8 Facts You Didn't Know About Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice'

If you've ever picked up on the tension between how funny and outright weird the film is, you may not know that it was supposed to be way darker. The original script, written by Michael McDowell, wasn't as whimsical as the final movie. The light touch came after a rewrite by screenwriters Larry Wilson and Warren Skaaren.

In this video, Wilson describes the notes he got from a prominent studio head who read the script for him as a favor. Expecting positive feedback, Wilson was taken aback when he got the following barbed recap: "He said, 'You have actually a very good future as an executive, as a producer. This piece of crap is going to sink you, and sink your career. Why would you put this on the marketplace representing you?"

When he requested a new version of the script, Burton requested the inclusion of several songs. Originally, the director envisioned Lydia lip-syncing to "When a Man Loves a Woman." But the songs that made the final cut in two huge singalong scenes -- notably, the two Harry Belafonte hits "Day-O" and "Jump the Line" -- give the film a funner and eerier, more timeless feel.

The role of Lydia Deetz was floated to -- and turned down by -- a lot of notable actresses. The list included Lori Laughlin, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Justine Bateman, Molly Ringwald and Jennifer Connelly. Winona Ryder snagged the part based on the strength of her performance in her debut film "Lucas," which also starred a young Charlie Sheen.

Burton wanted original Pat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. for the title role. While this would have been an amazing choice for the very odd film, Michael Keaton is no lightweight himself. His performance as the devious poltergeist would lead to his working with Burton again in both "Batman" and "Batman Returns."

Keaton ad-libbed a bunch of his lines in his frenetic performance. The star began his career as a predominantly comedic actor, and improvising was second nature to him. In an interview, Keaton discussed the off-the-cuff lines he did in his 1983 feature film: "When I did 'Night Shift,' I improvised quite a bit because I would improvise at the audition so sometimes I would return to the original lines and then when I was on set I would improvise even more."

Of the film's 92-minute runtime, 'juice was only in the film for 17.5 minutes.

Makeup artist Ve Neill won a 1989 Oscar for Best Makeup for her work on "Beetlejuice." If you want to see a true time capsule piece, watch this clip of Neill accepting the award from a young Robert Downey Jr. and Cybill Shepherd.

The spinoff show ran for four seasons across 94 episodes between September 9, 1989 and December 6, 1991. The show was developed and executive-produced by Burton and arranged by the legendary film composer Danny Elfman.