Originally planned as a supernatural drama entitled "The Maitlands", about a deceased couple dealing with the troubles of the afterlife. The scenes were scripted much more morbidly than they appear (most notably the waiting room scenes, which were supposed to be particularly ghoulish), and most of the characters were much darker. Only when Michael Keaton began filming his scenes and asked for creative freedom did Tim Burton realize the potential of a dark comedy.
The receptionist in the waiting room is Miss Argentina.
Tim Burton originally wanted Sammy Davis Jr., a favorite star of his since childhood, to play the role of Betelgeuse but studio executives didn't like that idea at all.
When Betelgeuse comes through the table at the end of the film, Jack Skellington, from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), can be seen at the top of his hat.
Director Trademark: [Tim Burton] [music] music by Danny Elfman
Over the door in the waiting room, the sign reads "No Exit" in the same lettering as the standard "Exit" signs over most doorways, a reference to a play with that title by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play deals with three people who find themselves trapped with one another in a room shortly after they die.
The studio disliked the title "Beetlejuice" and wanted to call the film "House Ghosts". As a joke, Tim Burton suggested the name "Scared Sheetless" and was horrified when the studio actually considered using it.
Director Trademark: ['Tim Burton' ] [Dogs] The Maitland's deaths are caused by a stray dog wondering around the bridge their car topples over.
Michael Keaton spent only two weeks filming his part in the film.
Michael Keaton only appears in 17.5 minutes of the film's entire 92-minute running time.
Director Trademark: ['Tim Burton' ] [TV commercials] Betelgeuse's TV commercial.
Director Trademark: ['Tim Burton' ] [stop-motion animation] The sculptures, sandworms, and various effects.
Wes Craven was set to direct the film at one time, when it was still more of a horror film. When things fell apart he went on to write Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (but not direct).
At the beginning of the sequence where Barbara and Adam go into Juno's office and transform their faces, a movie theatre full of ghosts can be seen through Juno's office window. The effect is lost in television viewing, but when the movie was originally shown in theatres, it created the illusion that the audience was being watched by the dead in a theatre on the other side of the screen. Among the ghosts in the audience are a red skeleton and a green skeleton (identical to the ones seen in Burton's later movie, Mars Attacks), a woman with red hair, and two men in suits and Ray-Ban style sunglasses.
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