History WesternAnimation / Beetlejuice

* {{Gesundheit}}: In "Moby Richard", Lydia is putting on a production of ''Literature/MobyDick'' for the Neitherworld's ''Disasterpiece Theatre''[[note]]This was also the name of a 1980 TV show on XETV in San Diego that made fun of cheesy movies like MST3K would later[[/note]] TV show. Her first line, "Call me Ishmael," is immediately greeted with a "Gesundheit" from a stagehand.

* {{Gesundheit}}: In "Moby Richard", Lydia is putting on a production of ''Literature/MobyDick'' for the Neitherworld's ''Disasterpiece Theatre'' TV show. Her first line, "Call me Ishmael," is immediately greeted with a "Gesundheit" from a stagehand.

Based on [[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} the hit movie of the same name]], the animated series was produced by the Canadian studio Creator/{{Nelvana}} and aired for several years on Creator/{{ABC}} and Creator/FoxKids. Its original run lasted from September 1989 to May 1992, with a total of 109 storylines in 94 episodes - which, in RecycledTheSeries terms, is equivalent to about 10 years. It bore only a [[InNameOnly passing resemblance]] to the film: the Maitlands, the straitlaced protagonists, and Juno the Caseworker were eliminated [[AdaptedOut entirely]]. With Beetlejuice as the main character, this ends up making the entire series something of a VillainEpisode.

* DontTryThisAtHome: In the episode, "Pest o' the West", when he's about to [[ItMakesSenseInContext jump into a small glass of water from several thousand feet in the air]], Beetlejuice takes a moment to warn the audience about his stunt:

* FluffyTheTerrible: Poopsie, the dog belonging to the Monster Across the Street. He's very sweet tempered most of the time, but he ''hates'' Beetlejuice.

* KinderAndCleaner: Given that the series is aimed at children, the cartoon uses no profanity compared to the film it originated from.
* LamePunReaction:
** Two examples in "The Birdbrain of Alcatraz"
*** Lydia finds the stolen punchlines Scuzzo planted onto Beetlejuice and reads one of them aloud, then concludes that she's found proof of Beetlejuice's innocence.
---->'''Lydia''': "What did one morgue wall say to the other morgue wall? Meet me at the coroner." This proves it! Beetlejuice would never steal a joke ''this'' bad!
*** Beetlejuice asks another inmate of The Big House, Rico, if he got arrested for "indecent decomposure". Rico replies that his joke stinks.

* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" has Clearance Sale state that Solving Problems is his middle name, then correcting himself that those words are his two middle names.

* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: Germs Pondscum in "Snugglejuice", as expected from a James Bond pastiche, introduces himself by saying his surname and then his full name.

* NoirEpisode: "The Chromazone".

** The same episode removes the word "damned" from the sentence "Out damned spot!" - because in this instance, Spot is Lady Macbeth's ''dog'' and she's telling him to go out.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Or the Deetz family cat, Percy, in this case. He was a recurring minor character who always got spooked by BJ's antics in the first two seasons. But after his final appearance in the season two episode "Bewitched, Bothered & Beetlejuiced", Percy pretty much disappears from the series and is never seen again.

* YouDoNotWantToKnow: In "Snugglejuice", Beetlejuice is sent to Neither-Neither-Land after being framed for shoplifting. He's shocked to discover that not only is his pranking idol, Dr. Prankenstein, is also locked up there, but he was also framed by the exact same guy; Germs Pondscum. Beetlejuice is eager to escape, only for Dr. Prankenstein to tell him that there's only two ways out of Neither-Neither-Land; one is to serve your time there. When BJ asks him what the other way is, his response while glancing at the Jack-in-the-Box is, "[[TakeOurWordForIt Trust me]], ''you don't wanna know''." Unfortunately, BJ does find out, [[{{Brainwashing}} the hard way]].

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* DontTryThisAtHome: When he's about to [[ItMakesSenseInContext jump into a small glass of water from several thousand feet in the air]], Beetlejuice takes a moment to warn the audience about his stunt:
-->'''Beetlejuice''': Remember, folks, don't try this at home, because IHaveNoIdeaWhatImDoing.

%%* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Delia's weird sculpture art makes her a laughingstock in the real world, but the residents of the Neitherworld love it.

** The only character who didn't change much was Charles, largely because he wasn't given too much of a personality in the first place.

* GirlinessUpgrade: Lydia in the series. In the film, she's just kind of a regular Goth girl. Here, she still loves Gothic culture and spooky stuff, but is more of a PerkyGoth, with a rather sunny disposition.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: In the Myth/RobinHood parody "Robbin Juice of Sherweird Forest", BJ steals from the corrupt Sheriff of [[JustForPun Rotting-Ham]]. The original plan is to give the money to the poor, but he instead keeps it for himself, until he is the wealthiest person in the village. The sheriff, now destitute, becomes a vigilante to steal from BJ and give to the poor.

* AllJustADream: Subverted in "The Wizard of Ooze", a ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' parody. After clicking her heels (repeating "Ripple dissolve to scene 326" instead of "There's no place like home") and returning home, Lydia wakes up and realizes what a sappy dream she's had. Beetlejuice then appears and teases her about it. The subversion comes when Lydia asks how Beetlejuice could know what she dreamed about, and why everything is still in black and white. It then turns out that ''Beetlejuice'' is the one who was dreaming. He's mortified to have dreamt about a lot of the "cute" stuff that occurred in the Neitherworld's version of Oz.

* [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Amazingly Boring Parents]]: BJ's folks are so dull, their picture is in the Neitherworld Dictionary under "boring". ''Literally.''

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Delia's weird sculpture art makes her a laughingstock in the real world, but the residents of the Neitherworld love it. [[invoked]]

* CoolLoser: Lydia, arguably. Aside from Beetlejuice, she's really only shown to have two close friends, Bertha and Prudence, both of whom are at the bottom of the social ladder at school. She generally appears to get along with most people on a surface level, but her weird interests make her an oddity at the least.

** In "Snugglejuice", when Lydia first sees Beetlejuice after he's been [[{{Brainwashed}} "rehabilitated"]] in Neither-Neither-Land, the Neitherworld's prison system, she initially thinks that it's just another one of his scams or pranks... but when he ''refuses to eat [[TrademarkFavoriteFood a beetle]]'', that's when she knows that something is seriously wrong.

* SiblingYinYang: BJ and Donny couldn’t be more opposite of each other if they tried.

'''Crowd:''' (''[[{{Squick}} Groans in disgust]]'')

* YouDoNotWantToKnow: In "Snugglejuice", Beetlejuice is sent to Neither-Neither-Land after being framed for shoplifting. He's shocked to discover that not only is his pranking idol, Dr. Prankenstein, is also locked up there, but he was also framed by the exact same guy; Germs Pondscum. Beetlejuice is eager to escape, only for Dr. Prankenstein to tell him that there's only two ways out of Neither-Neither-Land; one is to serve your time there. When BJ asks him what the other way is, this is his exact response while glancing at the Jack-in-the-Box. Unfortunately, BJ does find out, [[{{Brainwashing}} the hard way]].

* YouDoNotWannaKnow: In "Snugglejuice", Beetlejuice is sent to Neither-Neither-Land after being framed for shoplifting. He's shocked to discover that not only is his pranking idol, Dr. Prankenstein, is also locked up there, but he was also framed by the exact same guy; Germs Pondscum. Beetlejuice is eager to escape, only for Dr. Prankenstein to tell him that there's only two ways out of Neither-Neither-Land; one is to serve your time there. When BJ asks him what the other way is, this is his exact response while glancing at the Jack-in-the-Box. Unfortunately, BJ does find out, [[{{Brainwashing}} the hard way]].

** In "Scummer Vacation", Beetlejuice convinces Lydia to bring her parents to the Neitherworld for their family summer vacation so the two friends won't have to spend their summer apart. However, a series of mishaps occurs, and Charles and Delia almost wind up [[OffWithHisHead beheaded]]. One season later in "Farmer in the Smell", when Beetlejuice asks why he can't come with Lydia on her visit to her Uncle Clyde and Aunt May's farm, she brings up that particular incident and how they had decided that sometimes they can't always be together.

** In "Prince of the Neitherworld", Prince Vince falls head over heels for Lydia [[LoveAtFirstSight the moment he lays eyes on her]], and asks for Beetlejuice's advice on how to win her heart. BJ agrees, in exchange for getting the job as Court Jester. At first it starts to go well, with Lydia liking the fact that Vince has a similar sense of humor as BJ. However, Beetlejuice takes this the wrong way and jumps to the conclusion that [[ClingyJealousGuy Vince wants to replace him as Lydia's best friend]], and tries to sabotage their date. When all attempts fail, he goes back to the castle to sulk, and it's here that Vince makes a LoveConfession to Lydia, much to BJ's shock and outrage. [[spoiler:Lydia [[LetsJustBeFriends lets Prince Vince down easy]], though.]]

* SickEpisode: "Cabin Fever" has Lydia struggling with the measles.

-->'''Lydia''': "What did one morgue wall say to the other morgue wall? Meet me at the coroner." This proves it! Beetlejuice would never steal a joke ''this'' bad!