Pros: The Addamses’ habits are shown; good message Cons: poor choice of animation style; simple plot of “The Addams Family” / The Addams Family
Genre cartoon
Directed by Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan
Cast: Oscar Isaac (Gomez Addams), Charlize Theron (Morticia Addams), Chloe Grace Moretz (Wednesday Addams), Finn Wolfhard (Pugzley Addams), Nick Kroll (Uncle Fester), Bette Midler (Grandma Addams), Allison Janney (Margot Needler) ), Elsie Fisher (Parker Needler), Aimee Garcia (Denise), Cousin Itt (Snoop Dogg), etc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Cinesite Animation, BRON Studios
Year of release 2019
IMDb website
The characters from The Addams Family appeared almost 80 years ago. They were first seen by readers of the New Yorker, for which cartoonist Charles Addams drew. He created newspaper comics, poking fun at the ideals of the typical American family.
His satire was so successful that in the 1960s, the characters, whose characteristics were deliberately emphasized with dark humor, became the heroes of a television sitcom. The writers added supernatural abilities and creepy interests to them. After that, the story about relatives living in a Gothic mansion was transferred to cartoons, feature films and again returned to TV series.
The Addamses were not left alone, continuing to invent new adventures for them. In 2010, Tim Burton himself could have taken on the new film adaptation with the support of Universal Pictures, which would have turned out just perfect. However, this did not happen, and the initiative was seized by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which attracted directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan to the project. Previously, they had already worked together on the cartoon for adults Sausage Party (it was released under the title “Complete Sausage”).
Fortunately, there is no slack in the new “The Addams Family.” Everything is pretty decent and moderately gloomy. Judging by the plot, in 2019 the creators decided to primarily appeal to the children’s audience, enticing them with modern plot elements and understandable jokes. In some places the result turned out to be too simple.
The cartoon shows the wedding of Gomez and Morticia Addams. They gloomily rejoice at the new union, but the city residents do not understand their preferences and drive them away. The couple goes in search of a new place and finds a beautiful gloomy castle, which becomes their home. They live in complete isolation, raising their children and running errands for their butler. Thirteen years later, the Addamses are preparing for a big visit from their many relatives. New neighbors may interfere with the reunion of the wonderful family: it turns out that a colorful residential complex is being built not far from the Addams’ house, where a popular reality show is filmed. All this could destroy the dark idyll of the Addamses and have a bad impact on their descendants.
The script for The Addams Family seems pretty straightforward. The creators of the new cartoon are trying to show that against the backdrop of the modern world, where everyone is obsessed with social networks and popularity, the Addamses, despite their oddities, remain the most adequate. In addition, the plot smoothly leads to the idea that we are all different, and it is normal to be different from other people. Unfortunately, this correct message is hidden behind extremely simple plot lines that do not arouse much interest (at least for an adult).
Perhaps the lack of interest is also a result of the cartoon’s animation style choices, which, to be honest, don’t seem to work well. Representatives of Cinesite Animation tried to imitate the artistic style of Charles Addams, but in their execution the characters resemble animated plasticine.
But the creators of the new cartoon showed in detail why the Addams family was adored by different generations of viewers. These are their terrible hobbies, quirks and antics. Wednesday is still inventing the best way to torture his brother, Pugsley is interested in explosives, and the butler Larch plays the organ (he also covers the band REM, performing the song “Everybody Hurts”).
As for the famous soundtrack to The Addams Family, which is accompanied by finger snaps, it was somewhat transformed especially for the cartoon. Musicians Migos, KAROL G, Snoop Dogg, Rock Mafia released a rhythmic version of the song with rap. It, like the new cartoon, is unlikely to appeal to those who love old film adaptations dedicated to the Addamses. And at the same time, it may well appeal to young viewers who are not burdened with old associations.
Conclusion:
The new cartoon doesn’t have the most inventive script. It has many modern elements that will appeal more to children than adults
