The Addams Family



Director(s) - Greg Tiernan (Sausage Party, Thomas the Tank and Friends) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens)
Starring - Oscar Isaac (Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, X-Men: Apocalypse), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Monster), and Chloe Grace Moretz (Dark Shadows, Let Me In)
Release Date - 2019
Genre - Comedy
Tagline - "Think your family is weird?"
Format - Theatrical

Rating (out of 5):

 

     I was born in the mid-80s and grew up in the 90s so I was very versed in The Addams Family from an early age.  I grew up when the two films (three if you count the made for tv movie starring Tim Curry) was released along with the live action show The New Addams Family and the 90s animated series.  The 90s was a damn good time for the Addams Family.  Last year I introduced my oldest to the Addams Family.  I got her the two animated series, the one from the 70s and the 90s, along with the two films.  She fell in love with them and that Halloween she went as Wednesday.  As soon as I heard a new animated movie was in the works I've been excited to take her to see it.  This weekend was our date and we went with bells on.  We couldn't get there fast enough but the film just wasn't as fun as we were hoping for.  It left a lot to be desired. 

     The film follows Gomez (Isaac) and Morticia (Theron) as they flee prosecution to a more secluded area to live in peace.  They find themselves in New Jersey and after an accident involving an asylum inmate, Lurch, they find the perfect home for their future family in the abandoned asylum.  We jump forward 12 years and the two have two children, Wednesday and Pugsley.  Morticia and Gomez's life is perfect but a town is springing up in the swamplands below their ideal home and soon a television host that flips houses wants them gone so she can sell the homes in her new town.  The rallies the town's current residents against the Addams and a witch hunt soon follows.    

     I went into this one with expecting an amazing animated film that I could see my daughter watching over and over again like she does Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the Hanna Barbera Addams Family but what we got was an animated kids movie that tried too hard to be modern and trendy instead of character and story development.  The movie just feels like a bunch of ideas put in a blender and tossed onto the screen.  The voice acting in this one is fun but easily forgettable.  Here I am two days after watching it and the only voice I can remember is Uncle Fester sounds like Nick from Big Mouth.   They work for the film and do a fantastic job but do nothing to separate themselves from the other incarnations.  The story for this one starts out by giving us a little bit of an origin story for some of the characters but not quite back far enough to be interesting.  With that being said, I did like how Lurch was brought into the fold.  It worked for the film.  The rest of the story tries too hard to appeal to kids and social media.  It dates the film and just didn't work.  Even my daughter found this part of the film boring and asked if we could leave so she could play at the park.  Too much focus was spent on the modern aspect of the film and not the story portion.  The character development is missing and the story is lacking but I did find myself laughing a few times.  My biggest complaint about the film is the lack of Uncle Fester.  I know I'm not alone when I say that he is one of my favorite characters and the fact that they gave Pugsley his personality and made Uncle Fester ride the bench really made me think that the creative team behind this was not a fan of the original comics, television shows, or movies based on these characters.  Finally, I really liked the film's animation.  It kept the tone of the previous two animated shows while making them their own.  I really liked the style and how the characters looked.  Overall, The Addams Family just wasn't as fun as all the previous installments.  The characters were less entertaining and the story just falls flat.  I did laugh a few times but that's about it.  If you want to introduce your children to this wonderful family I would suggest the two films (or all three) from the 90s or the Hanna Barbera cartoon series until the 90s animated series gets an official release.