I grew up with the Addams Family. Not just the TV series starring John Astin and Carolyn Jones but the actual cartoons that appeared in The New Yorker magazine starting in 1938 that were later collected into book format. I had one of those paperbacks and would laugh at the antics of this gruesome, odd family. The TV series in the 60s just added to that. Both were black and white and that suited the material. But times change and so do formats
I didn’t see the first animated ADDAMS FAMILY movie. Thankfully for me it didn’t matter because I knew the characters and this one plays on its own. The movie opens with Wednesday Addams presenting her project for the third grade science fair. She’s chosen combining the DNA of an octopus with her Uncle Fester which helps his brain function better. The only other student featured has an erupting volcano that blows out a puff of smoke.
The science fair is named after famed scientist Cyrus Strange. Once the judging is finished the award for top prize goes to…everyone. A nice take on the concept popular of presenting all entrants with an identical prize so they can all feel like winners. Of course Wednesday points out that with no losers there are no winners. When all is said and done a hologram of Strange appears to Wednesday asking her to reveal her secrets which she rejects.
Back home Wednesday is out of sorts. She shies away from her family. Her parents Gomez and Morticia are worried are concerned about losing her. While she ask for her space Gomez decides instead that the family needs a vacation to bring them all back together. The Addams RV is brought around and loaded but before they can leave a lawyer named Mr. Mustela arrives claiming that there was a mix up at the hospital when Wednesday was born demanding a DNA test. Gomez ignores him and the family is off and running.
The plans were to start in Salem, Massachusetts but Uncle Fester redirects them to Niagara Falls. It seems that the experiment Wednesday performed on him is actually altering him into a large octopus but he’s not even aware of it. The water there attracted him though. The family continues to travel across country including a trip to Miami where Gomez thinks Cousin It can help him with his problem.
Of course Mr. Mustela actually works for Cyrus Strange. If you didn’t see that coming you’ve never been to the movies. Strange is seeking the secret that Wednesday has and will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means convincing her that he’s actually her father. But that’s save for the last part of the movie.
There are plenty of jokes that kids will get a laugh at and the visuals are bright and stimulating to the eye. That’s all well and good for a new generation, the one that has no appreciation for the source material and will never dig deeper than what is in front of them. To me that’s kind of sad, especially when the source material is so much better. But Hollywood constantly thinks they can improve on the original and fails all the time.
While watching there were two other things I wondered about. I wondered about the classic cartoons we all grew up with, the 2D drawings the people like Walt Disney and Tex Avery created so long ago. Those movies remain classics to this day and yet seem to be ignored. I seriously doubt that with a few exceptions these computer generated features will not do the same.
The other thing I noticed was that this movie seemed more inclined to cater towards parents than it did children. There are numerous jokes and sequences that a child won’t understand but parents will get. But not so much that they’ll find them hilarious. The writers and directors of those short cartoons of the past like the Looney Tunes inserted jokes that parents would only get too. The thing is they were subtle about it, this isn’t. Parents aren’t likely to want to re-watch this one either.
In the end this movie is one that your kids might enjoy and
you might get a laugh or two out of as well but it won’t be a long lasting
laugh. And the film won’t be one that your kids will be clamoring for to watch
over and over again. But it isn’t bad for a night’s viewing.
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