Whether or not you’re familiar with The Addams Family, you no doubt have heard their catchy theme tune. Beginning life as a comic strip by Charles Addams in the 1930’s, they later became tv stars in their 60’s sitcom, and were revived in the 90’s with a trilogy of live action movies.
Now, the family is making a comeback to the silver screen just in time for the Halloween season, and in animated form no less. With all the Addams Family related media already produced, casual viewers might write it off as the same old thing as before.
But fear not, this movie is packed with enough visual flair, fun music, and silly comedy enjoyable by kids and their parents too.
The characters endure today because the family is simultaneously memorable, macabre, and still relatable. Despite their strange ways they are a loving, tight nit group, and they clearly care for each other highly.
The family was originally meant to be a skewering of the cookie cutter nuclear families represented often on tv back in the 50’s and 60’s, in shows like “Leave it to Beaver,” “Ozzie and Harriet,” and “Father Knows Best.”
That sentiment is still valid now, as the movie shows the nearby community rejecting them for not conforming to their lifestyles. With that in mind, it has an appealing message of tolerance, which is a great moral to express in today’s divisive political climate.
The animation is super as well. The designs of the characters are closer to their original illustrations than any previous adaptation, something that the form of animation has a leg up on against those.
With cute humor, a stupendous voice cast, and the zaniness of the family always at the forefront, The Addams Family ushers in Halloween in all the best ways. Enjoy it with a crowd of kids if you can, and your inner child will emerge before you know it!