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Top 10 Best Practical Effects in Beetlejuice
WatchMojo
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9/13/2024
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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Short film
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00:00
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most eye-popping practical effects
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in both Beetlejuice movies.
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Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't yet caught the sequel.
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Number 10, Beetlejuice Baby, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
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Tim Burton knew that if Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was gonna recapture the original's magic,
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it had to feel handmade.
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He wanted to get that feeling back where he was just so free to express himself and his
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amazing ideas.
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Thus, the filmmakers employed practical effects whenever possible.
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A standout scene sees Beetlejuice conduct a therapy session.
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Beetlejuice!
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Feel free to express yourself, don't be afraid.
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Lydia and Rory have little to say, but Beetlejuice spills his guts, literally and practically.
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The scene stealer, though, is a Beetlejuice baby that Lydia immaculately births.
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According to Burton, we went to a toy store and bought some dolls and cut them up.
01:00
We obviously sculpted the thing, but we truly took basically a baby from the store and put
01:05
some wires on it and moved it around.
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Inspiring merchandise, the Hellspawn is sure to become a popular Halloween decoration and
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a reminder about the miracle of contraception.
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Levitating Lydia, Beetlejuice How do you end a movie as random as Beetlejuice?
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By having Winona Ryder levitate above a staircase of ghostly football players set to jump in
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the line, of course.
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Mirrors were used to give the dancing athletes a ghostly appearance, while Lydia was lifted
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using hidden wires.
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Although it looks like Ryder is having the time of her life rocking out with the dead,
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the finale wasn't the most comfortable to shoot.
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According to the film's art director, Tom Duffield, Ryder, quote, hated being in the
02:03
rig that pulled her off the ground.
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Funny to think that in one of the few scenes Lydia experiences pure joy, Ryder was ready
02:15
for the scene to wrap already.
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We guess that's what you call tragic irony.
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Just about everything in this wild climax was practically executed.
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Due to the lighting, creature designer Robert Short says that some people assume the shriveled
02:47
up bride and groom are green, although they're actually white.
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The decrepit Adam and Barbara were brought to life, or death, using makeup and puppet
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effects.
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Beetlejuice's carousel look was filmed in real time, while Delia's art comes alive
03:02
through the wonders of stop motion.
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The actor inside the preacher costume is none other than Tony Cox, who you might recognize
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from Bad Santa.
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Now put on your hat and get out there, and try that professional for Christ's sake.
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Originally, the crew devised a functional zipper to seal Barbara's lips, although it
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didn't quite work because of Geena Davis' makeup.
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Despite being silenced, Barbara gets the last word with a sandworm.
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More on that later.
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Deciding to scare the Dietz family away themselves, Adam and Barbara show Juno the caseworker
03:49
their best scary faces.
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Despite being newly deceased, both have some twisted looks in their repertoires.
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Adam stretches out his face and gives his fingertips eyeballs.
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Barbara opens her mouth about as wide as it can go, although she can still see with her
04:05
mechanical eyes.
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These hilariously nightmare-inducing faces were realized through a mix of practical techniques,
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including sculptures and replacement animation.
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The designs came from Tim Burton himself.
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The crew considered alternatives that would've seen the couple distort their faces in a few
04:25
different directions.
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Burton settled on just having these two faces, however.
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Probably for the best, as this scene was already skin-crawling enough.
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He'll never look at a shrimp cocktail the same way again.
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It might not be a practical phobia, although the practical effects here are still gripping.
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Under each table setting was a crew member, armed with a shrimp glove.
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Fitting several people into that compact space was one thing, coordinating everybody to get
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the timing right was another.
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Since the crew couldn't always see where their hands were going, actor Dick Cavett
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suggested they shoot the scene in reverse, which is precisely what they ended up doing.
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The set was initially a few feet smaller, but since Burton wanted the chairs to fall
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back, more room had to be made so the actors wouldn't hit the walls.
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This scene's technical challenges were anything but shrimpy.
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In the afterlife waiting room, Adam and Barbara encounter netherworldly residents like the
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charred man.
06:00
While his body was puppeteered, a real person provided his burnt-up head.
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The roadkill man also had a real actor named Carmen Filpi inside a flattened suit.
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Those severed legs that Beetlejuice interacts with belong to Lena Giesecke, Tim Burton's
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romantic partner at the time.
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Speaking of Burton's love interests, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice features Monica Bellucci as Dolores,
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a soul-sucking bride stitched together with practical magic.
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The sequel's scene-stealers have got to be the shrunken head guys like Bob.
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Each of them has somebody inside operating things.
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With a combination of makeup, costumes, animatronics, and puppetry, the ghosts in both of these
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movies are anything but transparent.
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Headless Adam – Beetlejuice A fake skull was made for the scene where Barbara
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rips her face off.
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When that fails to scare the Dietz family, the Maitlands try separating Adam's head
07:10
from his body.
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It doesn't get a reaction from Delia or Otho, but it certainly grabbed our attention.
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Initially, we merely see Geena Davis holding a prop head.
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For the instances where Adam's head talks, though, Alec Baldwin had to kneel behind a
07:27
black show card around his chin.
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Makeup artist V. Neal says that she still has the neck piece that Baldwin used.
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As for Adam's running body, Baldwin simply bent his head forward with a prosthetic on
07:47
his shoulders.
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A torso puppet was also utilized for some of the more complex shots.
07:55
The Ghost with the Most Makeup – Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
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The original film won the Oscar for Best Makeup.
08:03
It's safe to say that Beetlejuice himself played the most significant role in this victory.
08:12
While V. Neal wanted the titular character to fit in with the world they were crafting,
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she also felt he should stand out.
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Neal distinguished the title character with a pale yellow skin tone and dark, cartoony
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circles around his eyes.
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Bald caps were made daily, and Michael Keaton's wig was dyed several times until they got
08:32
the dirty look right.
08:34
Keaton suggested giving the character a broken nose.
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Assistant Steve LaPorte had a pair of prosthetic swollen lips, putting one on each side of
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Keaton's nose.
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Since the makeup already made Keaton appear older, Beetlejuice aged gracefully in the
08:48
sequel.
08:49
Number 2 – Sandworms – Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
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When Robert Short read the script for Beetlejuice, he thought the sandworms would look like something
09:02
out of Dune.
09:09
Short was pleasantly surprised when he saw a maquette by effects consultant Rick Heinrichs,
09:14
which gave a sandworm black and white stripes, blue lips, and another head inside its mouth.
09:23
The filmmakers turned to stop motion for the sandworms, although rod puppets and larger
09:27
models would be employed as well.
09:29
The sandworms make a comeback in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, remaining faithful to their practical
09:34
roots.
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The set was practical as well.
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Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder ran on a soundstage with a giant fan blowing and sand pockets
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popping out.
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Ortega could feel the ground moving as if an actual sandworm was after them.
10:00
Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
10:04
about our latest videos.
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If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
10:15
Number 1.
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The Snake – Beetlejuice The snake from Beetlejuice still slithers
10:20
its way into our nightmares.
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The revolting reptile is only made scarier knowing that it was done practically with
10:29
stop motion and a giant snake head.
10:31
As if the mechanics behind the snake weren't complicated enough, the filmmakers had to
10:35
shoot the sequence multiple times.
10:37
At first, the creature's head resembled an actual snake.
10:48
Burton hadn't yet decided who would play Beetlejuice, eyeing Sammy Davis Jr. for the
10:52
role.
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They filmed the scene, which originally featured the snake French-kissing Catherine O'Hara.
10:57
Once Michael Keaton was brought on board and his makeup was perfected, the filmmakers decided
11:02
that the snake should look more like the titular trickster.
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The head was redesigned, with some of the initial props sadly going unused.
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Which practical effect scared you the most?
11:14
Are you eager to see more behind-the-scenes Beetlejuice footage in Documentary for the
11:18
Recently Deceased?
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Let us know in the comments.
11:34
Here's what's next!
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