Warning: This post contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice writer Miles Millar explains how Charles Deetz’s standout death scene was developed, and how it pays tribute to Tim Burton’s early career. Originally played by Jeffrey Jones, the father of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) and husband of Delia (Catherine O’Hara) is killed when his plane crash-lands into the ocean when returning from a bird-watching expedition, as a shark consumes his upper half. While Charles’ headless ghost, portrayed by an unknown actor, roams the Afterlife, his death is told via a heavily stylized stop-motion animation flashback.
Millar explained to Forbes how they chose to explain the story of Charles’ death in a form few would imagine. From the earliest days of the movie’s development, the sequence was always envisioned as stop-motion, as a nod to Burton’s early filmmaking career in animation alongside his involvement in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie. Check out Millar’s recollection below:
Charles’ death sequence in the script is stop-motion. We thought that would be a really fun call back to Tim’s stop-motion movies and a really interesting way to see that depth. It was something we thought Tim would respond to and he did. Because we’ve been working with him on Wednesday, we have a sense of what he responds to, and also because we’ve always been huge fans of his work. We want to put as much as we can in the scripts and then let him be inspired by that—we always think that’s the best way to work anyway. We don’t hold anything back in terms of what we describe in the scripts, and hopefully inspires other ideas or a blueprint or starting point.
How Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Worked Around One Of Its Most Complicated Character Returns
Jones’ Real-Life Crimes Meant Any Return Was Incredibly Unlikely
The reason why Beetlejuice Beetlejuice avoided bringing back Jones despite the majority of the original cast returning makes sense. In 2002, Jones was arrested for possession and solicitation of child pornography, later offering a plea of no contest for the latter. As such, not only has the actor been omitted from the sequel, but his character has been killed off in a rather graphic way. This is surprising, considering some might’ve expected Charles’ death to be a more subdued affair in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
As such, the sequel is able to still feel like a satisfying revisit to the world while rightfully leaving the disgraced actor behind.
Charles is seen in several sequences wandering the Afterlife, trying to determine where he is now that he is on the other side. In a fashion fittingly macabre for the franchise, Charles’ upper body and head have been chewed away by the shark, avoiding the need for Jones’ likeness, while a new physical and vocal performance is supplied by currently unnamed performers. Furthermore, Charles’ maintained presence does allow for a satisfying end to Delia’s arc, who is able to reunite with her husband and pass on with few regrets.
Incorporating Charles into Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘s story was never going to be an easy task given the seriousness of Jones’ crimes. Despite the difficulty, however, it is clear Millar, Gough, Burton, and the rest of the cast and crew didn’t hold back, instead finding unique and creative manners to tell the story without compromising or wasting potential. As such, the sequel is able to still feel like a satisfying revisit to the world while rightfully leaving the disgraced actor behind.
Source: Forbes
