The Beetlejuice cartoon is filled with Shout Outs; in an effort to emulate the source material, the Contractually Obligated Chaos series has quite a few as well. In addition to various references to the Disney fairy tales which inspired each story, and numerous Call Backs to the cartoon itself, there are these...
Cinderjuice
- Beetlejuice and Lydia are both fans of Corpse Bride, judging by the first chapter.
- The Fairy Godfather's goons are named Fredo and Sonny, and several of his lines are quotes from the films.
- At the prom, the seniors do a rendition of the "Thriller" dance, and then BJ and Lydia have a solo dance to "The Masochism Tango."
- After the prom, while trying not to give too many details to Jacques and Ginger, BJ casually observes that "we danced, we schmoozed, we carried on, we went home."
- Prince Vince is a dedicated Tumblr user; this crops up repeatedly throughout the series.
- He also shops on the internet and has apparently taken a liking to Pocky.
The Bug Princess
- All of the specified locations in New Orleans, like Audubon Park and the named cemeteries, are actual places in the city.
- This includes the Laura Plantation, which is mentioned in the guidebook Lydia reads on the bus. This is a shout-out to the actual guidebook the author used as a reference, and is also a Creator In-Joke as noted on the Trivia page.
Meteor Shower
- Prince Vince likens Beetlejuice to Mr. Knightley in Emma - specifically to the line, "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."
Sleeping Beetle
- The very first chapter has BJ quoting The Addams Family.
- When the Fairy Godfather mentions "avatars," Beetlejuice references both "a lousy James Cameron film" and "a kid with an arrow on his head and elemental powers."
- Lydia informs BJ that his exterminator business is doing well on a website, but he can't remember what it's called. Yipe? Gulp? Something like that.note
- Lydia dryly remarks that her ability to communicate (somewhat) with animals makes her an "actual Disney princess."
- When Beetlejuice asks what that makes him, she says he's obviously something from a Tim Burton movie. Doubles as a Mythology Gag since, well, he is.
- Owing to the nature of the plot, there are several references made to Dracula.
- Prince Vince has discovered this very site. He warns Donny to stay away from it.
- Beetlejuice suggests that Lydia needs to start eating her Wheaties.
- Lydia references Emily Dickinson's poetry.
- The Fairy Godfather once again quotes Don Corleone.
- Beetlejuice and Lydia visit Salina Turda
, an actual amusement park located inside an abandoned salt mine.- Later, when considering the marketing for such a place, Charles wonders what kind of mascot could be used in a salt-based theme park. BJ suggests YouTube commenters, since they're "the saltiest characters around."
- In the final chapter, Lydia lays out a pile of DVDs for them to possibly watch, including Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, The Good Son, Son of Dracula, and Frankenstein's Daughter. Note the theme.
Bug Princess and the Seven Months
- BJ makes a remark about "the old cobweb and stripes" when referring to their usual clothes. This is a reference to Cobweb and Stripes.
- One of Lydia's formal titles is "She Who Holds the Leash," which corresponds to Beetlejuice's title of "The Tethered." This is a direct nod to her being The Kid with the Leash during the cartoon, and thus a subtle shout-out to This Very Wiki.
- Countess Lilura is, among other titles, the "Keeper of the Keys of Falmarch." 'Keeper of the Keys' is taken from Hagrid's introduction in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, while 'Falmarch' is an amalgamation of the holds of Falkreath and Eastmarch in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
- The matter of BJ claiming ownership of Lydia by licking her cheek is a shout-out to a Beetlejuice fan community on Facebook, the Beetle Babes, whose members joked that he would do something like that.
- When BJ calls Lady Delphine for help, he tells Hugo that "we've got ninety-nine problems but a witch ain't one."
- Hugo and the Fairy Godfather explicitly reference Star Wars.
- Hugo's reaction upon seeing Dr. Zigmund Void: "I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school."
