How Fox Kids defused a Baptist minister’s complaint about the cartoon Beetlejuice

Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice” was released in theaters on March 30, 1988. and it became an unexpected successgrossing over $84 million on its $15 million budget. It was unexpected because it was so weird and different from the other hits of the day. Tim Burton was a stylist who took inspiration from Disney, old B-movies, Edward Gorey, Charles Addams and a myriad of other cartoon-related sources. Burton was unlikely to become a Hollywood darling, but that’s exactly what he became.

Plans were immediately put in place to make a sequel, “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian,” and in 1989, Burton developed his film into an animated television series. “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian” never saw the light of daybut the TV series “Beetlejuice” proved to be very popular. It ran for 95 episodes over four (oddly analyzed) seasons, expanding the bizarre world of Burton’s film into a semi-surreal sitcom. “Beetlejuice” takes place primarily in the Nor-World, where ghosts go when they die. The Ni-World, however, was filled with monsters and shapeshifters in addition to the usual simple deaths. The main character – a centuries-old trickster – was played by Stephen Ouimette, and he regularly had affairs with the mortal goth Lydia (Alyson Court). Lydia was able to summon Beetlejuice of the Netherworld by reciting his name three times.

Because “Beetlejuice” was about death, ghosts and other demonic beings, it attracted a lot of attention from concerned religious groups who thought the series might be a little too satanic for children. Indeed, in 2024, Cracked ran an oral history of the animated series “Beetlejuice,” and Sidney Iwanter, a Fox Kids executive, remembers having to field phone calls from ministers upset about the series. Fortunately, he had a tactic for such calls: listen and respond politely.

Iwanter recalls receiving many calls from, in his words, “Bible readers who found this show satanic.” He said Baptist ministers in particular would write to “Beetlejuice” to complain about its theological implications. After all, it was quite strange. Iwanter noted, however, that these are legitimate concerns and should be listened to. But above all, he listened because he knew that ministers would not leave if they were ignored.

Iwanter would even go so far as to have lengthy conversations about “Beetlejuice” with the aggrieved. One conversation stuck in his mind, regarding an angry letter from a Baptist minister in Texas about a scene where Beetlejuice had transformed into a donkey. As he recalled:

“I called her and spent an hour on the phone with her talking about the Bible and all the animals – all the donkeys, donkeys and mules – associated with Bible stories. I had the Bible in front of me and we had this in-depth conversation. At the end she said, ‘It’s good to know that you’re a God-fearing man, and I’m glad you’re attached to this show.’ And that was it! You should never ignore people, because the situation is only getting worse.”

However, Iwanter was not always so diplomatic. Indeed, one of his colleagues, Margaret Loesch, president of Fox Kids at the time, recalled that Iwanter often responded to angry letters by responding to equally angry letters. It seems like Iwanter would be really flippant and disrespectful in these letters. Sure, he responded, but it wasn’t necessarily in a constructive way. “He could be so sarcastic,” Loesch said. “I’m surprised someone didn’t kill him.” It seems that Iwanter’s philosophy of “responding to complaints” has only taken him so far.