What a fantastic idea, do an animated take on the iconic collective known as The Addams Family. We’ve seen them in black and white (on TV) and then in two live action flicks starring Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia as Morticia and Gomez Addams—1991’s The Addams Family and 1993’s Addams Family Values.
What filmmakers have done right with this animated version is two-fold. First, they smartly have geared the tone, subject matter and humor towards the younger members of the moviegoing audience (nothing like garnering a huge swath of young fans who will stay with you for decades—after all, I fondly recall watching the black and white TV reruns as a small kid and that set me for life as a fan of the clan). Secondly, they went back to the beginning. Artistically, the animation of The Addams Family (2019) recalls the original artistic cartoon style utilized when Charles Addams’ creation made their pop culture debut in The New Yorker in 1938.
There is something about this family that goes beyond the obvious that has endeared them to millions for the last 80 years. Gomez and Morticia could not be more in love as they are completely and utterly enraptured with each other. All this passion is exhibited within the confines of a landscape that, for most, does not emanate utter and complete adoration. In fact, it is exactly the opposite. Their home, their longtime family friends and their extended family are all right out of a traditional horror flick. Then, there’s their children—Wednesday and Pugsley. Siblings lovingly fight all the time, but these two do so with weapons normally reserved for a battlefield. They could have their throats being strangled with each other’s hands, and their parents lovingly look on and proudly utter, “We made that. I could not be more proud.”
Even though their outlook on countless domestic issues would seem frighteningly skewed by … pretty much everyone outside of the Addams’ family circle, the family of four support each other in a way that is no different than the rest of us. See, that is the largest message of the TV show, the two live action flicks, those first cartoons and now, the big screen animated flick. The family is so identifiable because their unconditional love mirrors the same love every one of us (traditionally) feels for our family. It is so unbelievably relatable and easily explains why the Addams’ have stayed relevant for so long.
In directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon’s vision, our favorite kooky clan gives us a quick introduction to how they even came to be as the story commences with a flashback to Morticia and Gomez’s wedding that concludes with them (and their entire family) being run out of town with a horde bearing those pesky fiery torches. They are searching for a locale where they can be left to their own and start and raise a family in peace. The Addams land in New Jersey. That first “joke” lands without a word being spoken—merely the “Welcome to New Jersey” sign that they pass in their car. As they hit someone in the road (which brings utter delight from Gomez and Morticia), it forces them to stop. It is Lerch! That unexpected stop leads our two lovebirds to gaze up at the top of a hill and there sits the most decrepit and yes, haunting, abode. Upon further inspection, it is horrendous, hideous and … perfect. Children are born and our story fast forwards 13 years to the days prior to Pugsley’s rite of passage that has been an Addams family tradition for centuries, the Sword Mazurk. Family will be descending on their abode, and that is hardly going to sit well with Margaux Needler (Allison Janney), the HGTV-like house flipper host who has built an entire community (brilliantly called Assimilate, New Jersey). She has her sights set on completely renovating the Addams’ home, or … running them out of town.
Charlize Theron (Long Shot) and Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker) could not have been a more impeccable choice to voice Morticia and Gomez. Capturing that utter adoration of a couple is the supremist of challenges with animation. After all, voice actors do not (traditionally) record their lines together. The performer is fed the accompanying lines by the director (usually) from the booth. What Theron and Isaac achieve is pretty stunning, given that so much is riding on the audiences’ being moved by the unconditional love going back and forth between these two who appear to be on a lifelong honeymoon.
Yet, looking back, casting has always been brilliant for those two—whether it was Carolyn Jones as Morticia in the black and white classic TV show with John Astin slaying us as Gomez or Huston and Julia in the live action flick. Those are some enormous shoes to fill and each time, casting directors have risen to the occasion and with The Addams Family 2019, it is no different. One could argue that the first film is what launched Christina Ricci into the realm of the household name for her turn as Wednesday Addams. For the animated flick, we are gifted Chloë Grace Moretz (who already is a star!) and Pugsley is captured stunningly with Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard.
Where Christopher Lloyd nailed it as Uncle Fester, filmmakers scored with comic extraordinaire Nick Kroll voicing the majorly off-kilter and seriously funny brother of Gomez. When it comes to cousin It, let’s just say that Snoop Dogg literally loses himself in the role. Recent Oscar winner Janney goes full tilt and embraces her inner villianess and has been said here repeatedly could not be truer with The Addams Family, a film hinges on the quality (via screenplay and performance) of the baddie. We want this family to succeed and triumph over her judge a book by its cover based evil.
How it all comes together is enjoyable enough and will be especially so for the younger viewers out there. After all, this is firmly who filmmakers are gearing this Addams incarnation towards. Some of what occurs throughout the film is a tad pedantic (and thus predictable). But it is impossible to not be moved by the film’s messages about inclusion and the importance of family. Don’t be surprised if the little ones are a wee bit more affection after witnessing the latest from MGM.
One of the other (timely) messages that arose out of The Addams Family 2019 was that not only do families come in different shapes, sizes and forms, but so too do those who should comprise our friendship circles. Heck, one doesn’t even have to like a person that is so strikingly different. The film (and every incarnation that the Addams have appeared in over the years) figuratively sings a tune that everyone is different, everyone is loved by someone and above all else, everyone should be celebrated for those things that set them apart from the rest of the global pack.
Parents … take your kiddos to The Addams Family and it will make their day. You might find your mind wandering a bit during certain patches of the film (yes, story lacks a tad during certain moments). As such, be prepared for quite a few of you to get Halloween costume requests in the form of Wednesday or Pugsley. That, well that might just be the highest compliment of all.
Grade: B-