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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice didn’t try to make its wedding climax a bigger copy of the original film’s famous “Day-O” scene. Instead, Tim Burton and the writers built a new musical set piece around Richard Harris’s “MacArthur Park,” using the song’s shifts in mood and structure to carry the third act.
Why not simply repeat “Day-O”?
The 1988 Beetlejuice made “Day-O” an unforgettable musical moment: the dinner guests are pulled into a supernatural performance, turning a familiar song into a comic set piece. The sequel acknowledges that legacy—“Day-O” returns in several forms—but its wedding climax takes a different route. Rather than recreate the original’s recognizable setup, the filmmakers chose a new song and shaped a scene around the wedding story.
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That distinction matters. A larger reprise might have leaned mainly on recognition; “MacArthur Park” gave the sequel a different emotional and tonal range. It could feel romantic, strange, and grand at once—qualities Burton said suited Beetlejuice.
Why is “MacArthur Park” in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?
Burton’s answer was personal rather than a claim that the song was objectively the best possible successor. “It’s just something that I felt fit the spirit of it, and it was a song I liked. It was emotional, it was operatic, and it was sort of bizarrely romantic and grand,” he told CinemaBlend on September 24, 2024: CinemaBlend’s interview with Tim Burton.
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Co-writer Alfred Gough described the creative problem as wanting a big number in the spirit of “Day-O” while facing the obvious question: “We also wanted a big ‘Day-O’-like musical number, but how do you top ‘Day-O’?” In Gough’s account, reproduced by CinemaBlend from a post-release interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Burton called after listening to “MacArthur Park” and wanted to use the Richard Harris recording. The writers then built the third act around its “weird moves.” Gough described the recording as seven and a half minutes; that is his description of the recording, not an independently measured runtime for the finished scene.
How the song shaped the wedding climax
“MacArthur Park” was not simply laid over a scene that had already been settled. Gough’s account connects the choice to the writing: the song’s changing sections helped shape the third act. Its shifts gave the filmmakers room to move the wedding sequence through different beats rather than hold to a single, unvarying musical pattern.
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Editor Jay Prychidny described a production and editing process designed to make that flexibility possible. The team recorded broad lip-sync coverage across sections of the song, then assembled selected portions to fit the action instead of treating the original recording’s linear structure as binding. Prychidny said the sequence was difficult to put together and that its length was debated; Burton ultimately wanted to “go for broke.” That account shows a flexible edit, not that every decision was improvised. In an interview with The Credits, Prychidny summed up Burton’s intent: “We are not trying to copy the original.” The Credits’ interview with Jay Prychidny.
How the sequel connects the two songs
The film doesn’t erase “Day-O”; it places the original’s musical identity alongside the new climax. TIME’s September 6, 2024 coverage notes the song’s return in the sequel: TIME on “Day-O” in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The soundtrack makes that relationship explicit: WaterTower Music lists both a choir rendition of “Day-O” and Donna Summer’s version of “MacArthur Park,” as well as Richard Harris’s recording used for the wedding sequence. WaterTower Music’s official soundtrack page.
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So the sequel’s answer to “How do you top ‘Day-O’?” was not to compete with the same scene on its own terms. The filmmakers kept the original’s place in the series, then gave the wedding climax a song whose unusual structure and grand, offbeat romance could serve this story.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to find the soundtrack and film editions
WaterTower Music says the soundtrack was released on CD and 2xLP vinyl, and its track list includes Harris’s “MacArthur Park.” Waxwork Records’ release description also lists the song on the double LP; the listing documents the release, not current stock or availability. Waxwork Records’ soundtrack listing.
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Warner Bros. Japan lists 4K UHD/Blu-ray and Blu-ray/DVD editions of the film, with bonus material that includes a feature on Beetlejuice and Lydia’s first dance. This is a Japanese release page; edition details and regional compatibility may differ elsewhere. Warner Bros. Japan’s release page.
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