, Alec Baldwin had to kneel behind a
07:27black show card around his chin.
07:32Makeup artist V. Neal says that she still has the neck piece that Baldwin used.
07:42As for Adam's running body, Baldwin simply bent his head forward with a prosthetic on
07:47his shoulders.
07:48A torso puppet was also utilized for some of the more complex shots.
07:55The Ghost with the Most Makeup – Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
07:59The original film won the Oscar for Best Makeup.
08:03It's safe to say that Beetlejuice himself played the most significant role in this victory.
08:12While V. Neal wanted the titular character to fit in with the world they were crafting,
08:16she also felt he should stand out.
08:18Neal distinguished the title character with a pale yellow skin tone and dark, cartoony
08:22circles around his eyes.
08:28Bald caps were made daily, and Michael Keaton's wig was dyed several times until they got
08:32the dirty look right.
08:34Keaton suggested giving the character a broken nose.
08:37Assistant Steve LaPorte had a pair of prosthetic swollen lips, putting one on each side of
08:42Keaton's nose.
08:43Since the makeup already made Keaton appear older, Beetlejuice aged gracefully in the
08:48sequel.
08:49Number 2 – Sandworms – Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
08:57When Robert Short read the script for Beetlejuice, he thought the sandworms would look like something
09:02out of Dune.
09:09Short was pleasantly surprised when he saw a maquette by effects consultant Rick Heinrichs,
09:14which gave a sandworm black and white stripes, blue lips, and another head inside its mouth.
09:23The filmmakers turned to stop motion for the sandworms, although rod puppets and larger
09:27models would be employed as well.
09:29The sandworms make a comeback in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, remaining faithful to their practical
09:34roots.
09:39The set was practical as well.
09:41Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder ran on a soundstage with a giant fan blowing and sand pockets
09:46popping out.
09:47Ortega could feel the ground moving as if an actual sandworm was after them.
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10:15Number 1.
10:16The Snake – Beetlejuice The snake from Beetlejuice still slithers
10:20its way into our nightmares.
10:24The revolting reptile is only made scarier knowing that it was done practically with
10:29stop motion and a giant snake head.
10:31As if the mechanics behind the snake weren't complicated enough, the filmmakers had to
10:35shoot the sequence multiple times.
10:37At first, the creature's head resembled an actual snake.
10:48Burton hadn't yet decided who would play Beetlejuice, eyeing Sammy Davis Jr. for the
10:52role.
10:53They filmed the scene, which originally featured the snake French-kissing Catherine O'Hara.
10:57Once Michael Keaton was brought on board and his makeup was perfected, the filmmakers decided
11:02that the snake should look more like the titular trickster.
11:04The head was redesigned, with some of the initial props sadly going unused.
11:12Which practical effect scared you the most?
11:14Are you eager to see more behind-the-scenes Beetlejuice footage in Documentary for the
11:18Recently Deceased?
11:19Let us know in the comments.
11:34Here's what's next!