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‘The Addams Family’: The Reanimation of America’s Favorite Scary Family

By carolinianweb on October 30, 2019 • ( 0 )

Hannah Hall
Staff Writer

It is no secret that we are living in the era of remakes. Every few months there are previews for new and improved versions of movies we all know and love on our screens. From live action versions of Disney classics such as, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘The Lion King’, to modern revamps of films such as, ‘A Star is Born’, remakes are on the rise. Some are good, some hardly hold a candle to the original version. As for ‘The Addams Family’, this is a group we have seen re-created more than once. From the 1960s television show to the 1990s movies, where does the most recent cartoonized version of this gothic family fall on the scale of remakes?

If you are not familiar with ‘The Addams Family’, they are a dark and comically strange family who wear all black wardrobes, and spend their time participating in activities such as seances, sword fighting and so much more. This family and their lives are based on a comic series of the same name by Charles Addams. The Addams have been recreated several times within the media since the 1960s and have become a staple for modern gothic culture and Halloween festivities.

On October 11, 2019, the Universal Pictures and MGM animated version of ‘The Addams Family’ was released to theatres. The film features the voices of Charlize Theron as Morticia Addams and Oscar Isaac as Gomez Addams, along with Chloe Grace Moretz as Wednesday, Finn Wolfhard as Pugsley, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, Snoop Dogg as Cousin It, and Bette Midler as Grandma to complete the members of the Addams Family. This lineup of voice actors do a fantastic job of upholding the personality of these characters that we are all so familiar with.

On a visual and artistic level, ‘The Addams Family’ is great on many levels. It is a 3D computer animated film, which gives the characters a more lifelike feel and helps immerse the audience into the world of the kooky and spooky family. The animation team at Cinesite Studios did a fantastic job of creating a cartoon version of the Addams and everything that comes with them.

The use of colors to create a dark spooky world as a contrast to the bright, happy outer world is an integral part of the film. Also, the small details featured in the film make it clear the animators took the time to perfect the world of the Addams. From Wednesday’s noose pigtail braids to a haunted house that yells, “GET OUT!” before it receives its morning coffee, these details truly shape the dark and macabre lives of the family while still holding a comedic factor and references that the audience can appreciate.

Like most animated movies, although cute and funny for many reasons, ‘The Addams Family’ holds a valuable lesson at its core. The beginning of the film depicts Gomez and Morticia Addams as a displaced newlywed couple. They have been chased from their home country, ‘the old country’, by those who fear them because they are strange. The film highly focuses on the Addams children, Wednesday and Pugsley, being raised without being allowed to go into the outer world due to their parents fear formed from their life experiences.. The film quite literally embodies the lessons of, “we fear the things we do not understand,” and, “do not judge a book by its cover.” And like most films for children, the issue is resolved and there is a happy ending. This film exhibits that while we are all different; we are also the same in some ways, and that differences are to be cherished not bashed.

Overall, the 2019 animated version of ‘The Addams Family’ is a good movie. A solid eight out of ten on the remake scale, as it has more good factors then bad and definitely does not ruin the other versions of the family. While being incredibly cheesy at some points, as most movies meant for children are, it is comedic in the right places while still holding value and being beautifully crafted. It paints a perfect picture of everyone’s favorite mysteriously spooky family and all the positivity they are about. If you get the chance, go out and see this film. You are never too old for a good cartoon.