La Famille Addams

Look, I like kids films. Simple, funny. Pixar nails it, Illumination is a close second, but I'll say that even the subpar Abominable was better than this. This was...what? Halloween? A dig on HGTV? A chance for actors to make a paycheck between blockbusters by lending their voices to make a decent cast? I rate kids movies based on the reactions by my kids. I've never seen my kid sit for 90 minutes waiting for a punchline then look at me wondering if we're supposed to leave or stay for the movie to make a point.

After getting a couple of live action versions of "The Addams Family'' in the 90's (which I loved), we get an animated version. Gomez (voiced by Oscar Isaac) is still crazy in love with Morticia (voiced by Charlize Theron). Wednesday (voiced by Chloe Grace Moretz) is still a monotone harbinger of doom and Pugsley (voiced by Finn Wolfhard) is still the frequent object of Wednesday's experiments to get rid of him.

This movie could be considered The Addams Family origin story. It begins when Gomez and Morticia are just getting married and also being ran out of town by an angry mob. They find Lurch (voiced by Conrad Vernon) and also find an old asylum at the top of a spooky hill to be their new digs. For them it was perfect. Life was spooktacular for them for thirteen years until a "Flip or Flop" type TV show led by a woman named Margaux Needler (voiced by Allison Janney) decided to renovate the town below the Addamses. This new town of Assimilation was everything antithetical to the Addams: it was clean, colorful, cheery, and full of Stepford people. A town such as this would not have a good value while being under the shadow of the Addams Family's dark derelict lair.

While Margaux plotted to make the Addams conform, Wednesday was going through a rebellious stage and even put a barrett in her hair, and Pugsley was having a difficult time learning the Marsuka (an Addams Family sword dance that was a right of passage). The Addams were facing a crisis of sorts. "The Addams Family" was mildly amusing and fairly entertaining. I don't think there needed to be an animated version, but that's Hollywood now: animate what was once live action and make live action what was once animated.

I have been a big fan of the Addams Family since I saw the first movie, and looked forward to seeing this on the big screen.

The movie was OK. It was an entertaining hour and a half, but it does not inspire repeated viewing. It actually seems more appropriate as a movie pilot for a new children's show than it does for a movie.

The people who created this obviously had a lot of love for the property, and seemed to have fun with it, which translates well to the screen. But coupled with the thin plot and less than stellar design, there is a lot to be desired.

One bright spot was the first 10 minutes, which served as a sort of an origin story for the clan. I really wish that they had gone that route instead of the by the numbers route they chose for their final product.

I enjoyed most of the film. It is not perfect. the biggest gripe is that I can tell that the original screenplay was re-written. Now, as a child could I tell this? NO, and that is the primary audience. I think adults forget when they watch a movie primarily targeted to children that it will not totally appeal to them. Now, some exceptions to my enjoyment of children's films is the new terrible 2018 Grinch, which was so bad I could tell even the children were not entertained and I actually walked out of theater, this coming from an adult whom enjoys children's films. The problem with the Addams Family, lies in the two major plots, that of Margeaux, and that of Wednesday, the former feels resolved, and the latter does not, I solely blame script revisions on this, there are indeed 5 screenwriters named according to IMDB.

Despite this, I found the film engaging, fun, and funny. I felt it kept both spirit of the TV show and previous films, while adding something new. I don't regret seeing it, and, in fact, I might watch it again. It was well-animated, though I am not a huge fan of how they made Gomez look here, I can overlook it because the film, was on the whole, fun, entertaining, and other than a couple elements; very un-PC, which is very refreshing in this current trend to push hyper PC content that seeks to please a select group, and pleases no one.

If you are looking for family friendly affair that has a bit of adult humor, you could do a heck of a lot worse. On the whole, this is fun, with lots of dark humor, and tons of satire. The first half an hour is really a joy to watch, it is full of quirky and dark humor, if it could have maintained that for the whole film, it would be a classic, but as it remains, it is a decent way to pass 100 minutes. It is something both adults and children should be able to enjoy. At it's heart, it is about how some conformity is not good, some conformity can be beneficial, and the benefits of reaching a compromise. It emphasizes being who you and making your own decision about what you believe as most important. It deserves to make decent money, but with the current hyper PC culture, it might not, which is a shame, it is nice to see a film that, while not totally being defiant of the hype PC culture, at least defies some elements of it.

God Bless~Amy

I am an avid fan of the Addams family, and rewatch their movies each Halloween season. When I saw there was to be an animated re-make, I pictured it to be a mixture of the timelessness of their previous films and the entertainment of The Nightmare Before Christmas - fun for the whole family. However, as a young adult, I was not in the least bit entertained. The story line was definitely created for children, depicting the importance of inclusion/acceptance and family bond. Which I'm sure is very important for the younger generations. Yet I just was unable to connect with my long-standing enthusiasm for the Addams family during this movie.