History ShoutOut / Beetlejuice

--->'''Beetlejuice:''' "Someone to ruin my sleep"! I get it now!

* Lydia asks if the Maitlands are "''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead''" under their sheets. They don't get the reference, and she explains that it's a movie.

** Also in the same episode, after BJ robs Prince John's accountant, he crafts a pool full of coins and goes swimming in the money like [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales Uncle Scrooge]].

* Betegeuse says, "Go ahead, make my millennium!" This is a reference to the line, "Go ahead, make my day!" in ''Film/DirtyHarry''.

* The cover of the first ''Crimebusters'' issue makes a reference to "[[Film/TheUntouchables Elliot Mess and his Unwashables]]".

** "Highs-Ghoul Confidential" is a spoof of both ''Film/{{Carrie}}'' and the 1950s film ''High School Confidential''.

* The Prom Scene from the WholeEpisodeFlashback in "Highs-Ghoul Confidential" is a subtle one to Creator/StephenKing's ''Film/{{Carrie}}'', minus the bucket of pigs' blood.

* Although likely a coincidence, the Neitherworld newsman in "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" resembles UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.

* In "A Dandy Handy Man" one of the living tools Beetlejuice uses while posing as a handyman is a sentient jackhammer with a face that resembles Creator/JackNicholson. When the tools retaliate upon Beetlejuice wanting to take all the credit for their hard work, jackhammer opens a crack through a door behind which BJ and Lydia are hiding and taunts "Leeeeet's get him!" referencing the "Here's Johnny!" scene from ''Film/TheShining''.

* During the sequence where Adam and Barbara enter Juno's office and see her speaking to the recently deceased football team, a movie theater full of ghosts can be seen through Juno's office window. One of those ghosts appears to be Jake Blues from ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', probably in reference to Creator/JohnBelushi's untimely death in 1982.

* During the sequence where Adam and Barbara enter Juno's office and see her speaking to the recently deceased football team, a movie theater full of ghosts can be seen through Juno's office window. Two of those ghosts appear to be Jake and Elwood Blues from ''Film/TheBluesBrothers''.

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* The cover of the first ''Crimebusters'' issue makes a reference to "[[Film/TheUntouchables Elliot Mess and his Unwashables]]".
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* In "The Sappiest Place on Earth" there is a ride named "The One, The Only, Banana Boat", which is reference to "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMigXnXMhQ4 Banana Boat Song (Day O)]]" sung by Harry Belafonte that is sung during the dinner scene in the movie.

* In "The Sappiest Place on Earth" there is a ride named "The One, The Only, Banana Boat", which is reference to the song "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" that is sung during the dinner scene in the movie.

* In "The Sappiest Place on Earth" there is a ride named "The Banana Boat", a reference to the song "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" that is sung during the dinner scene in the movie.

* The whorehouse is called "[[Literature/TheDivineComedy Dante's Inferno]] Room."

* Some of the passages Otho recites during the séance are lifted from Thomas Lovell Beddoes' poem "The Warning."

The cartoon relies heavily on {{Shout Out}}s, {{Visual Pun}}s, and puns in general. Among the former:

* The Prom Scene from the WholeEpisodeFlashback in "Highs-Ghoul Confidential" is a subtle one to Stephen King's ''Film/{{Carrie}}'', minus the bucket of pigs' blood.
* In "Pest O' The West," Beej makes a speed painting he dubs the ''[[Creator/LeonardoDaVinci Mona Lydia]].''

* A few episodes have BJ facing off with Germs Pondscum, an {{expy}} of Film/JamesBond, specifically when he was portrayed by Creator/SeanConnery.
* The television sports announcer seen in a number of episodes, such as during the Pranksgiving competition in "Snugglejuice," is a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed parody of [[Series/MondayNightFootball Howard Cosell]].
* Doubling with GeniusBonus, in "Forget-Me-Nuts," the heroes accompany Dr. Zigmund Void (himself a ShoutOut to UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud) into BJ's brain. The words "Bukowski Was Here" are scrawled on one of the cranium walls; Creator/CharlesBukowski was a writer who was known, among other things, for his newspaper column "Notes of a Dirty Old Man."

* In "To Beetle or Not to Beetle," when Romeo attempts to woo Lydia, Beetlejuice fends him off by donning HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, a la [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason]] and [[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre Leatherface]].
* In "Ship of Ghouls," the ocean liner on which Beetlejuice and Lydia take their cruise is called the ''[[Film/TheExorcist X. X. Orcist]].''
* In "Ghost to Ghost," BJ and Lydia finally drive away Boris Todeoff by dressing up as a pair of film critics who are very obvious parodies of Series/SiskelAndEbert. This is after BJ attempts to "exercise" several ghosts as a clear parody of Richard Simmons.
* In "The Birdbrain of Alcatraz," Beetlejuice gets sent to a prison run by a two-headed ghoul. The male half is called the Warden; the female half is called June Cleaver. "[[Series/LeaveItToBeaver Warden June Cleaver!]]"
* In "Ghost Writer in the Sky," when Beetlejuice becomes famous for writing his (highly fictitious) memoirs, he's featured on ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyles_of_the_Rich_and_Famous Deathstyles of the Rich and Heinous]]'', hosted by Robin Mulch. Later in the episode, he's shown being given a [[UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize Pullet Surprise]] award.
* In "Rotten Sports," there's a shower montage which is clearly an homage to ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', except that Beetlejuice gets ''scrubbed'' rather than stabbed.
* In "Gold Rush Fever," Beetlejuice turns into a fly and buzzes around the chandelier, shrieking "[[Film/TheFly1958 Help me! Help me!]]"
* The character of Prince Vince is based on the title character from Tim Burton's stop-motion short ''Vincent''.

* Several episodes are {{Whole Plot Reference}}s to other TV shows, books, and films:

* In "This Is Your Lice," Beetlejuice explains that he's the host, [[Series/ThePriceIsRight Bob Barfer]].
** The title of the story is a reference to an old show called ''This Is Your Life,'' in which the guest of honor would be visited by important people from their past.
* At the end of the ChristmasEpisode "Get Me to the Church on Slime," Lydia quotes from ''Literature/AChristmasCarol''.
* The cover of the first Crimebusters issue makes a reference to "[[Film/TheUntouchables Elliot Mess and his Unwashables]]."

The cartoon relies heavily on {{Shout Out}}s, {{Visual Pun}}s, and {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s. Among the former:

* In "To Beetle or Not to Beetle," when Romeo attempts to woo Lydia, Beetlejuice fends him off by donning HockeyMaskAndChainsaw, a la [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason]] and [[Franchise/TheTexasChainSawMassacre Leatherface]].

* The fly screams "[[Film/TheFly1958 Help me! Help meeeeeeeeee!]]" when trapped by Betelguese. The presence of Creator/GeenaDavis makes this an ActorAllusion.
* "[[Film/DirtyHarry Go ahead, make my millennium!]]"
* During the sequence where Adam and Barbara enter Juno's office and see her speaking to the recently deceased football team, a movie theater full of ghosts can be seen through Juno's office window. Two of those ghosts appear to be [[Film/TheBluesBrothers Jake and Elwood Blues]].
* Betelgeuse is a big fan of ''Film/TheExorcist''.

* A few episodes have BJ facing off with Germs Pondscum, an {{expy}} of Film/JamesBond.

** "Brinkadoom" is this to ''Theater/{{Brigadoon}}''.

* In "Ghost to Ghost," BJ and Lydia finally drive away Boris Todeoff by dressing up as a pair of film critics who are very obvious parodies of SiskelAndEbert. This is after BJ attempts to "exercise" several ghosts as a clear parody of Richard Simmons.

** "The Chromazone" is ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' on PostModernism.

* Doubling with GeniusBonus, in "Forget-Me-Nuts," the heroes accompany Dr. Zigmund Void (himself a ShoutOut to SigmundFreud) into BJ's brain. The words "Bukowski Was Here" are scrawled on one of the cranium walls; Creator/CharlesBukowski was a writer who was known, among other things, for his newspaper column "Notes of a Dirty Old Man."

** "To Beetle or Not to Beetle" does the same with {{Shakespeare}}'s plays.

* In "Gold Rush Fever," Beetlejuice turns into a fly and buzzes around the chandelier, shrieking "[[Film/TheFly Help me! Help me!]]"

* Betelgeuse is a big fan of TheExorcist.