The Addams Family (2019 film)

The Addams Family is a 2019 computer-animated supernatural black comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan and based on the characters created by Charles Addams. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Allison Janney.

The Addams Family
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay byMatt Lieberman
Story by
  • Matt Lieberman
  • Erica Rivinoja
  • Conrad Vernon
Based onThe Addams Family
by Charles Addams
Starring
Music by
Edited byDavid Ian Salter
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • October 11, 2019 (2019-10-11) (United States)
Running time
86 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$24 million[4]
Box office$204 million[4][5]

The film was theatrically released in the United States by United Artists Releasing and internationally by Universal Pictures on October 11, 2019. It received mixed reviews from critics for its narrative and screenplay, though the performances and animation were praised, and grossed $204 million on a $24 million budget.

A sequel, The Addams Family 2 is scheduled to be theatrically released on October 1, 2021, with Greg Tiernan returning to direct.

Plot

Gomez and Morticia 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 buys Fester time to evacuate Gomez, Morticia, and Thing. Gomez and Morticia decide to move to New Jersey, a place "no one would be caught dead in." There, Gomez, Morticia, and Thing find their "perfect" home in an abandoned asylum on a hill. They meet Lurch, an escaped mental patient whom they hit when Thing was distracted driving the car, and 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 for his upcoming Mazurka, a rite of passage that every Addams family member takes. Morticia struggles to keep their daughter, Wednesday, from wanting to experience the world outside the mansion after a balloon and confetti appear on their property, and as the fog surrounding it begins to lift.

Elsewhere, reality TV host Margaux Needler, who is building a perfect planned community called "Assimilation" so her show will have a successful season finale, discovers the Addams family's household and becomes determined to rid the town of it when the family refuses to change. Wednesday then meets Margaux's neglected daughter Parker and convinces Morticia to let her attend junior high school. Pugsley struggles with the complicated traditions and pressure of his Mazurka, even with the guidance of Gomez and Uncle Fester. Grandmama arrives at the house for the event.

At school, Wednesday defends Parker and her twin friends Layla and Kayla from the school bully named Bethany and befriends them after she resurrects some dead frogs and commands them to attack Bethany. Later on, the two discuss their frustrations and change their dressing habits – Parker becomes more gothic and Wednesday dresses more colorfully – to the shock of both of their mothers, with Margaux vowing to destroy the Addamses. After an argument with Morticia, Wednesday decides to run away in secret and stay with Parker for a while, which Pugsley inadvertently tells Morticia.

As Cousin Itt arrives at the Addams Family house, Wednesday and Parker discover a secret room under Parker's house revealing that Margaux has planted hidden cameras in every house she designed in town. She has been spreading rumors about the Addamses through social media, claiming that they are freaks. Margaux catches the two and locks them in the attic, but Wednesday breaks them out. Margaux rallies an angry mob to attack the mansion just as the entire Addams clan arrive for Pugsley's Mazurka.

During the Mazurka, Pugsley fails in front of the whole family, but Gomez admits he forgot to let him be who he is. The mob arrives flinging boulders, severely damaging the mansion and trapping the family inside. Pugsley uses his love of bombs and destruction to defend his family and manages to destroy the mob's trebuchet. Wednesday and Parker join in and help everyone out of the wreckage safely with help of the living tree Ichabod.

As Margaux tries to take control once more, her treachery is revealed by Parker. They see that the Addamses are not monsters, but a family, and Wednesday states that everyone is weird in their own unique way, revealing how Margaux had been spying on Assimilation's civilians. Margaux's agent Glenn carries a message from the network stating that her show is now cancelled because Parker was live streaming her tirade against the civilians with her phone. As Fester comes up with a compromise for Margaux, Assimilation's civilians realize the error of their ways.

After they work together to rebuild the mansion, the Addams family and Assimilation's civilians live in peace. Margaux becomes Fester's business partner, selling homes to the other members of the Addams clan, and Pugsley completes his Mazurka.

The film ends with an animated recreation of the intro of the 1964 TV series.

Cast

Production

In 2010, after Illumination Entertainment acquired the rights to The Addams Family comics, they began work on the film at Universal Pictures as a stop-motion animation directed by Tim Burton and produced by Chris Meledandri.[6] After development stopped, however, in 2013, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures announced that they would produce the animated film based on The Addams Family comics, with Pamela Pettler then writing the screenplay.[7][8] In June 2019, it was announced that Bron Creative is co-financing the film with MGM as part of a multi-picture co-financing agreement with the studio.[9] In October 2017, it was announced that the film would be directed and produced by Conrad Vernon. Additionally, Gail Berman, Alex Schwartz, and Alison O'Brien also produced the film. Matt Lieberman wrote the finished screenplay, with story by credit for Lieberman, Rivinoja, and Vernon. The film was animated by Cinesite Studios, with Tabitha Shick overseeing it for MGM.[10][11] In December 2017, it was reported that Oscar Isaac was in talks to voice the role of Gomez Addams in the film.[12] In June 2018, Isaac was officially cast, alongside Charlize Theron, Allison Janney, Bette Midler, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard and Nick Kroll.[13] In July 2018, Aimee Garcia joined the voice cast,[14] and in August 2018, Elsie Fisher was added as well.[15] In November 2018, Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short were added as Morticia's parents,[16] and in August 2019, Snoop Dogg, Tituss Burgess, and Jenifer Lewis joined as Cousin Itt, Glenn, and Great Auntie Sloom, respectively.[17]

Music and soundtrack

Migos, Karol G, Snoop Dogg, and Rock Mafia recorded a song for the film called "My Family", which was released on September 13, 2019 and plays during the end credits; while Christina Aguilera released the song "Haunted Heart" from the film's soundtrack on September 27, 2019, which plays in the film's opening.[18] HeathisHuman created an updated version of Vic Mizzy's original theme song that plays at the film's ending.[19]

Release

Theatrical release

The film was theatrically released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer through United Artists Releasing in the United States on October 11, 2019 with Universal Pictures handling the international rights.[15] It was previously set for October 18, 2019[20][12] before being moved up to October 11, 2019 to avoid direct competition with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.[21]

Marketing

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer launched the film with a global promotion partner campaign worth $150 million, their largest ever outside the 007 franchise.[22] They spent a total of $72 million on prints and advertisements for the film.[23]

Home media

The film was released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment digitally on December 24, 2019, followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release on January 21, 2020.

Reception

Box office

The Addams Family grossed $100 million in the United States and Canada and $103 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $203 million.[4][5] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $76 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[23]

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Gemini Man and Jexi and was projected to gross $28–30 million from 4,007 theaters in its opening weekend.[24] The film made $9.7 million on its first day including $1.25 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $30.3 million, finishing second behind holdover Joker.[25] It made $16.3 million in its second weekend, $12 million in its third and $8.2 million in its fourth, finishing fourth, third and sixth, respectively.[26][27][28]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 44% and an average rating of 5.29/10, based on 154 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Addams Family's starry voice cast and eye-catching animation aren't enough to outweigh its saccharine handling of the delightfully dark source material."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported that surveyed children and parents gave it 4 and 3.5 out of 5 stars, respectively.[25]

Accolades
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2019HMMA AwardBest Original Song – Animated Film
("Haunted Heart")		Christina Aguilera (written and performed by)
Antonina Armato (written by)
Tim James (written by)		Nominated

Sequel

On October 15, 2019, MGM announced that a sequel, The Addams Family 2 was scheduled to be theatrically released on October 22, 2021, with Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan returning to direct.[22][31] On October 8, 2020, Bill Hader and Javon Walton joined the cast. Hader will play a new character named Cyrus while Walton will replace Finn Wolfhard as the voice of Pugsley while Tiernan will return to direct. On the same day, it was also announced that the film would now be released on October 8, 2021.[32] On January 21, 2021, it was moved up again by one week to October 1, 2021.[33] Nitrogen Studios and Cinesite Studios will return for the sequel as production partners.[34]

References
  1. "Mychael & Jeff Danna to Score Animated 'The Addams Family' Movie - Film Music Reporter".
  2. Galuppo, Mia (February 5, 2019). "MGM, Annapurna Team for Distribution Label United Artists Releasing". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  3. "The Addams Family (2019)". AMC Theatres. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  4. "The Addams Family (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  5. "The Addams Family (2019)". The Numbers. IMDb. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  6. Fleming, Mike, Jr. (March 18, 2010). "Tim Burton's Next 3D Animated Film? Da Da Da Da, Snap Snap: 'The Addams Family'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  7. Eisenberg, Eric. "New Animated Addams Family Movie Is In The Works". CinemaBlend. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  8. McNary, Dave (October 31, 2013). "'Addams Family' Reborn As Animated Movie At MGM". Variety. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  9. Siegel, Tatiana (June 6, 2019). "Bron, MGM Ink Multipicture $100M Co-Financing Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  10. Hipes, Patrick (October 12, 2017). "MGM's CG 'The Addams Family' Movie Gets Animated". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  11. Trumbore, Dave (October 13, 2017). "Addams Family Animated Movie Hires Director Conrad Vernon". Collider. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  12. McNary, Dave (December 15, 2017). "Oscar Isaac in Talks to Voice Gomez Addams in Animated 'Addams Family'". Variety. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  13. D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 June 2018). "'Addams Family' Movie Scares Up Charlize Theron, Bette Midler, Allison Janney & More For Voice Cast". Deadline Hollywood.
  14. ""Lucifer" Star Aimee Garcia Joins 'The Addams Family'". IMDb.
  15. "'Eighth Grade' Star Elsie Fisher Joins Animated 'Addams Family' Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. Wakeman, Gregory (November 23, 2018). "Martin Short and Catherine O'Hara join the animated 'Addams Family' movie". Metro. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  17. Trumbore, Dave (August 7, 2019). "Official Trailer and Images for 'The Addams Family' Bring the Title Terrors into the Light". Collider. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  18. Moreland, Quinn (September 13, 2019). "Snoop Dogg and Migos Share New Song for The Addams Family: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  19. The Addams Family (2019) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-01-22
  20. Kroll, Justin (October 12, 2017). "'Sausage Party's' Conrad Vernon to Direct Animated 'Addams Family' Movie". Variety. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  21. Pederson, Erik (March 6, 2019). "Universal Shifts Damon Lindelof's 'The Hunt' To October; 'Addams Family' Moves Up A Week – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  22. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 15, 2019). "'The Addams Family 2' Is In The Works After Great $35M+ 4-Day Weekend, MGM/UAR Set Fall 2021 Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  23. D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 13, 2020). "'The Addams Family' Snaps To No. 20 On Deadline's 2019 Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  24. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 9, 2019). "'Joker' Breaks Tuesday October Record With $13.9M, Will Continue To Make Serious B.O. This Weekend With $42M+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  25. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 13, 2019). "'Joker' $55M+ Scores 2nd Weekend October Record, 'Addams Family' Rich $30M+, 'Gemini Man' Still Not Dazzling $20M – Sunday B.O. Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  26. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 20, 2019). "'Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil' No Magic With $36M+, 'Joker' Still Stealing 2nd Place From 'Zombieland 2' With $28M+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  27. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 28, 2019). "'Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil' Tricks 'Joker' & Steals No. 1 With $19.37M After Dead Heat B.O. Battle". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  28. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 4, 2019). "How 'Terminator: Dark Fate' Conked Out With $27M+ & Why 'The Irishman' Is Not A Missed Strategic Opportunity – Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  29. "The Addams Family (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  30. "The Addams Family (2019) Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  31. Ridgely, Charlie (November 6, 2019). "The Addams Family Directors Explain Their Approach to the Upcoming Sequel". Comicbook. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  32. Anthony D'Alessandro (October 8, 2020). "'The Addams Family 2': Bill Hader & Javon "Wanna" Walton Join Voice Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  33. "James Bond: 'No Time To Die' Release Date Delayed to Fall". The Hollywood Reporter. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  34. The Addams Family Will be Back Soon!
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