The Addams Family

The Addams Family is an American horror (‘’ghotic’’) – comedy movie filmed in 1991, which has
supernatural elements. Furthermore, the movie was commercially successful and it was
followed by the sequel, Addams Family Values. Both movies were directed by former
cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, in his screen directing debut, and written by Paul Rudnick
along with Caroline Thompson and Larry Wilson (who wrote the sequel, The Addams Family
Values). The movie is based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles
Addams and the 1964 television series produced by David Levy. The film focuses on a bizarre,
macabre and aristocratic family who reconnect with someone whom they believe to be a long-
lost relative, Gomez's brother Fester Addams. The first part of the movie was released on
November 22, 1991 and the second part was released by Paramount Pictures on November 19,
1993.
Gomez Addams longs for his brother Fester, missing for 25 years after a rift between them.
After noticing an opportunity, Gomez's conniving lawyer Tully Alford, indebted to loan shark
Abigail Craven, Gordon, Abigail's adopted son, bears a striking resemblance to Fester. Tully
hatches a plan for Gordon to impersonate Fester, infiltrate the Addams family, and uncover
their hidden wealth. Gordon, under the guise of Fester, struggles to fit in, but grows close to the
family, especially the children Wednesday and Pugsley. Suspicion arises, but Abigail
manipulates the situation, attempting to access the Addams' vault. While Abigail, Gordon, and
Tully try repeatedly and unsuccessfully to get past the trap blocking access to the vault, the
Addamses are forced to move into a motel and find jobs. Morticia tries to be a preschool
teacher, Wednesday and Pugsley sell toxic lemonade, and Thing (the family's animated
disembodied hand and loyal servant) becomes a courier. Despondent, Gomez sinks into
depression. Furthermore, Morticia returns to the Addams home to confront Gordon and is
captured by Abigail and Tully, who torture her in an attempt to learn how to access the vault.
Thing observes this and informs Gomez, using Morse code leading Gomez to mount a daring
rescue. Furthermore, Gordon, disillusioned by his manipulative mother, turns against her,
unleashing a storm of chaos that ultimately vanquishes Abigail and Tully. The resolution reveals
that Gordon is, in fact, the long-lost Fester, suffering from amnesia and only recovering his
memories through a stroke of lightning during the mayhem. The Addams family is joyously
reunited, with Morticia revealing her pregnancy, heralding a new chapter of bizarre adventures
for the eccentric family. Compared to its predecessor, which retained something of the madcap
approach of the 1960s sitcom, Addams Family Values is played more for very dark and macabre
laughs. The film revolves around the family's adjustments to the birth of their new baby Pubert.
In the second part of this movie, Gomez and Morticia Addams hire a nanny named Debbie
Jellinsky to care for their newborn son Pubert, who turns out to be a cunning serial killer with a
penchant for murdering wealthy husbands. As she ingratiates herself into the Addams family,
she seduces Uncle Fester and becomes engaged to him and plots to eliminate him for his
inheritance. On their honeymoon, she tries to kill Fester, forcing him to cut ties with his family.
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Meanwhile, Wednesday and Pugsley attend Camp Chippewa where they face discrimination,
particularly by the snobbish Amanda Buckman. They rebel against discrimination and, with
Joel's help, disrupt a Thanksgiving play. Back in the Addams household, Debbie's true nature is
exposed when she attempts to murder Fester and destroy the mansion. However, her plans are
revealed, and the Addams family survives. Pubert, the infant son, inadvertently becomes the
hero by killing Debbie with electricity, saving his family. The family celebrates Pubert's first
birthday, while Fester becomes obsessed with a new nanny. In the end, Wednesday reveals her
macabre nature as Joel encounters a surprising fate. Furthermore, the movie stars Anjelica
Huston, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance as Morticia Addams, Raul
Julia as Gomez Addams, Christopher Lloyd as Fester Addams, Carol Kane as Grandmama
Addams, Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams, Jimmy Workman as Pugsley Addams,
Christopher Hart as Thing and Joan Cusack as Debbie Jellinsky who joined the cast for the
second part of the movie. Moreover, the movie is based on the characters from the cartoon
created by cartoonist Charles Addams and the 1964 television series produced by David Levy.
Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist
known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters. Some of his recurring characters
became known as the Addams Family, and were subsequently popularized through various
adaptations. He developed The Addams Family as a parody of the ideal American family. They
are eccentric, affluent, they revel in the macabre and the mysterious, and are completely
oblivious to the fact that they look strange to others. The characters originated in the Charles
Addams cartoons for The New Yorker magazine in the 1930s. In the cartoon, none of the family
members had name. When the characters were adapted to the 1964 television series, Charles
Addams' selection of Morticia’s name was inspired by "mortician". Morticia Addams is the
matriarch of the Addams Family and is based on Charles’s first wife, Barbara (Morticia reflected
the qualities he was attracted to, and because of that his wives resembled the character). She is
the wife of Gomez Addams and mother of Wednesday, Pugsley and Pubert Addams. Morticia is
a witch, coming from a family of witches. Moreover, she is the true head of the house. She
loves her children and her husband very much, supporting and protecting them at all costs.
Morticia Addams has been portrayed by several actresses in various Addams Family media,
including Carolyn Jones in the television series The Addams Family (1964), Anjelica Huston in
the feature films The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), and Catherine
Zeta-Jones in the streaming television series Wednesday (2022). Furthermore, Gomez Addams
is the patriarch of the Addams Family. He is Morticia’s husband who loves everything ghoulish,
ghastly and dark. He's also the most passionate, romantic and optimistic member of the family.
Moreover, he is a crafty schemer, but also a jolly man in his own way, sometimes misguided,
and sentimental. He is in full enthusiasm for his dreadful plots and often seen wearing his
dressing gown and he is the only one who smokes. Uncle Fester is Gomez’s lost brother and a
completely hairless, hunched, and barrel-shaped man with dark, sunken eyes and often a
deranged smile. He also always wears a heavy, full-length fur coat. Wednesday Addams is
typically portrayed as a morbid and emotionally reserved child that is fascinated by the
macabre, often identified by her pale skin and black pigtails. She is a young girl who is obsessed
with death and is described as brilliant, with a penchant for doing scientific experiments with
her brother. Wednesday does most of her experiments on her brother Pugsley Addams for

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"fun" or for punishment. Wednesday has been shown to care for Pugsley, but is often hostile
towards him, and has tried to kill Pugsley many times. She enjoys raising spiders and
researching the Bermuda Triangle. She has a tendency to startle people due to her gothic
personality. She defies societal norms and takes pride in being herself, even if she sometimes
hurts other people's feelings, including her parents. Wednesday knows who she is and won't
change herself for anybody. It's a lesson often taught throughout The Addams Family that is
okay to be different. Pugsley Addams was represented almost always wearing a striped T-shirt
and shorts. He was portrayed as a deviant child with a cruel nature, often participating in
experiments with his sister. Thing T. Thing, often referred to as just Thing. The Addamses called
it "Thing" because it was something that could not be identified, being originally an unseen
creature in the original cartoon but starting with the live-action television series it was settled
to be a disembodied hand. Thing first appeared in Addams's 1954 book Homebodies. According
to Phil Hore, Addams was inspired by Phil Harris's 1950 novelty song "The Thing". One of
Addams’s cartoons introduced a mysterious entity known only as The Thing, who was said to be
too horrifying to be seen by human eyes. Thing bonds with people he finds to be loyal
(Addamses). On the other hand, he may be snarky and rude, giving obscene gestures to people
who insult him. Debbie Jellinsky is a sneaky, materialistic, intelligent, psychopathic,
manipulative and seductive woman, marrying Fester only because she thinks he is a rich
bachelor, planning to kill him and take his inheritance. The Addams Family movies have got
numerous awards, such as Best Fantasy Film, Best Special Effects, Best Production Design, Best
Actor (Raul Julia), Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
(Anjelica Hutson), Best Performance by a Younger Actor (Christina Ricci) etc. The Addams
Family got their documentary called, ‘’The Making of The Addams Family’’, and several video
games based on the movie. The documentary was produced to promote the movie in 1991.
Most of the movie was filmed at the Hollywood Center Studios in Los Angeles, the same studio
where the original TV series was filmed in 1964. The first part of the movie was filmed in 1991
and the second part of the movie was filmed in 1993. The actor who portrayed The Thing
(Christopher Hart), in many scenes, was laying on his back on a wheeled trolley, below the line
of sight of the cameras, and inserted his arm through the bottom of the box. Furthermore, in
Addams Family Values (1993), Morticia Addams is always lit by one beam of light across her
eyes fading outward to enhance her classic look. This technique, used originally in classic noir
movies to capture dark side of American life.
The Addamses are a satirical inversion of the ideal American family. They are an eccentric,
wealthy family who delight in the macabre and are unaware that people find them bizarre or
frightening. One of the overarching themes in the movie are kindness to strangers and honoring
your family. Nevertheless, for them family comes first (‘’even in death do you not part’’). The
lesson often taught throughout The Addams Family is that it is okay to be different.

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