When Tim Burton took his gothic art style and combined it with the bizarre tastes of Michael McDowell’s script, Beetlejuice was born. This unique horror-comedy then presented the supernatural prankster, Betelgeuse, to audiences across the world. While most films of the era called for humans to exorcise a dangerous ghost or demon, Betelgeuse offered his services to a pair of kind ghosts who needed a bio-exorcist. For, there was a family of living humans that annoyed and disturbed the recently deceased pair. Even though the family wanted to initially take advantage of their haunted house, the ghosts made peace with them so that their sympathetic daughter, Lydia Deetz, would not become the unfortunate wife to Betelgeuse.
Thanks to Michael Keaton’s brilliance, Beetlejuice did not just have Tim Burton’s unique take on the visual appearance of the Neitherworld, but a memorable titular ghost. Once Michael Keaton finally understood Tim Burton’s vision of the film, he demanded that the costume department bring several racks of clothing from various times. Without Tim Burton’s oversight, the actor designed the look for Betelgeuse by choosing the mishmash of outfits, giving him an electric hairstyle, and applying moss to top off the appearance. When Keaton showed up on set in character, Tim Burton fell in love with the look.
Likewise, audiences loved Michael Keaton’s performance as the titular character, thirsting for more. As ABC began to produce a cartoon series based on Beetlejuice in 1989, Kenner began producing toys to bring the frights home. This short-lived toy line then mixed both the movie with the look of the cartoon. So, fans of both the film and the series could both enjoy the toys.
Presenting the top ten toys from Kenner’s 1989 Beetlejuice line of toys
10. Otho the Obnoxious
When the Deetz family moved into the Maitlans’ former Connecticut house, Ortho Fenlock soon began showing up as he visited his friends. For he originally met Delia Deetz years ago, becoming her friend. His various backgrounds in things like interior design, hair styling, and the paranormal made him an incredibly unique character already. Then, he proved to be extremely egotistical, often touting failures as experiences or successes. He also cozied himself up to those with money, like the Deetz family.
Once the Deetz realized that their house was haunted, Ortho played a significant role thanks to his background in paranormal research. He already had been offering his assistance to his friends, as he and Delia planned to renovate the house. However, Ortho shined, in some ways, once he got his hands on the Handbook for the Recently Departed. Wishing to summon the spirits in the house, Ortho read what he believed to be a séance. However, he inadvertently began to exorcise the Maitlans, killing them once again. Only the intervention of Betelgeuse saved the pair of ghosts.
While Ortho never appeared in ABC’s cartoon series, he tended to wear a black suit with a black shirt in the film. So, Kenner’s Ortho the Obnoxious did not officially bring over the character from the film. Instead, they decided to give him an appearance that reflected his narcissistic tendencies. Then, owners could turn him into a quivering wimp by revealing his second face by lifting his original. Accompanying Ortho, a Loathsome Lizard also came in the packaging.
9. Gross Out Meter
Kenner saw the unique art style of Beetlejuice as a chance to experiment with various looks. When it came to creating various toys that would appeal to children, they decided to span out from the notes from the source material. Thus, they imagined a handheld toy that would allow owners to determine how gross and disgusting their friends and other beings are.
The Gross Out Meter playset mimicked the appearance of a skeletal hand. The white and purple swirl that bordered the toy felt naturally in line with Tim Burton’s film. To get a reading on those around them, one only needed to pull the trigger then grab their victim with the fake hand. By releasing the trigger, the dials would stop spinning and land on their reading.
Above giving a reading, this toy had one hidden feature. To the left of the meter was a secret compartment that could open, especially if someone was really gross. By flipping the activation switch, the bug hidden in this compartment would fly out.
8. Beetlejuice (Exploding)
While Beetlejuice’s main character in the film had the name Betelgeuse, the proper pronunciation led to audiences assuming his name was the same as the film’s. So, for any media outside of the original film, including Kenner’s toys, the titular ghoul became known as Beetlejuice.
When it came to scaring humans, none could hold a light to Beetlejuice and his various antics. Thus, he offered his services as a “bio-exterminator” to Adam and Barbara Maitlan when they had no idea how to scare away the Deetz family. However, his means of scaring humans posed great harm to the living. Thus, this prankster was a dangerous individual to work with.
For their toy line, Kenner created several Beetlejuice figures that featured his various means of scaring away mortals. For instance, the exploding Beetlejuice could break apart to uncover the bug hidden inside of him. To activate this gimmick, owners would squeeze his knees together. After each explosion, the toy easily reassembled so that it could explode once more. This figure also came with an orange dreadful dragon that shared his face.
7. Vanishing Vault
When it came to playsets for their Beetlejuice toy line, Kenner allowed owners to experience the fun and magic of the movie. Taking notes from vanishing acts, Kenner developed a toy that would allow for the various action figures from the toy line to vanish. Thus, they released the Vanishing Vault playset that resembled a small section from a graveyard.
By placing an action figure inside the vault, owners could activate the magic by sliding up the cover, which resembled bug-covered ground. Then, pulling the lever that read the name Beetlejuice twice to the right, the playset would hide away the action figure so that it would seem to vanish. To make the action figure reappear, one only needed to repeat the process, just pulling the lever to the left. Beyond making action figures vanish, the playset also came with a micro Beetlejuice action figure.
Kenner took several queues from the film when they created this toy. For, Betelgeuse could be summoned to a from the land of the living by calling out his name three times in a row. He also was known to change his size. For instance, he originally appeared to the Maitlans within the interior of a dollhouse.
6. Harry the Haunted
Within the Neitherworld Waiting Room, the Maitlans met with many unique individuals that met their ends in unique and disastrous ways. Standing out from the background, a man in hunting khakis holding a rifle sat in the room. Unfortunately, the means of his death became obvious once one looked at his head. Rather than having a normal-sized head, Harry had died by having his head shrunk, supposedly from a witch doctor.
Not only did Kenner take note of this brief denizen of the afterlife, but he also appeared in ABC’s cartoon series as I.M. Smallhead. Unlike his film counterpart, the cartoon transformed him into an assistant to the mayor who despised Beetlejuice. While he had a different name and role, the similarities with his design made it obvious that the film’s character inspired the cartoon.
To turn Harry the Hunter into an exciting toy, Kenner made him initially appear to be a stereotypical big game hunter. The man wore the typical brown khakis that one would expect of a hunter from the 1800s, though he had purple accenting his belt and buttons. The fun began when his head popped off, revealing his shrunken head.
This action figure came with two accessories. First, no hunter should be without his gun, so he came with a purple shotgun. He also came with a Terrible Tarantula that had Beetlejuice’s face on its head.
5. Adam Maitlan
When Adam and Barbara Maitlans went into town to get supplies, they never imagined that they would never make it home alive. Unfortunately, by swerving to avoid running over a dog, their car sent through the covered bridge and plummeted into the river below. Soon after, the Maitlans found themselves trapped inside their Connecticut house, with no memory of dying.
As they began adjusting to their new undead life, their house became the new home for the Deetz family, who wished to completely renovate the place. Between the attitude of their new tenants and their differences in styles, the Maitlans wanted to remove the living family from their house. As they tried to figure out how to scare away the Deetz family, Betelgeuse approached them to offer his services as a “Bio-Exorcist”. However, his pranks did not settle well with the Maitlans at first.
Instead, they did their best to scare away the Deetz family on their own. They learned that since they were dead, they could stretch and reform their body parts, like their heads, to create frightening apparitions. For one of these scares, Adam pulled his facial skin forward so that his head resembled a plague doctor’s mask or twisted version of a crow.
With this moment in the film creating a stand-out moment for Adam Maitlan, Kenner included the beakface appearance as a mask for the toy. Meanwhile, the action figure’s main gimmick occurred when his head slid down his arm. Finally, this toy came with a purple creepy crawler with Beetlejuice’s head.
4. Phantom Flyer
While Betelgeuse had no signature vehicles of his own in the film, Kenner saw it fit to create vehicles for their toy line. Thus, they conceptualized a unique flying machine that the prankster ghost could fly. The Phantom Flyer resembled a carriage motorcycle. However, this vehicle featured a skull and bones around the front wheel. This skull provided more than an aesthetic value. It also chattered as the wheel turned.
Most importantly, this vehicle had two flaps that could fold down to become wings. Thus, the motorcycle gained two bat-like wings so that it could soar through the air. Meanwhile, squeezing the handlebars together activated the wheel bomb. After firing the front wheel, the flyer could then swoop in to nab its prey with the front skeleton claws.
3. Beetlejuice (Showtime)
To scare the living, Beetlejuice had a large array of frightening abilities and tricks that he could call on. Beetlejuice was an experienced shapeshifter, capable of taking the form of multiple creatures. He could also make his body morph so that he mimicked multiple gruesome ways of dying. Often, Beetlejuice enjoys calling upon snakes and bugs for his scares.
Kenner’s Showtime Beetlejuice action figure definitely took note of this troublemaker’s shapeshifting powers. Even before activating any gimmicks, this action figure has a deformed head that resembles a strange gazebo with black wings. However, the real fun began once the head flew off from the body, revealing the jump-out snake head. Accompanying this action figure, a Rotten Rattler also came in the packaging.
2. Creepy Cruiser
Kenner definitely understood that every toy line required an awesome car. Beetlejuice was no different, for they gave him a creepy cruiser to spread his mayhem in. This vehicle took many cues from popular sports and muscle cars in the 90s. However, it resembled no car that any manufacturer has ever created. Still, perhaps the cars that inspired the look of this vehicle were Mustangs and Cadillacs.
This double seater featured an ox head above its grill. Following Beetlejuice’s fashion sense, the car featured striped upholstery and tires. Rather than a standard spoiler, the car featured two webbed wings to the sides of the trunk.
The fun began once an action figure, like Ortho the Obnoxious, found itself in the grips of the car’s cage near the back. There, the snake pit would grip onto the action figure to keep it secure. As the car rolled forward, this mechanism span, making the prisoner helplessly spin as well. Once done torturing the captive, pressing down on the ejection button launched the captive into the air.
1. Beetlejuice (Talking Figure)
Why settle for less when you can pick the largest Beetlejuice figure in Kenner’s toy line. Beyond standing at sixteen inches, this toy featured real cloth clothing and a full head of hair. The immense size of this figure gave Kenner the possibility to sculpt the head into a close semblance of Michael Keaton’s version of the character.
Beyond the attention to detail, this toy included a voice box, so that he could speak. Rather than using batteries, Kenner opted to use the tried-and-true method of a pull string activated voice box. By pulling the string, the toy spoke several phrases, including “It’s showtime!” Unfortunately, the technology to activate this created a very high-pitched voice.
Beyond the voice features, this toy had one more gimmick available to him, his head span. By pressing down on the hidden button in the middle of his chest, the head-spinning-mechanic activated. They then could turn his head back so that it faced forward once more.
What were your favorite Kenner’s Beetlejuice toys?
Today, we have shared with you our picks for the greatest Beetlejuice toys that Kenner created in 1989. Each of these toys supplied hours of fun in the 80s. Now, fans of the movie and cartoon series love collecting this vintage toy line. So, we carefully considered the action figures to pick out the best toys from the line.
Still, we would love to hear from you. Did you agree with our list? Let us know what your favorite toys from Kenner’s 1989 Beetlejuice toy line were down in the comments below!
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Made in collaboration with:
Chris Ingledue
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Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!
ah I missed this wave….looks like so much fun