ReviewThe Addams Family film review: animated feature’s lack of black humour means it’s low on laughs
- A terrible script means a great voice cast of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, and Bette Midler are wasted in this latest outing for the morbid bunch
- The quality of the animation is also uninspiring, making for a bland feature
2/5 stars
The spooky Addams family have been through many media incarnations since they were created by Charles Addams as a cartoon strip in 1938. This full-length animated feature, although faithful to the original idea, is not one of the best outings for the funereal Americans.
It is testament to the imagination of their creator that the family have remained remarkably true to their roots over the years. They’re a morbid bunch who have things back to front – they like everything monstrous, deathly, and scary, and shun anything that is pleasant and cheerful.
But they’re also nice people – and ghouls and monsters – at heart and, in their eccentric way, have always been used to celebrate diversity and to remind viewers that “normal” comes in many shades and variations.
This version features all the core members of the family. There’s the gothic matriarch Morticia, her good-natured husband Gomez, their two morbid kids Wednesday and Pugsley, and the gruesome Uncle Fester. The crew wouldn’t be complete without the monsters Lurch – famed for his thunderously deep voice – and Thing, a disembodied hand which runs around like a crab.
The story line has the family move to a gloomy deserted mansion which overlooks a new housing development built by Margaux, the big-haired star of a home-makeover television show. Margaux wants to get rid of the Addamses, who she thinks will doom the sales of the houses she has built, but the family show her that although they’re different, there’s nothing wrong with them.