It's been a good while since an episode of Beetlejuice: The Animated Series was covered by me and as you can no doubt all work out i'm actually really enjoying this show. With this show being just as fresh and as funny as not only the two live action movies but also shows like The Addams Family and The Real Ghostbusters as well with the episodes that i'm going to review for you all today being just a good example of how smart this shows humor really was and so then join me as I review the episodes that sees Beetlejuice , Lydia , Bertha and Prudence go camping with the episodes in question being called simply just "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" and "Campfire Ghouls" enjoy.
The plot of "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" is when Beetlejuice finds himself being kicked out of his house by his neighbors he has to do everything that he can do to prove that he's a good neighbor and in "Campfire Ghouls" Beetlejuice under the disguise of Betty Juice goes camping in the neither world with Lydia , Bertha and Prudence. Now then interms of what I actually thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty pers0onally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad with "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" having the more stronger of the two plots as the plot for this episodes second segment "Campfire Ghouls" was a little bit on the weak ide and was ore of an excuse for the show to have some clever word play and really nothing more then that whereas with the first segment there was at the vert least some effort put into telling a more decent storyline albeit one that does feel a bit tame not only for this shoe but for this franchise as a whole as we know that thanks to not only the movies but the over episodes in this show that this show can have some pretty out there plots and yet the plot for "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" felt like that it was playing things far to safe for it's own good and yet the plot of this episodes second segment was barely there alot of the time so much so that it did feel like things where just happening for random reasons and not because of the fact that they added anything to the actual plot of the segment with the plots also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is Stephen Ouimette as Beetlejuice / Betty Juice and X-Men: The Animated Series star Alyson Court as Lydia Deetz. Also starring in this episode is Charles Kerr as Jacques LaLean , Powerpuff Girls Z and Star Wars: Ewoks star Tabitha St. Germain as Ginger and Prudence , Len Carlson as The Monster Across The Street , Susan Roman as Poopsie and My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic and voice acting legend Tara Strong as Bertha.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With all of this episodes actors turning in some really good performances which is something that really does make alot of sense as alot of the actors that are in this episode are a bunch of really good actors in there own with one of them later going on to become a voice acting legend in her own right as well with it being really hard to tell which segment had the better acting in it as while the set up for "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" wouldn't usually allow for good acting that's exactly what we got from all of the actors that are in that segment where as in the episodes second segment the basic premise of the segment again doesn't usually allow for good acting and yet again that's exactly what we got with al four of that segments main leads turning in some really good performances and heck it was even hard to say just which actor was the best actor in this episode from a performance point of view but if push come to shove the best actor in this episode is Stephen Ouimette as Beetlejuice / Betty Juice as he really does manage to capture the spirit of Michael Keaton's take on the character whilst also making it own as well with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that the scripts for this episode are just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall qwuality of the acting that's in this very episode.
Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Nelvana and Wang Film Productions Company. Now then interms of what U personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us un this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with both of this episodes segments having some really good animation to them with the neither world forest looking beautifully creepy and really well detailed while the neighborhood where Beetlejuice lives looks suitably weird and out there both of which are perfect not only for the character of Beetlejuice himself but also for this world as you can very well imagine all of these weird and wonderful things taking place in a world where there are no rules and that's exactly the case with the animation in this episode as due to the more looney and zany nature of the show the animation itself can be more looney and zany as that is something that would not only fit in with this world and these characters but would also suit these otherworldly characters who are also pretty looney and zany with it being that fine attention to detail that des make this episodes animation standout from all of the other pieces of animation from similar shows as it would have been very easy to ground this show in some from of reality as that would have helped the animators out quite alot but it's also something that would go against Beetlejuice as a character as he is someone who can do anything and who can be as zany as he wants to be and therefor the animation in not only this show but this episode as well should really reflect that.
Believe it or not but "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" is actually one of if not the first segment of the show where Lydia Deetz doesn't actually play that big of a role in an episode. With the character only appearing a handful of times to give Beetlejuice advice on how to win his neighbors back advice which he does of course get wrong and only ends up making matters worse for himself but it is something that does show that you don't really need to have Lydia appear in every single episode of the show as the show has more then enough power to work without her character being in every single episode of the show and while that is something that might make the fans of the movies angry it is something that does work as is the case with this episodes first segment as you barely miss the character due to the fact that us the audience are more entertained with seeing Beetlejuice make things worse for himself and while the episode does explain why she's not in this episode all that much with her doing her homework for school something which does make alot of sense as this version of the character would act like that with the best comparison for this segment being if The Real Ghostbusters did an episode that didn't feature Slimer as while yes he is a big part of the show depending on the episode you'd be busy being entertained by the antics of the Ghostbusters to even realise that he's not been on screen with that being how it is with Lydia in this episode but at the same time tho the episode does cut back to her alot of the time with her even helping out with the resolution of the story as well which is something that does lessen the fact that the she's not a big part of this segments story as the story was doing just fine without her in it.
While "Campfire Ghouls" is quite easily the weaker of this episodes two segments it to does give us something that we hadn't seen in this franchise up until this point. With that being the fact that we get see human characters other then Lydia enter the Neither World something that we only saw saw twice in both of the live action movies and something that was rarely done in this show and it's something that does work really well as it does allow for some rather unique interactions with characters who are just coming across this world and are just visiting this world for the first time ad while this segment does take as full advantage of that idea as it possibly could have done it still doesn't have that much fun with it as it would have been fun to see both Prudence and Bertha actually struggle to to Lydia and Betty Juice after they get lost late into the third act of the story as then we could have seen them learn how to overcome the monsters of that world on their own instead of it coming out of nowhere like it does in the final cut of the episode but at the same time given the fact that this episode is made up of two segments you do have to make cuts to the episode to make them fit within a certain running time and as much as it would have been to see those characters taking on the creatures from the Neither World it also would have been a bit repetitive seeing them get scared of those same creatures alot of the time as well and with the characters of Prudence and Bertha not being the main characters of the show it wouldn't make sense for them to be the main characters of this story when you have the shows main characters also being the main characters of the story as well.
While "Campfire Ghouls" is the more weaker of the episodes two segments it is also one of the more fun segments as well. As we do get to see some interactions that we wouldn't get to see in any other episode of the show like we get to see Prudence and Bertha both at times interact with Beetlejuice which is always going to fun as both of these characters are complete and total opposites of Beetlejuice and therefor seeing them talk to him here under the guise of Betty Juice will always be a fun thing to see however the issue is tho is that the segment on the whole won't be as fun as it really could have bee as the very idea of these four characters going camping in a world that's full to the brim with monsters and ghouls should be a really fun filled and creative episode to watch and while the segment does have alot of really creative moments in it for one reason or another it's no that fun to watch as it feels like the makers of the segment are holding themselves back from going all in and just letting loose in that segment which is something that they really could have done as it would have been fun to see the characters interact with some of the citizens from the Neither World and have Lydia try to stop them before they point out that Betty Juice is secretly Beetlejuice as that would have been in her character to do so and it would have been in the shows nature to have those citizens appear as well as that makes the Neither World feel like a big place where as here because of the fact that we don't get to see all that much of it it oddly feels alot more smaller and thus the segment feels alot less fun when compared to the episodes first segment.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty four minuets with "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" being twelve minutes and four seconds. With "Campfire Ghouls" being Twelve minuets and five seconds with both of these segments having some pretty decent running times as they both have the right amount of plot there to really cover there respective amounts of running time the issue is tho is that neither episode really uses there running time all that wisely as neither episode fully develops there plot enough to the point where it is justified them being as long as they are as "Campfire Ghouls" could have been around ten minuets long and nothing thats actually important to the plot of that segments would need to be cut and "Bad Neighbor Beetlejuice" is just stuck on repeat mode for alot of it's running time when it could have spent some of it's running time in showing us how Beetlejuice's neighborhood is both positively effected and negatively effected with him no longer being there something that the segment only does at the end of the segment by which point it's far to little to late with both segments not really developing there characters all that well either as we don't get to find out why both Beetlejuice and Lydia are going camping with Lydia's earth friends and while it is understandable why his neighbors want to kick him out given that they've known just how much of a bad neighbor that he is it then really begs the question of why didn't they throw Beetlejuice out earlier on in the shows run but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episodes second segment "Campfire Ghouls" actually having the better comedy as it had just such clever word play with things like Hedgehogs for example being taken quite literally with them being hogs made out of hedges and it's that kind of comedy that's in all of that segment with all of them landing and landing hard as it is something that does show the potential of that segment and while yes the first segment does have some really funny moments in it as well with there being an oddly placed Looney Tunes reference near the end of the segment it's the shows second segment does get alot of the bigger laughs just due to how clever that it's word play be as it shows us that in the Neither World things are taken quite literally something that we've also seen in previous episodes of the show with Beetlejuice quite literally having skeletons in his closet for example and yet here in this segment it's done with animals which does lead to some really funny moments with all of this segments jokes landing due to how clever that they are and while the previous segment does have alot of funny jokes in it with Beetlejuice also taking Lydia's advice on how to be a good neighbor quite literally it still doesn't top the word play jokes in the second segment as they really just that funny in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall while The Real Ghostbusters ight be the better remembered of these two shows this episode does go along way into proving that this show was an incredibly smart show and one that shouldn't be overlooked by people and while yes the second segment is easily the weaker of the two segments the episode on the whole was still a fun and solid episode of this show in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that "Bad Neighbor Beetle" really does earn itself a grand old score of a 6 out 10 and "Campfire Ghouls" really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 5.5 out of 10 with the episode as a whole really earning itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Beetlejuice fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great the official Beetlejuice fandom wiki page really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with really alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on the official Beetlejuice fandom wiki page are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.