How Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Found Its Own Version of the ‘Day-O’ Scene

If you’ve seen Beetlejuice Beetlejuice—and a batch of radical person by now—you cognize that a rendition of Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat Song (Day-O),” a centerpiece of the 1988 film, does appear. But the main philharmonic fig this clip astir is acceptable to a precise antithetic retro ditty: “MacArthur Park,” written by Jimmy Webb and performed by Richard Harris (the Donna Summer mentation besides gets a small infinitesimal too). Considering the spotlight it commands successful Tim Burton’s sequel, the 1968 opus mightiness consciousness similar a random choice. But the radical who made the movie person a elemental explanation.

Turns retired it’s a idiosyncratic favourite of Burton’s, occupying a spot connected “the director’s idiosyncratic jukebox located successful his home,” according to Entertainment Weekly. (Wonder what other is connected there, that almost made the cut?) In a caller interrogation focusing connected Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘s climactic philharmonic number—a much progressive and elaborate mentation of the lip-sync creation seen successful the archetypal film’s “Day-O” meal party—co-screenwriter Alfred Gough told the mag that everyone knew they wanted a philharmonic fig successful the sequel. That said, arsenic the film’s choreographer Corey Baker emphasized, each progressive besides knew the series had to carve retired its ain abstraction successful the Beetlejuice realm.

“Knowing that ‘Day-O’ successful the archetypal movie is truthful iconic, we were each truly wide connected time 1 that we were not trying to replicate that,” Baker told EW. “We’re going to person the instrumentality of Beetlejuice makes radical execute and bash brainsick things … but of people it’ll beryllium antithetic due to the fact that we’re successful a antithetic clip of his travel and a antithetic story.”

In creating the scene, Baker explained however the extremity was to marque the characters’ movements consciousness spontaneous, alternatively than evidently choreographed. He besides revealed that getting the code close successful the country was a challenge. “We were perpetually processing and changing,” helium told the magazine, experimenting with versions of the creation that were “disgusting” and “really grotesque,” arsenic good arsenic 1 wherever the performers pretended to beryllium animals. Those were scrapped earlier the last mentation was created, but there’s inactive a free-flowing prime to what ended up connected the large screen.

Baker besides took a infinitesimal to springiness Beetlejuice Beetlejuice prima Jenna Ortega props for different of her iconic Tim Burton-adjacent creation scenes: that instantly viral Wednesday routine. When they met, the choreographer said, “I congratulated her connected it, due to the fact that it’s not an casual feat.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is present successful theaters; spot it and beryllium warned, you’ll beryllium crooning “Someone near the barroom retired successful the raiiiin” to yourself for days after.

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