#jonathan gems

It contains the FULL synopsis of Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian!! But don’t get too excited. It’s both good and bad news. The good news? This movie had elements that would have made the cartoon make sense and bridge the gap between the first movie and the series… almost. That’s where the bad news comes in. The ending of the film would have not completed the bridge and would have taken things in a totally opposite and unexpected way.

I’ll give you guys the full summary:

“Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian”

Title of a 126-page screenplay written by Jonathan Gems, based on an idea by Tim Burton, as a proposed sequel to “Beetlejuice”. The year is uncertain, but likely either 1990 or 1991. The story features several of the major characters from the original film- Charles and Delia Deetz, daughter Lydia, Otho, and of course the bio-exorcist, Beetlejuice- but not Barbara and Adam Maitland. As in the original film, Charles and Delia Deetz are the antagonists.

Lydia is now in college and is paying her first visit to the Hawaiian tropical island Kanooka, where Charles Deetz, still a real estate speculator as in the first film, is in the final stages of the construction of a posh resort and casino. A group of environmentally conscious beatniks are protesting against the building of the hotel, claiming that human activity will lead to the destruction of much of the island’s rare wildlife. As the story begins, their protests have been repeatedly ignored. In addition, the hotel is being built on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian kahuna, whose spirit has been disturbed.

Lydia finds herself drawn to the beatniks and begins to fall in love with one of them, a surfer named Kimo. She meets an elderly island holy man, Mr. Maui, who instructs her on how to use her psychic ability to summon waves from the ocean, a talent she is able to exploit, making her popular with the surfers. The protestors kidnap Charles Deetz in an effort to persuade him to cancel the hotel’s opening, but rather quickly, Kimo and his friends are arrested and thrown in jail. With the help of Mr. Maui, Lydia uses a spell enabling her to journey to the Afterlife (Neitherworld), where she hopes to find Beetlejuice and convince him to frighten the hotel’s guests off the island, as well as help to free Kimo and his friends.

Lydia is able to track down Beetlejuice in the Afterlife, who agrees to frighten off the developers if Lydia is able to obtain for him a license to scare. She does, and they return together to the island. After Beetlejuice springs her beatnik friends from jail, Lydia agrees to allow him three days to play on the beach before fulfilling his promise to chase off the developers. During the three days, all sorts of wild things happen, including a surfing tournament that Beetlejuice, predictably, wins by using magic.

As in the first film, Beetlejuice is strongly attracted to Lydia, and once he learns that she is in love with Kimo, he seeks to create a rift between them. He transforms a Joshua tree into a seductive woman whom he names “Cactus”, introducing her to Kimo. Subsequently, Beetlejuice drugs Lydia with a love potion, and she becomes besotted with him. Posing as a wealthy oil tycoon named Monty Exxon, Beetlejuice persuades the Deetzes to allow him to marry Lydia, the day of the marriage set to coincide with the gala opening of the hotel and casino. Eventually, Kimo figured out what Beetlejuice is up to and when he tries, unsuccessfully, to stop the wedding, Beetlejuice’s benign mother, Gala, appears.

She has Lydia drink the nectar of a flower, which reverses the love spell, and Lydia is restored to normal- wary of Beetlejuice. Frustrated, Beetlejuice goes into his terrifying mode, becoming a creature named Juicifer and wreaking havoc on the island, transforming automobiles into metal wolves, animating demonic looking tiki statues, conjuring forth dinosaur skeletons from the ground, returning life to a Neanderthal man, and summoning the Easter Island heads, revealed to be buried giants.

The terrified mob seeks refuge on a nearby volcano. Lydia comes to the rescue by summoning an enormous tidal wave that wipes the creatures off the island, along with everything else, including the hotel and casino. Enraged, Beetlejuice intends to murder Lydia, but in the nick of time, Otho chants “Beetlejuice” three times and sends him back to the Afterlife. At the conclusion, Lydia and Kimo are happily reconciled, the island is to become a nature reserve, and Beetlejuice, after accidentally drinking his own love potion, falls for the girl with whom he lives in the afterlife.

According to Jonathan Gems, both Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder agreed to star in the film provided Burton directed. However, Warner Bros. offered Burton complete artistic control over “Batman Returns”, making him such an incredible offer, according to Gems, “that he couldn’t turn it down.” Hence, “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian” was shelved, and in the years since, Burton has shown little interest in returning to it.

When I initially read this, I figured that up until the love potion bit, it fit PERFECTLY with the cartoon and I was sooo excited. Then came the love potion and I CRIED to think that it was possible that my OTP might not be “real”.

Prepare for the tropical Keat-De-Gras!

Reel History is digging out the buried tale of ‘Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian’!