‘Think your family is weird?’
The Addams Family is a 2019 American animated comedy horror film directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon (Monsters vs. Aliens) from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman (Scoob!; Monster on the Hill).
The characters are voiced by Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Bette Midler and Allison Janney.
Co-director Conrad Vernon explained: “Greg and I have always been a fan of the Addams Family in past versions, so when we set out to make this movie, we were excited to do something new. With that in mind, I drew from the brilliantly original Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons for the look of the film and decided to tell the story of how Gomez and Morticia meet, find their house and start their family.
This unique approach is what drew me in to direct the film. The reimagining also extends to the stellar cast we’ve put together who will each bring their own spin to our film that will appeal to longtime fans of the Addams and introduce them to a new generation.”
MGM President, Motion Picture Group, Jonathan Glickman commented: “Conrad and Greg are masters of animation with the keen ability to create something both kids and their parents will enjoy for different reasons. Adding to that a world-class calibre of talent with Oscar, Charlize, Chloë, Finn, Nick, Bette and Allison – we can’t wait to bring their fresh and modern take on The Addams Family to the worldwide audience.”
“Based on the famous New Yorker creations of Charles Addams, this animated action-comedy will follow the Addams family whose lives begin to unravel when they face-off against a crafty reality-TV host while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration, Addams-style.”
Reviews [click links to read in full]:
” …for every morbid moment, there’s an equal number of puns only a six-year-old could love, like the “whine cellar” in the basement. Similarly, the animation is no more than adequate, showing some creativity in the character design but failing to apply the same imagination to their environment.” AV Club
“It’s a film that celebrates the macabre and indicts the establishment and transforms both sides into broad caricatures. It’s not particularly hilarious or clever, and that’s a shame because it’s got a pitch-perfect cast who could do a lot with this material if the material was up to snuff.” Bloody Disgusting
“No, the messages aren’t the deepest you’ll find in a kids movie, but one can certainly appreciate the effort to involve any kind emotional level in the narrative. At the end of the night, The Addams Family is a comedy, and a good one at that, delivering the kind of morbid humor that reminds us why we’ll always accept their invitations.” Consequence of Sound
” …instead of creating a kooky, spooky gateway to open up the bizarre brood’s wider world for new eyes, The Addams Family mostly makes a fleetingly flat in-and-out excursion into “eh.” It’s difficult to not be disappointed considering the big talent, big budget, but small ideas being worked with here.” Culture Crypt
“This is no Addams Family Values, but there are useful family values present. Unfortunately, they just can also be found in most other modern animated movies. That’s not to say this rebirth of The Addams Family is a waste of time, but it is lacking in key areas even if it is enjoyably watchable.” Flickering Myth
“That storyline has promise, but Matt Lieberman’s nearly laugh-free script prefers to rehash Charles Addams’ old one-liners or offer terrible updates […] Fortunately, the conflict between townsfolk and our heroes plays out quickly, and should take even less time to forget.” The Hollywood Reporter
” …a modest affair clearly aimed at younger viewers, while still hoping to tickle their parents with the occasional risqué joke that will sail right over the little ones’ heads. But Vernon and Tiernan too easily settle for lazy punch lines and clattering slapstick, rarely locating the humanity within these morbid characters.” Screen Daily
“ …when you go to see the new digitally animated version of The Addams Family, you should be prepared for a film that has all the comic danger of a bowl of Count Chocula […] The Addams Family has an overly processed outré harmlessness. It’s so busy treating its famous domesticated ghouls as icons that it forgets to rediscover what’s memorable about them.” Variety
“Though the film pulls its aesthetics from the original cartoons, The Addams Family is clearly a strategic attempt to reach a generation who were raised on the 1990s Sonnenfeld films, and now have kids of their own. But like Disney’s live-action remakes of its animated classics, which target the same nostalgic audience, The Addams Family just serves as an argument for revisiting the originals instead.” The Verge
The Addams Family movie was released on October 11, 2019.
After just a week on release, MGM was already talking about a sequel!
Box office:
The Addams Family took $203,044,905 worldwide on a reported budget of $24 million (although there were suggestions that this figure was actually anything up to $40 million).
MGM posted several promo videos (see below) that feature Migos, Karol G, Snoop Dogg and Rock Mafia. This clueless corporate attempt to be “street” is totally unsuited to the Addams Family vibe, we reckon. What do you think? Comments below, yo!
