Beetlejuice

Question: In the movie where the Deetz's are remodeling the house outside and all the cranes and construction guys are there, Delia is talking to one of the workers while climbing down a set of stairs. As a child, it sounded like she said "If you tell me what you do, I'll tell you why my husband farted." Obviously this is not what she says, but even now as an adult, it really does sound like she is saying that! Can anyone please tell me what she was saying? Thanks!

Answer: She says, "If you tell me what you do, I'll tell you why my husband will fire you."

Answer: She says "I'll tell you why my husband fired you."

Greg Dwyer

Answer: Beetlejuice wanted to marry Lydia because that would allow him freedom from the ghost world. Any physical attraction would be secondary to that.

Answer: She wanted to be with the couple, she did not think of the repercussions.

Phixius

She was incredibly depressed. She wasn't happy anywhere and she didn't fit in with her own family or anything they were trying to do. She was a goth girl. The realm of the dead and the macabre seemed more a place for her. When one sees the "Netherworld," it kind of seems like a more interesting place. But... upon closer inspection, it's not really all that different from our world.

Answer: She wanted to be with her mom who had passed sway.

It's never stated that her mom had died. There could be a possibility that Charles and her mom got divorced. The first two answers are more likely.

I've heard the interpretation that Delia really is Lydia's biological mother, but they are very different and don't get along, so Lydia pretends that Delia is a stepmother.

Question: What was the word that Delia spray painted on the wall and what does it mean?

Answer: "Mauve." It's a type of purple color. They were using spray paint to write what color to paint the walls.

Bishop73

Question: When Beetlejuice replaces the handrail as a snake, I don't understand the line, "We've come for your daughter, Chuck." I know "Chuck" is "Charles" so who is "we" and why does he say "they" are only there for Lydia? (01:00:28)

Answer: It's a rather outdated usage. Queen Victoria was known for using the "Royal We," saying things like, "We are not amused." It was a way of saying something without being directly accountable for it. Others use it merely as an embellished speaking effect, meant as hyperbole. That is what Beetlejuice is doing to sound loftier.

raywest

Answer: In addition, it's possible that Beetlejuice was trying to rope Adam and Barbara in on the idea, since they did request for his help to get the Deetzes out of the house. He might've thought they were working together.

Answer: He'd gone outside the normal system for the afterlife and offered himself as a freelancer. His punishment was to be restricted to the model until someone said his name three times.

Question: How did the football players die exactly?

Answer: A bus accident.

Brian Katcher

Answer: After returning to Juno's office, the quarterback tells her that he doesn't think they survived the crash.

Question: What happened to Lydia's biological mother? Was this mentioned in a deleted scene? I once watched the movie with someone who said that Delia actually is the biological mother, but Lydia feels so disconnected and misunderstood, she pretends that Delia is her stepmother. (When I was a kid myself, I actually met a couple of kids who pretended that parents were adoptive or someone was a step-parent).

Answer: Her mother died and Delia is indeed her stepmother. We are not told in the film how her mother died. In the musical we're told Emily Deetz is her biological mother.

Bishop73

Answer: I think you're thinking of the musical, there's no Girl Scout in the movie. As for the musical, after the girl plays up her heart condition and how a minor shock to her system could kill her, she ironically survives her encounter with Beetlejuice just fine.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Because then he could ask anybody to say his name three times for him, and they would release him.

Answer: No, Adam and Barbara are just using their ghost powers to levitate her.

Phaneron

Answer: Lydia is being possessed, like during the "Tally Me Banana" scene earlier in the movie.

LorgSkyegon

Lydia is not affected during the banana song scene.

lionhead

Let me clarify: like the others at the dinner party during the "Tally Me Banana" scene.

LorgSkyegon

Question: If the Maitlands aren't dead at the end and the Deetzes agreed to share the house, then how did Lydia fly while dancing?

Answer: The Maitlands are still dead. They are still ghosts.

lionhead

Answer: The Maitlands are definitely still dead. Absolutely nothing in the movie indicates they came back to life. Lydia flying and all the things happening around the house at the end are the Maitland's doing - they're having fun with Lydia using their otherworldly abilities because Lydia's doing good in school.

TedStixon

Question: When Charles and Otho are taking the model downstairs, I think it's Charles that says "let's take it apart" or something like that, and Otho says "that's sexual, get it both ends." What did he mean? I never got that part and its meaning.

Answer: He says "It's sectional" not "It's sexual". He's just confirming it comes apart for easier carrying.

Question: When Beetlejuice tried to get the Maitland's business - I don't recall hearing what he expected for payment from them - does anyone know?

Answer: He didn't really talk about payment from the Maitlands. He made it seem like he was good at getting rid of the living and just wanted to help out. But really, he was trying to get "hired" so they would say his name 3 times so he could be summoned. Then by marrying Lydia, he could escape the Neitherworld.

Bishop73

Question: How is Lydia able to see Adam and Barbara along with Beetlejuice? Did she have some sort of near death experience or maybe inherited something from her family?

Answer: It's about her personality. She is just quirky and different from other people, maybe a bit psychic, and that has given her the ability to see the spirits. She may have inherited the trait from her late mother.

raywest

Question: At first, the football team doesn't realise that they died. So why do they think that Juno is their coach?

Answer: They are very confused and probably not the sharpest tools in the shed. Juno probably told them they should do what she says and they immediately associated that with a coach.

lionhead

Answer: Right before the Maitlands walk in, one of the football players asks, "coach, where's the men's room?" After which Juno finally loses her cool and dismisses the team out the door. After Juno's conversation with Adam and Barbara, one player comes back in and says, "Coach I don't think we survived the crash" suggesting they realised they were dead.

Question: When Barbara and Adam change their faces and are ready to go scare everyone, Barbara confesses to Adam that she doesn't want to go through with it. She says that she wants to be with Lydia. Why does she suddenly become infatuated with wanting to be with this girl whom she hardly even knows? It would make more sense if they both grew to love the whole family instead of just Lydia alone. Thus, her sudden change of heart seems kind of strange.

Answer: Lydia is a child, and Barbara and Adam both wanted to have children. Barbara's mother instincts just suddenly kicked in.

lionhead

Answer: I agree with the answer by Lionhead, and I would like to add: Lydia has already spoken to the ghosts more than her parents have. She has been more understanding and tolerant. To me, it makes perfect sense that Barbara has already connected with Lydia more than Lydia's parents.

Question: After Otho and the Deetz family are attacked by the Beetlejuice snake why do they stay in the house instead of fleeing immediately?

Answer: They're still convinced that they can make money off the house and ghosts that inhabit it. The promise of wealth can make people do strange things, including ignoring signs of clear danger. So they're remaining in the house in hopes that it can eventually make them a lot of dough.

TedStixon

Answer: This is never revealed.

lionhead

Answer: It's been inferred that she died from a sickness.

Revealing mistake: When Barbara and Adam are digging up Beetlejuice's grave, you can see that a piece of cardboard states "FRAGILE" or something in small print which is proportional to Barbara and Adam at that time. However, the lettering should be ten times larger if the cardboard was proportional to the actual model. (00:44:35)

More mistakes in Beetlejuice

Barbara: We're very unhappy.
Juno: What did you expect? You're dead.

More quotes from Beetlejuice
More trivia for Beetlejuice

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.