Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Directed by Tim Burton
No · Based
How we score movies →Consciousness Markers
The film centers on three generations of women in the Deetz family, exploring mother-daughter dynamics and female agency, though without explicit preachy messaging about feminism.
The cast includes actors of diverse backgrounds including Jenna Ortega and Monica Bellucci, though diversity is presented as organic to the world rather than a subject for commentary.
The film prioritizes gothic comedy and entertainment over preachy messaging, maintaining a relatively light touch with any progressive sensibilities.
While the cast is racially diverse, the film shows no evidence of engaging with racial consciousness or commentary as a thematic element.
No evidence of LGBTQ+ themes, representation, or storylines in the film.
No evidence of climate change themes or environmental advocacy in the film.
No anti-capitalist or 'eat the rich' themes present in this sequel.
No body positivity messaging or representation evident in the film.
No representation of or engagement with neurodivergent characters or themes.
Not applicable to a contemporary sequel; no historical revisionism present.
Synopsis
After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Betelgeuse, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
Why it received this score
Tim Burton's sequel arrives as a curious case study in contemporary entertainment that incorporates progressive sensibilities without shouting about them. The film centers on a multigenerational female family structure, with Winona Ryder reprising her role as Lydia Deetz opposite newcomer Jenna Ortega as her teenage daughter Astrid. The cast includes actors of various backgrounds, most notably Monica Bellucci and Ortega herself, though the film treats this diversity as simply the world it inhabits rather than a subject for celebration or commentary. Where the original 1988 film was a product of its era, this sequel reflects the visual and social landscape of 2024 without feeling compelled to lecture about it.
The film's modest progressive elements emerge organically from its narrative rather than being imposed upon it. The exploration of mother-daughter dynamics and female agency within a family structure reads as contemporary without becoming preachy. Ortega, known for her advocacy around feminist themes, brings that sensibility to her performance, yet the movie itself remains primarily committed to being a gothic comedy rather than a vehicle for progressive messaging. One might characterize this as restraint, though that would assume the filmmakers ever intended otherwise.
What prevents a higher score is the film's fundamental indifference to the markers of contemporary progressive consciousness. There is no evidence of LGBTQ+ representation, climate advocacy, anti-capitalist themes, or any engagement with neurodivergence or body positivity. The film simply exists as a commercial entertainment product that happens to reflect the demographic and aesthetic sensibilities of its release date. This is not necessarily criticism. It merely means that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice operates in a different register entirely from films that actively pursue social consciousness as narrative content.
Analysis generated by our Consciousness Algorithm
Critic Reviews
“The zippy pacing, buoyant energy and steady stream of laugh-out-loud moments hint at the joy Burton appears to have found in revisiting this world, and for anyone who loved the first movie, it’s contagious. That applies also to the actors, all of whom warm to the dizzying lunacy.”
“Perhaps most miraculously, it represents Tim Burton getting his groove back, successfully returning to the dark comedy and outrageous visuals that marked his extraordinary early work.”
“Directed by Burton and written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the fantastical comedy is a hilariously strange and charismatic voyage through Hollywood’s best creative minds and most skilled special effects magicians. ”
“With its limp humor, canned sentiment, and over-egged efforts to gross us out, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a waste of a good cast and a defacement of a classic film’s legacy. Most galling of all, it was summoned willingly by people who should know better than to mess with what’s long been peacefully laid to rest.”