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The Addams Family: Movie Review

Addams Family | Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Addams Family | Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures

October is the month of Halloween. The month where of all a sudden, everything must be scary or horror themed. It’s a time where we want to seek out the things that frighten us or chill us to the bone. And here to laugh at these tropes is the pleasant, albeit not perfect Addams Family.

Think of all the classic horror staples, loud noises, dark atmosphere, monsters. The Addams Family has all of these yet is delightful in its best moments. There is something truly special about a family whose version of normal is what we consider scary. It’s unfortunate however that it can’t seem to put a great story around them.

13 years after finding the home of their dreams, Morticia and Gomez Addams are now raising two Children, Wednesday and Pugsley, the latter of whom the whole family is coming from across the world to see perform the Mazurka, the Addams right of passage into manhood. However, there’s a whole new town built up close by that doesn’t want them there anymore.

Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures | Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures | Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures

The best thing about this movie is by far it’s art style and animation. It’s simply wonderful to watch. The characters are hyper stylized and look so cartoonish you can’t help but enjoy it. The movement is so fluid, and the action is so cartoony, it evokes the spirit of classic bygone old cartoons like Scooby-Doo, SpongeBob, and the Looney Tunes.

The humour also works wonderfully. The way it plays with horror tropes so casually is always endearing and smile-inducing (Morticia brushing off an evil spirit yelling at her to “GET OUT” by calling it “grumpy” is a perfect example). Just watching what a day in this family’s life is like is usually hilarious.

The Voice Acting is solid. Everybody does a good job of portraying these dark macabre characters with surprising life. Special mention goes to Chloe Grace Moretz. Her portrayal of Wednesday Addams is delightfully droll, easily the most fun voice in the film.

Where the movie begins to falter is with its story. Aside from being too obvious with its message, it just doesn’t work well. Things just happen casually, until the bad guy decides they’ve had enough and it’s time to do bad, bad things in the climax. Younger audiences may not care, but adults are in for a disappointing finale. Which is why it’s good that the individual moments and jokes are so good.

Families with younger children who may not be ready for the scarier parts of Halloween are who this movie is made for. And it does an alright job. Nothing is too scary, and the colours pop off the screen in a way that kids will enjoy and be hooked throughout.

The Addams Family has a lot of members that don’t quite equal the sum of its parts, but is still delightful nonetheless.

The Addams Family

7 out of 10

1 hr 27 mins. Animated, comedy, family.

Directed by Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon.

Starring Charlize Theron, Oscar Isaac, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Finn Wolfhard.

Now playing at Film.ca Cinemas, Cineplex Winston Churchill, and Cineplex Oakville & VIP.