Yes, they’re creepy and their kooky, mysterious and spooky, and all together ooky. They’re the Addams Family. But the creaky novelty of the characters has all but worn off nowadays. Not that they still aren’t beloved, but simply deliver a kid’s movie with a creepy shine on it isn’t enough nowadays. Unfortunately, unlike the charming and somewhat adult 90’s Addams flicks, this is just that; a kid’s movie with a creepy shine to it and not much else.
Where this new Addams strengths lie though is in its voice work and animation. While clearly working with a lower budget than the latest Pixar or Dreamworks film, Nitrogen Studios, a Canadian based animation studio founded by co-director Greg Tiernan and most famous for 2016’s “Sausage Party,” turns out some really stylish work here, going for an artistic bend rather than detailed shaders and lighting.
The designs of the Addams and their extended relatives are pulled right from the original comic strip, and they look great in this style. Wonderful touches like great explosion and dust effects lend this world a great madcap angle to it.
Voice talent is also high point. Oscar Isaac (“Ex Machina,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”) is just delightful as Gomez really leaning into the comedic liberties of such a role. Chloë Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass,” “Let Me In”) is also great as Wednesday, and while Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things,” “IT”) as Pugsly and Charlize Theron (“Long Shot,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”) as Morticia aren’t hitting the energetic strides of Moretz or Isaac, they’re still enjoyable.
Nick Kroll (“Kroll Show,” “Big Mouth”) absolutely steals the show though as Uncle Fester. His delivery may be grating to some, but he’s without a doubt the one talent here who truly knows what kind of effort and energy has to go into voice acting, and he’s a constant delight.
Deliriously macabre humor is also wonderfully done here as well. While a few of the jokes seem remarkably on the nose, such as the red balloon “IT” reference seen in the trailer, much of it hasn’t really been toned down for a PG rating. Pugsly and Gomez’s explosive early morning battle is a hysterical delight and the oddball nature of a lot of the deadpan humor is thoroughly entertaining.
Yes indeed. Everything with the Addams is excellent. The humor, the voice work, the art style. If only that were all there was to the film. Because in reality there’s a solid 30-45 minute long romp here with the Addams and their kin. Where things start to go off the rails though are when the “normal” people are introduced.
The moment the clouds lift and the town of…Assimilation is seen, the bright colors and average people character designs start to show off the worst of what this film has to offer. The colors are garish and sometimes are literal eye sores compared to the Addams. Despite designs that lean into things like Pugsly’s rotund head and Wednesday’s elongated head, the average people designs are more hideous. Wednesday’s new friend, played by Elsie Fisher, is a particular eyesore, almost as if she was meant to be an Addams and her model was switch last minute.
Every piece of voice work for the townsfolk is either boring or completely inane. Allison Janney is here at her most shrill and given that she is the antagonist, she becomes absolutely unbearable by the film’s end. Fisher is fine, not really trying on any level, and the rest of the townsfolk are too over the top to take even remotely seriously.
While the Addams humor is great, the story it’s wrapped in is as lifeless as their relatives. It’s your prototypical “even people who are different are cool” plot line that even manages to try and be “self-referential” with characters singing songs with lyrics like “Why be different when you can be like everyone else?” and, again, the town is called Assimilation.
It just comes across as remarkably lazy, which is a shame because there’s clearly some kind of a good movie in here. Even the subplot with Pugsly trying to learn a macguffin sword dance to impress his family and be accepted isn’t that bad. It’s just boring, and at 87 minutes long, multiple pop song interludes and weird music breaks make the plot feel stretched far too thin.
As the film ends with an animated version of the original show’s theme song, it becomes apparent that this could have been the start of a new animated Addams show, a film franchise, or even some cool merch. But what ends up being delivered is a film that is far too routine and boring to bear the name Addams. While basically everything to do with the Addams themselves is excellent, that leaves half a film that is decidedly not, and an entire boring plot that has been done countless times before. It isn’t dead on arrival, but it ain’t too far off. 2/5
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