Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Actor Praises the Film’s Use of Practical Effects

Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has premiered, and left a noticeable mark on its actors. One of the highlights of the film, according to Justin Theroux, is the extensive use of practical effects. Theroux expressed particular admiration for the puppets in the movie, including a terrifying baby puppet and the Bobs, a group of head-shrinking characters with animated eyeballs.

Theroux spoke to Comicbook about his experience working on the film. He described it as “the most fun” he’s had in his career, emphasizing the collaborative and creative atmosphere on set.

Some of them are just simple gags, you know, opening up a sweater and having guts blow out at you, things like that. But the thing that I was the most obsessed with, and sort of nerding out on was those puppets. There’s a baby puppet in it that’s so terrifying and amazing with facial expressions and then there’s the Bobs, which are the head shrinkers, which had these incredible eyeballs that would move and they could make expressions as well. And then there were, you know, dozens of those guys kicking around.

Justin Theroux

This is during a time when CGI has become a lot cheaper and, at times, more practical to use. There are definitely some studios that overdo it or don’t put the money in to make sure it’s seamless, but it seems like CGI is the standard. With practical effects, the crew can still react to what’s happening on stage efficiently, which would be easier than just being told what to react to and imagining what’s happening.

In an interview with Collider, Theroux credited Tim Burton for how he set up his stages and made movies. “I had no expectations… Don’t try and match Tim Burton’s imagination… You see how much creativity has just [exploded]. It’s like a creativity bomb had gone off…” and apparently, Burton never really eased up. “Every single set was like that,” the actor said, so it seems like it went further than practical effects.

Even Michael Keaton, who reprised his role as Beetlejuice, seems to agree with Theroux’s point of view. He told Empire that the filmmakers adhere to the same style and methods used in the original movie, emphasizing handmade props and practical effects. Keaton described the experience as “so fun” and likened it to “making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing.”