In preparation for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” I watched the original film from 1988. I found that I liked “some” things about it, like the set and character designs and much of the humor, but it’s not a film I would recommend overall.

The special effects weren’t well-integrated (even for the ’80s), motivations between the warring factions made no sense, and, worst of all, the characters just weren’t likable. I’m not talking about obvious villains like the ruthless profiteers or Michael Keaton’s sleazy, trickster-for-hire Betelgeuse (hereafter referred to as “Beetlejuice”). I mean that I couldn’t even root for harmless yuppie couple the Maitlands (you guys are dead, find something to do with your eternal lives and stop bothering the living) or Winona Ryder’s teenage goth icon Lydia Deetz (“’somebody’ wants attention”).

The good news is that the new film is better about making its protagonists likable. The bad news is that, while it addresses one issue, others remain and a few new ones........

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