Beetlejuice – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Beetlejuice

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie1988

35%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Burton's manic ghost comedy is visually inventive but loaded with creepy sexual content and nightmare imagery that hasn't aged gracefully.

7.4/10

83%

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Beetlejuice

movie

PG, 1988

35%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Burton's manic ghost comedy is visually inventive but loaded with creepy sexual content and nightmare imagery that hasn't aged gracefully.

7.4

83%

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Screenwise Verdict

Let's be real: Beetlejuice is a cultural landmark that hasn't aged well for family viewing. The practical effects are still impressive, and Burton's visual imagination is undeniable. But the movie is packed with content that would never fly today—a ghost sexually harassing women and trying to marry a teenager, played entirely for laughs.

The 80s were a different time, and this PG-rated movie (yes, PG!) would easily be PG-13 or R today. Modern kids often find it boring or confusing between the scary parts, and the humor doesn't land the way it did in 1988.

If your teen is into Tim Burton's aesthetic or goth culture, they might appreciate it as a historical artifact. But if you're looking for a fun family movie night, there are better options that won't have you explaining why the ghost is grabbing his crotch.

Age Fit

Common Sense Media's 13+ rating is spot-on. The sexual content, body horror, and dark humor make this inappropriate for younger kids, and honestly many 13-year-olds will find the 80s aesthetic and manic pacing off-putting. This is more of a nostalgia watch for parents who loved it as kids.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Tim Burton's gothic comedy features crude humor, sexual innuendo, a lecherous ghost who gropes women, suicide jokes (the couple died in a car accident but other ghosts died by suicide), and a general mean-spirited tone. The protagonist ghost literally tries to marry a teenage girl. Not modeling kindness or cooperation—it's about chaos and manipulation.

Imaginative

Wildly creative practical effects, stop-motion sequences, and Burton's signature gothic aesthetic create a unique afterlife bureaucracy with waiting rooms, caseworkers, and handbooks for the dead. The visual inventiveness—sandworms, shrunken heads, possessed dinner party dance numbers—remains genuinely original even decades later.

Safe

Multiple safety concerns: attempted forced marriage of a minor, sexual harassment played for laughs, graphic body horror (faces stretched and distorted), suicide references, a character saying 'nice f***ing model' (though censored with a horn honk), scary imagery that genuinely freaked out kids in the 80s and still does. The sandworm scenes and Beetlejuice's transformation into a snake are nightmare fuel. Common Sense Media rates it 13+ for good reason.

Enriching

There's a loose theme about accepting death and moving on, and the Maitlands learn to stand up for themselves. But mostly it's anarchic comedy without much depth. Kids won't gain life lessons beyond 'don't trust sleazy ghosts.' The entertainment value is high for those who can handle it, but it's not building skills or offering meaningful insights.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Genuinely creative practical effects and stop-motion work that show filmmaking craft before CGI took over
Michael Keaton's unhinged performance is iconic—he's only on screen 17 minutes but steals the entire movie
The afterlife bureaucracy concept (waiting rooms, handbooks, caseworkers) is darkly funny and original
Winona Ryder's goth teen Lydia became a cultural touchstone for weird kids everywhere

⚠

What to Watch For

Beetlejuice grabs his crotch, makes lewd gestures, and literally tries to force-marry 16-year-old Lydia—it's played for laughs but is deeply uncomfortable
Body horror scenes where faces stretch and distort, plus a sandworm that traumatized 80s kids
Suicide is referenced multiple times (a waiting room full of people who died that way, including one holding his severed head)
The pacing is chaotic and the humor is mean-spirited—not a feel-good family movie
Censored f-bomb and general crude humor throughout

Conversation Starters

"That scene where Beetlejuice tries to marry Lydia—how did that make you feel? Why do you think the movie treated it like a joke?"
"The movie shows death as bureaucratic and boring. What do you think happens after people die?"
"Why do you think Lydia connected with the Maitlands when her own parents ignored her?"
"Those practical effects were done with puppets and stop-motion before computers. Which scene looked coolest to you?"

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