Question: Is there any symbolism or meaning to Otho's reading of the incantation from "The Handbook of The Recently Deceased" during the seance/exorcism scene? Even as a child, I found it seemed like it had more in-depth meaning of some kind.
Question: How did Beetlejuice leave the model and attack the Deetzes as a snake if no-one conjured him?
Question: Was there any physical indication of what killed the Maitlinds? The football players died in a bus crash and looked mangled. The girl who committed suicide had slashed wrists. I never noticed anything suggesting how the two of them died by their appearance.
Answer: They died by drowning. Jane's daughter even tells Lydia when she asks what happened. Although Adam and Barbara should have been completely wet for the whole movie, Tim Burton decided to keep Alec and Geena dry as he felt that keeping them wet the entire time would be an uncomfortable experience for both of them.
Question: When Adam and Barbara start to age and die near the end of the movie, I don't get how they didn't "die" again. How did they end up completely fine at the end?
Answer: Otho is attempting to exorcise them (remember how the afterlife janitor said exorcism was death for the dead), but Beetlejuice interrupted the ceremony, restoring them.
Answer: It's not completely clear what was happening to them but it's somewhere along the lines of the ritual making them corporeal or even partially resurrecting them but the ritual wasn't done properly so their bodies started to decay. Beetlejuice reversed that process and turned them back into ghosts.
Question: Why do Adam and Barbara always hide when Otho, Charles and Delia enter the attic? The only person who can see them is Lydia.
Answer: Probably a combination of habit and uncertainty. They don't know what the rules are of being seen since at least one person can see them, so to be cautious in case something changes they still hide.
Question: What did Jane say to Barbara that upset her? The only thing I could make out was, "This place" and "family."
Answer: Jane says "the house is meant for a couple with a family" and is therefore too big for them. Meaning that Adam and Barbara have no children and thus aren't a family yet. It upset her to be reminded that they don't have any children.
Adam even suggests 'trying again on vacation,' implying they'd tried to have a child before. It's why they bonded with Lydia so well; they'd been hoping to be parents.
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.
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.
Question: How did the football players die exactly?
Answer: A bus accident.
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.
Question: Does Beetlejuice kill the young Girl Scout?
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.
Question: Why can't Beetlejuice say his name?
Answer: Because then he could ask anybody to say his name three times for him, and they would release him.
Answer: Lydia is being possessed, like during the "Tally Me Banana" scene earlier in the movie.
Let me clarify: like the others at the dinner party during the "Tally Me Banana" scene.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Chosen answer: Barbara did conjure him earlier in the movie when she saw lights in the model going off and then said his name three times. According to Juno, they let Beetlejuice out but didn't put him back, which gave him the opportunity to attack the Deetzs.