The Addams Family Blu Ray Review (Universal/MGM)
The Addams Family is a 2019 animated film produced & directed by Conrad Vernon (Sausage Party, Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, & Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted). It was co-directed by Greg Tiernan (Thomas & Friends franchise, Sausage Party, & Happily N’Ever After). It was written by Matt Lieberman (The Christmas Chronicles, Scoob!, Playing with Fire, & Free Guy) & Pamela Pettler (Corpse Bride, Monster House, 9, & All About Us). It’s a reboot of the original 1964 television show & 1991 film. Three additional shows plus a Halloween special were created & two other sequels were made after the first movie. It was produced by Jason Cloth (Child’s Play, Joker, The Kitchen, Assassination Nation, Anna, & The Mule), Gail Berman (Alphas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, & Angel) & Charlize Theron (Mindhunter, Bombshell, Young Adult, Tully, & Long Shot). This project was first developed in 2010 & Tim Burton was the original director for it. A sequel to this film is already in development. The budget was $24 million & it grossed $200.2 million at the box office worldwide!!!!
Gomez (played by: Oscar Isaac from the Star Wars franchise, Ex Machina, Annihilation, & X-Men: Apocalypse) & Morticia Addams (played by: Charlize Theron from Monster, Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road, & Prometheus) are chased away with the rest of the Addams clan during their wedding ceremony by an angry mob that disapproves of their macabre nature. Grandmama (played by: Bette Midler from Hocus Pocus, Drowning Mona, Ruthless People, & Big Business) buys Uncle Fester (played by: Nick Kroll from The League, Uncle Drew, Sausage Party, & Kroll Show) time to evacuate Gomez, Morticia, & Thing. Gomez & Morticia decide to move from New York to New Jersey, a place “no one would be caught dead in.” They find their “perfect” home in an abandoned asylum on a hill. They meet Lurch (played by: director Conrad Vernon from the Shrek franchise, Sausage Party, Bee Movie, & Madagascar franchise), an escaped mental patient whom they hit when Thing was distracted driving the car. They immediately recruit him as their butler. Thirteen years later, the Addams family continue to live their gloomy lives in isolation from the outside world. Gomez prepares his son Pugsley (played by: Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things, IT, & The Goldfinch) for his upcoming Mazurka, a rite of passage that every Addams family member takes.
Morticia struggles to keep their daughter Wednesday (played by: Chloë Grace Moretz from Kick-Ass 1/2, Greta, Let Me In, Carrie, & Suspiria) from wanting to experience the world outside of the mansion. Reality TV host Margaux Needler (played by: Allison Janney from Juno, MA, The West Wing, & I, Tonya), who is building a perfect planned community called “Assimilation” so her show will have a successful season finale discovers the Addams family’s household & becomes determined to rid the town of it when the family refuses to change. Wednesday then meets Margaux’s neglected daughter Parker (played by: Elsie Fisher from Castle Rock, Eighth Grade, The Axe Murders of Villisca, & Despicable Me franchise) & convinces Morticia to let her attend junior high school. At school, Wednesday defends Parker and her twin friends Layla & Kayla (played by: Pom Klementieff from Uncut Gems, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame, & Oldboy) from the school bully named Bethany (played by: Chelsea Frei from The Moodys, Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter, & Sideswiped). Parker becomes more gothic & Wednesday dresses more colorfully to the shock of both of their mothers. Margaux rallies an angry mob to attack the mansion just as Cousin It (played by: Snoop Dogg from The Beach Bum, Dolemite Is My Name, Training Day, & Baby Boy) & the entire Addams clan arrive for Pugsley’s Mazurka. Even Grandmama’s sister Sloom (played by: Jenifer Lewis from Black-ish, Dead Presidents, Shark Tale, & Cars franchise) will be attending to judge the event. The family finds themselves defending their home from Margaux & the angry people from the town. Can they save their home? or Will they be ran out of this home like the other????
Not going to lie, I would have preferred this Addams Family reboot to be live action rather than animation especially with this amazing cast! I will say that I loved the animation style that they used for the visuals here. It had some real funny moments & it was more comedy than horror for this remake. Like I said above, the voice cast for the production was top notch which included Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Bette Midler, Nick Kroll, Finn Wolfhard, Chloë Grace Moretz, Allison Janney, Pom Klementieff, Snoop Dogg, Martin Short (Jiminy Glick), Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone 1/2), Aimee Garcia (Dexter), & Harland Williams (Half Baked). I thought everyone was really good in this except for Nick Kroll. I hated the accent he used for Fester & I thought his performances was way too over the top. The score & soundtrack set the tone for the entire production, it was perfect for this. I loved how they payed homage to the original television show at the end, I honestly enjoyed the television & older films more than this but it was still solid. It brought something different to the animation world. I am looking forward to the sequel, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Universal! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer looks fantastic, I really enjoyed the visual style they went with for this production. It reminded me of Tim Burton’s animated projects. All the characters & the main house location stand out here. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish: DTS-HD HR 7.1, & French: DTS 5.1 on this release. It sounds great in the home system. The dialogue is very clean, all the wacky moments have a nice boost to them, & the music is elevated on it. I thought the soundtrack fit this movie like a glove, it was like it’s own character in this. It also has English SDH, French, & Spanish subtitles.
Let’s discuss the special features from Universal! “Deleted and Extended Scenes” is a little over 6 minutes, it includes Joan of Arc, The Truant Officer, Pugsley Bee Beard, & Assimilate. These are fun but I can see why they were cut out of the final version. “Charades with Thing” is a little over 3 minutes. It’s a fun little interactive game with one of the characters from the film. “Life of a Scene” is a little over 3 minutes. It’s an inside look to show you how a scene is made from start to finish. It goes from storyboards to creation. “Welcome to the Family” is a little over 6 minutes. It has interviews with directors Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan, actors Charlize Theron, Nick Kroll, Finn Wolfhard, Chloë Grace Moretz, Allison Janney, & various members of the production. It shows the cast recording their parts for the movie. They chat about the film, story, the characters, the relationships, & their experience for it. “Addams Family Throwback” is a little over a minute. It has some quick words from the cast & crew. They chat about the creator of The Addams Family & his original comics for it. They say they tried to stay true to the original source material for this. “Haunted Heart.” & “My Family.” lyric videos featuring some of the music from the film. It also includes a slipcover, a digital code, & a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere on Tuesday, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
