 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Addams Family" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| The Addams Family | |
|---|---|
 The Addams Family as originally depicted inThe New Yorker. Left to Right: Grandmama, Wednesday, Gomez, Morticia, butler Lurch, Pugsley, Uncle Fester | |
| Created by | Charles Addams |
| Original work | The New Yorker cartoons |
| Owners |
|
| Print publications | |
| Book(s) |
|
| Comic strip(s) | See below (1938) |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
|
| Short film(s) | The Addams Family Fun-House (1973) |
| Television series |
|
| Animated series |
|
| Television special(s) | |
| Direct-to-video | Addams Family Reunion (1998) |
| Theatrical presentations | |
| Musical(s) |
|
| Games | |
| Video game(s) | List of video games |
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) | |
The Addams Family is a fictional family created by AmericancartoonistCharles Addams. The Addams are an eccentricold-money clan who delight in themacabre and thegrotesque and are seemingly unaware or unconcerned that other people find them bizarre or frightening. The Addams' view in seeing their family life and interests as normal was a basis for the satire and comedy. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panelcomics, about half of which were originally published inThe New Yorker between 1938 and their creator's death in 1988. They have since appeared in other media, such as television, film,video games,comic books, amusical, and merchandise.
The family members were unnamed until the 1960s. Matriarch Morticia and daughter Wednesday received their names when a licensed doll collection was released in 1962; patriarch Gomez and son Pugsley were named whenthe 1964 television series debuted.[2] The Addams Family consists ofGomez andMorticia Addams, their children,Wednesday andPugsley, and close family membersUncle Fester[b] andGrandmama,[c] their butlerLurch, and Pugsley's pet octopus, Aristotle. The dimly seenThing (later a disembodied hand) was introduced in 1954, and Gomez'sCousin Itt, Morticia's pet lion Kitty Kat and Morticia's carnivorous plant Cleopatra in 1964. Pubert Addams, Wednesday and Pugsley's infant brother, was introduced in the 1993 filmAddams Family Values.[d]
The live-action television series premiered onABC on Friday, September 18, 1964, and ran for two seasons.[2] Ananimated series fromHanna-Barbera aired in 1973 and the characters had cameos in the animatedThe New Scooby-Doo Movies. The 1960s television show characters and actors returned in a 1977 telefilm titledHalloween with the New Addams Family.
The franchise was revived in the 1990s with a feature film series consisting ofThe Addams Family (1991) andAddams Family Values (1993). The films inspired asecond animated series (1992–1993) which is set in the same fictional universe. The series was rebooted with a1998 direct-to-video film and aspin-off live-action television series (1998–1999). In 2010, alive musical adaptation featuringNathan Lane andBebe Neuwirth opened onBroadway to tepid reviews, but it was nominated for twoTony Awards[4] and eightDrama Desk Awards, winning one Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design.[5] The series was rebooted again in 2019 with the animated filmThe Addams Family, which led toa sequel in 2021. In 2022, Netflix debuted the original live action seriesWednesday, based around the daughter of the family.
The franchise has spawneda video game series,academic books and soundtracks, which are based around itsGrammy-nominatedtheme song. A staple in pop culture for eight decades, The Addams Family has influencedAmerican comics,cinema andtelevision. Thegoth subculture andits fashion have also been influenced by The Addams Family.[6][7]
Charles Addams began as a cartoonist inThe New Yorker with a sketch of a window washer that ran on February 6, 1932.[8] Addams first drew the then-unnamed Morticia some years before her first published appearance inThe New Yorker. Some sources give a date of 1933, while Addams himself when asked in interview suggested "around 1937."[9] Media speculation at the time often connected Morticia to Charles Addams' first wifeBarbara Jean Day, but he had yet to meet her.[10] In an interview in 1981 he acknowledged that Morticia reflected the qualities he was attracted to. Because of this, the women he married later on resembled the character. He described Morticia as "not patterned after anyone in particular, although I've often thought there was a littleGloria Swanson in her."[9]
The first Addams Family cartoon was published in 1938, in a one-panel gag format. Charles Addams became a regular contributor toThe New Yorker and drew approximately 1,300 cartoons between then and his death in 1988. 58 of these would feature the Addams Family, almost all of which were published in the 1940s and 1950s. Members of the family were introduced one by one, with Morticia first, Gomez (based onThomas E. Dewey) joining four years later, Pugsley, and finally Wednesday and Fester shortly after. Addams indicated that Fester resembled himself, "plus a little more hair."[9] A Christmas 1946 strip, showing the family pouring boiling oil on carolers, was well received and was later sold on Christmas cards.[11] Outside ofThe New Yorker, Addams also published several collections, the most notable beingDear Dead Days: A Family Album in 1959.
In 1946, Addams briefly collaborated withscience fiction writerRay Bradbury, planning out an illustrated book about a supernatural family namedThe Elliotts, similar toThe Addams Family. There was difficulty finding a publisher however, and the two went their separate ways. These stories were eventually anthologized inFrom the Dust Returned (2001), with a connecting narrative, an explanation of their collaboration, and the artwork Addams had created for the project in 1946.[12][13]
Beginning in the early 1960s, the development of the television series affected the comics. For one thing, it is claimed that Wednesday was first given her name in reference to the nursery rhymeMonday's Child, where "Wednesday's child is full of woe". Actress and poet Joan Blake offered Charles Addams the idea for the name[14] and the others were eventually named ahead of the series' debut. Some suggestions from series showrunner David Levy were introduced into the last comics of the era, including the addition of Thing and Cousin Itt. Itt was an invention of Levy's, while Thing was an expansion on a disembodied hand that had appeared in a 1954 strip.[15] The comics ceased publication inThe New Yorker in 1964, as the editor William Shawn banned the characters. He was concerned about the image of the publication, and did not want it associated with a mainstream sitcom.Smithsonian Magazine called him "snooty" for the decision.[16][15]
In the early 1960s, formerNBC executive David Levy stumbled across one of Addams' books in a New York bookstore and realized that the tone would be perfect for television. He purchased the book and met with Addams in thePlaza Hotel, and the topic of a television adaptation was raised. Addams had been approached about television adaptations by others in the past, but he was inclined to take Levy up on the offer because of their shared friend in the authorJohn O'Hara. At the next meeting, at Addams' apartment, Levy indicated the characters would need to be named, and Addams came up with a list for the third meeting. According to Levy, Addams had little involvement with the series after those three meetings. He retained the right to veto casting decisions and other choices, but did not make use of the power.[9] Some rights to the franchise were given toFilmways, the production company for the show.[17]
The1964 television adaptation onABC brought the series to a much wider audience and was well received publicly. ProducerNat Perrin took a "less evil" approach to the characters and stories than Addams had in the cartoons, emphasizing lighter, more comedic elements.Stephen Cox later described the series as "more zany than spooky". Charles Addams himself was less happy with the series, criticising the characters for being "half as evil" as in the comics.
The popular series, broadcast on theABC network, ran only two seasons. No official reason was given for the cancellation, thoughSmithsonian Magazine speculated that it was due to theadoption of color programming on the network the following year.[15] It has also been suggested that competition withHogan's Heroes in the same time slot on CBS was a factor.[18]
The show’s cancellation in 1966 brought issues for Addams, as he faced a drop in income with the show no longer in production. His second wife Barbara Barb was a practicing lawyer who had engaged in "diabolical legal scheming" during their marriage, and had convinced Addams to sign over the rights to future television and film adaptations, as well as rights to some of his other cartoons. Following their divorce she remained in possession of these rights until 1991, when she sold them to allow development of the Sonnenfeld films.[17][19] Addams could also no longer publish his comics inThe New Yorker as Shawn's ban remained in effect even after the television series concluded.[20] Addams became bitter towards the magazine "for disowning his family".[11][15] The franchise remained in the popular consciousness even after the series concluded, with the "Lurch" dance move remaining popular through the 1960s. The television series was often re-run through television syndication for years afterward, particularly in Australia.
Hanna-Barbera parodied the show in November 1964 by introducing a family named "The Gruesomes" toThe Flintstones, and the Gruesomes appeared occasionally inFlintstones media into the early 1970s.[9] The studio later animated a1972 Addams Family crossover with Scooby-Doo, which led to a1973 animated series. The animated incarnation featured a new cast except forFelix Silla, who returned as Cousin Itt. The show had good ratings and spawned a line of children's merchandise, but only aired 16 episodes. A pilot was also produced that year for a new live action series entitledThe Addams Family Funhouse, using a different cast. The pilot was aired in 1973 but never picked up for a full series.[9]
A 1977 special,Halloween with the New Addams Family, reunited most of the original cast from the 1964 series, withBlossom Rock absent due to her health. The made-for-TV movie faced issues during production and was poorly received. It was shot using a house set that had been constructed for the horror filmBen, which didn't resemble the original Addams mansion and caused technical issues with lighting. The film was widely criticised for the script, direction, and the performances of some of the actors.Jackie Coogan in particular was recovering from a mild stroke during filming.[9][15]
While William Shawn's ban on furtherAddams Family comics inThe New Yorker persisted until 1987, Addams was able to sneak in several of the characters as a cameo inZ Line Subway, a 1979 strip.[21] He married Marilyn Matthews Miller in 1981, in an Addams family themed ceremony conducted in a cemetery.[10] Filmways, the production company of the 1964 series and holder of some franchise rights, was purchased in 1982 by Orion Pictures. Theretirement of Shawn in 1987 allowed a brief return of the cartoons toThe New Yorker, thoughAddams died only a year later. While largely inactive in the United States, the franchise did however see a wave of popularity in Australia, brought on by widely watched reruns onTCN-9. New merchandise was released in Australia and a "Morticia Boutique Dress Shop" opened in Melbourne in 1988. A satellite-linked interview with surviving members of the original cast was also aired on Australian television. A fan quoted by Cox credited the tone of the Addams family for its success in 1980s Australia, noting that the characters were "less American" than the Munsters, and that Australians had a different life-style. Astin reprised his role as Gomez for a 1989 episode ofNick at Nite's Sitcom Zone, in which he introduced reruns of shows for a two-hour programming block. A 1989 video gameFester's Quest was developed bySunsoft, and received mixed reviews. To promote the game some black-and-white advertisements were filmed using the characters.[22][9]
The head of production at20th Century Fox,Scott Rudin, pitched an Addams Family film but Fox did not have the rights to the franchise. The rights were at the time split between two parties: The late Addams' second wife Barbara Barb, andOrion Pictures. The latter were in possession of film rights in particular after purchasingFilmways in 1982. Fox attempted to purchase those rights but failed, as Orion had plans for a new TV series. The studio's plans changed however after Barb sold her rights to Orion, and the studio brought Rudin on board to produce a film.Caroline Thompson andLarry Wilson wrote a script, and faced many re-writes early on.Tim Burton was considered for director, but the role ultimately went toBarry Sonnenfeld.The film featured a new cast, Blossom Rock (Grandmama) having died in 1978, Ted Cassidy (Lurch) in 1979, Carolyn Jones (Morticia) in 1983 and Jackie Coogan (Fester) in 1984.Production on the film was troubled, with Sonnenfeld blacking out on set, and a burst blood vessel inRaul Julia's eye further delaying the shoot.Director of photography Owen Roizman quit the production three months from completion, forcing Sonnenfeld to take on the role in addition to his existing responsibilities. Orion faced financial issues and sold the project and Addams family rights toParamount mid-production- though the deal did not include overseas home media rights, which harmed distribution after release. Orion retained those, and those rights passed toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer when the studio was bought out in 1997.[17]
While the1991 film received mixed reviews from critics, it performed reasonably well at the box office despite its production issues. The film triggered a lawsuit from David Levy over its use of Thing and Cousin Itt, as Levy had been the creator of those characters ahead of the launch of the 1964 television series. The case was settled out of court and the resolution is not known publicly.[23] A second film in 1993,Addams Family Values was highly regarded by critics but performed poorly at the box office unexpectedly, and earned less than half the revenue of its predecessor. This, and thesudden death of Julia in 1994, prevented Sonnenfeld from producing further films.[15] Both films received nominations forAcademy Awards,BAFTA Awards, andHugo Awards. For her role as Morticia,Anjelica Huston was twice nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress, andRaul Julia (as Gomez),Christina Ricci (as Wednesday),Christopher Lloyd (as Fester), andJoan Cusack (as Fester's wife, Debbie Jellinsky, in the sequel) received multipleSaturn Award andAmerican Comedy Award nominations for their portrayals.
Following the wave of interest in the franchise,a 1992 animated television series notably sawJohn Astin reprise his role as Gomez, almost thirty years after his first appearance in the role in 1964. It was nominated for fourDaytime Emmy Awards, including one for Astin. That year, apinball machine based on the franchise was also released, featuring original voice acting from Julia and Huston as Gomez and Morticia. It went on to become the highest selling pinball machine of all time at over 20,000 units.[24]
A direct-to-video film,The Addams Family Reunion produced bySaban Entertainment in 1998, featured the return ofCarel Struycken as Lurch, but was otherwise unrelated to the Sonnenfeld films. It was very poorly received. The film was intended as the pilot for a Canadian-produced live-action television series,The New Addams Family, made with a mostly different cast and airing the following year.[25] Astin, then in his late 60s, returned as Grandpapa Addams in the TV series, rather than Gomez, who was played byGlenn Taranto.[25] The show concluded after a single season in 1999. A video game adaptation ofThe New Addams Family was released in 2001 for theGame Boy Color.
.jpg)
In 2007, Elephant Eye Theatrical announced that they had obtained the rights to a musical adaptation of the comic series, which at that time were held by the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation.[26] After a try-out in Chicago in 2009, the musical was performed on Broadway in 2010, and thereafter in a sequence of international tours until 2021.
The rights to the franchise were purchased byIllumination Entertainment in 2010, and the studio shortly announced aTim Burtonstop-motion led film. However, Burton withdrew from the project in 2013 over a decision to use computer animation rather than stop motion as he had intended.[27]Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired the remaining rights and announced a computer animated film the same year, and entered into production in the late 2010s. Unlike the Burton version, this would use 3D computer animation. Thefilm was eventually released in 2019, to a moderate box-office sales and mixed reception.A sequel, released in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was far less successful and poorly received critically.
Miles Millar andAlfred Gough began work on a live-action spin-off series entitledWednesday in 2019, financed by MGM. The writers room for the series took place during the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic, and so was conducted remotely. The project was formally announced in 2020, with Burton as executive producer. The series premiered with its first season in 2022 to critical acclaim,[28] and a second season followed in 2025.Amazon purchased MGM in 2021, which in turn means that the Addams Family rights now rest with the company.[29]
The family appears to be a branch of an extensive Addams clan, with relatives all over the world. In the original television series they are said to be related to "those one-D Adamses", a fact the family are deeply ashamed of. According to the film version, the family credo is,Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc (pseudo-Latin: "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us"). Charles Addams was first inspired by his hometown ofWestfield, New Jersey, an area full of ornateVictorian mansions and archaic graveyards.[30] In the original comics series they live in a'gothic' house on Cemetery Ridge. According to the television series, the residence is a gloomy mansion adjacent to a cemetery and aswamp located in an unspecified American town. Inthe musical (first shown in Chicago in 2009), the house is located inCentral Park.[31] In the2019 film, the Addamses live in an abandoned asylum located in the outskirts of the state ofNew Jersey which is haunted by a disembodied resident who demands the property remain undisturbed.
Although most of the humor derives from the fact that they sharemacabre interests, such as putting each other and themselves in the way of bodily harm (none of which seems to have any effect), the television Addamses are notevil. They are a close-knitextended family. Morticia is an exemplary mother, and she and Gomez remain passionate towards each other; as established in the television series: She occasionally fondly calls himbubbeleh,[e] to which he responds by kissing her arms, behavior which Morticia can also provoke by speaking a few words inFrench (their meanings are not important; any words in French will do). The parents are supportive of their children (except in the 2019 film when Wednesday arrives home wearing a pink dress). The family is friendly and hospitable to visitors; in some cases, it is willing to donate large sums of money to causes (television series and films), despite the visitors' horror at the Addamses' peculiar lifestyle. The characters were unnamed until the advent of the 1964 television adaptation, except for Wednesday and Morticia who were first named for a 1962 licensed doll collection.[15]
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||||||||
| Live-action series | ||||||||||||
| The Addams Family | 1 | 34 | September 18, 1964 (1964-09-18) | May 21, 1965 (1965-05-21) | ABC | |||||||
| 2 | 30 | September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17) | April 8, 1966 (1966-04-08) | |||||||||
| Halloween special | October 30, 1977 (1977-10-30) | NBC | ||||||||||
| The New Addams Family | 1 | 65 | October 19, 1998 (1998-10-19) | August 28, 1999 (1999-08-28) | YTV(Canada) Fox Family Channel(United States) | |||||||
| Wednesday | 1 | 8 | November 23, 2022 (2022-11-23) | Netflix | ||||||||
| 2 | 8 | August 6, 2025 (2025-08-06) | September 3, 2025 (2025-09-03) | |||||||||
| 3[32] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||||||
| Animated series | ||||||||||||
| The Addams Family | Scooby-Doo crossover | September 23, 1972 (1972-09-23) | CBS | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08) | December 22, 1973 (1973-12-22) | NBC | ||||||||
| The Addams Family | 1 | 13 | September 12, 1992 (1992-09-12) | December 5, 1992 (1992-12-05) | ABC | |||||||
| 2 | 8 | September 18, 1993 (1993-09-18) | November 6, 1993 (1993-11-06) | |||||||||
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In 1964, theABC TV network createdThe Addams Family television series based on Addams's cartoon characters. The series was shot inblack-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 half-hour episodes (September 18, 1964 – September 2, 1966). During the original television run ofThe Addams Family television series,The New Yorker editorWilliam Shawn refused to publish anyAddams Family cartoons. However, he continued to publish other Charles Addams cartoons. Shawn regarded his magazine as targeting a more refined readership and he did not want it to be associated with characters who could be seen on television by the more general public. After Shawn's 1987 retirement, the characters were welcomed back toThe New Yorker.
The Addams Family's first animated appearance was on the third episode ofHanna-Barbera'sThe New Scooby-Doo Movies, "Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family" (a.k.a. "Wednesday is Missing"), which first aired onCBSSaturday morning, on September 23, 1972. Four members of the original cast (John Astin,Carolyn Jones,Jackie Coogan, andTed Cassidy) returned for the special, which involved the Addamses in a mystery with theScooby-Doo gang. The Addams Family characters were drawn to the specifications of the original Charles Addams cartoons. After the episode aired, fans wanted more animated adventures featuring the Addamses, and Hanna-Barbera obliged.
In late 1972,ABC produced a pilot for a live-action musical variety show which was titledThe Addams Family Fun-House. The cast includedJack Riley andLiz Torres as Gomez and Morticia (the pair also co-wrote the special),Stubby Kaye as Uncle Fester,Pat McCormick as Lurch andButch Patrick (who had playedEddie Munster onThe Munsters) as Pugsley.Felix Silla reprised his role as Cousin Itt, connecting it to the original TV series. The pilot aired in 1973, but it was not picked up for a series.[33]
The first animated series ran on Saturday mornings from September 8 –December 22, 1973 onNBC. In a departure from the original series, this series took the Addamses on the road in aVictorian-styleRV. This series also marked the point where the relationships between the characters were changed so that Fester was now Gomez's brother, and Grandmama was now Morticia's mother (though the old relationships between the characters would be revisited in the 1977 television movie, in order to retain its continuity with the original sitcom). Although Coogan and Cassidy reprised their roles as Uncle Fester and Lurch, Astin and Jones did not; their parts were recast with Hanna-Barbera voice talentsLennie Weinrib as Gomez andJanet Waldo as Morticia, while a ten-year-oldJodie Foster provided the voice of Pugsley. Again, the characters were drawn to the specifications of the original Charles Addams cartoons. The show also had appearances from Thing, Cousin Itt, Kitty Kat and Cleopatra from the original series. The show also introduces new Addams Family animal companions, such as Ali thealligator, Ocho theoctopus and Mr. V thevulture. One season was produced, and the second season consisted of reruns. The show's theme music was completely different and it had no lyrics and no finger snaps, although it retained a bit of the four-note score from the live-action show.
From 1974 to 1975, Gold Key Comics produced a comic book series in connection with the show, but it only lasted three issues. Each issue was adapted from a TV episode, starting with "In Search of the Boola-Boola" (October 1974).[34]
A television reunion movie,Halloween with the New Addams Family, aired onNBC on Sunday, October 30, 1977. It features most of the original cast, exceptBlossom Rock, who had played Grandmama. She was still alive but was very ill at the time; Jane Rose replaced her. Veteran character actorsParley Baer andVito Scotti, who both had recurring roles in the original series, also appeared in the movie. The movie has a slightly different version of the theme song; the finger snaps are used but not the lyrics.
Gomez and Morticia have had two more children, Wednesday Jr. and Pugsley Jr., who strongly resemble their older siblings. Gomez's brother, Pancho, is staying with the family while Gomez attends a lodge meeting inTombstone, Arizona. Gomez is jealous of his brother, who once courted Morticia.Halloween is nigh, and Pancho tells the children the legend of theGreat Pumpkin-like character of Cousin Shy, who distributes gifts and carves pumpkins for good children on Halloween night. Wednesday (now called "Wednesday, Sr.") is home from music academy, where she is studying thepiccolo (breaking glass with it). Pugsley (now "Pugsley, Sr.") is home from aNairobi medical school, where he is training to be awitch doctor. The family's home has been bugged by a gang of crooks which intends to steal the family's fortune. Lafferty, the boss, sends a gang member named Mikey into the house to investigate. Mikey panics and flees after treading on the tail of Kitty Kat the lion. The crooks employ a fake Gomez and Morticia to help them carry out their plans, along with two strong-arm goons, Hercules and Atlas. Gomez returns home to celebrate the Halloween party and trim thescarecrow. Lafferty poses as Quincy Addams (from Boston) to gain entrance to the house during the party. He has his men tie up Gomez and Morticia, and his doubles take their places, confusing Pancho, who is still in love with Morticia, and Ophelia, who is still in love with Gomez. Gomez and Morticia escape (thanks to the "Old Piccolo Game"), and rejoin the party, only to have Lafferty use various methods to try to get rid of them. Lurch scares off the thugs and terrifies Lafferty's other assistant. Fester, trying to be nice, puts Lafferty on the rack. Lafferty tries to escape through the secret passage and steps on Kitty Kat's tail. When the police arrive, the crooks gladly surrender. The Addamses are then free to celebrate Halloween happily, ending the night by singing together in welcome for Cousin Shy.
Theremake series ran on Saturday mornings from 1992 to 1993 on ABC after producers realized the success of the1991Addams Family movie. This series returned to the familiar format of theoriginal series, with the Addams Family facing their sitcom situations at home. John Astin returned to the role of Gomez, and celebritiesRip Taylor andCarol Channing took over the roles of Fester and Grandmama, respectively. Veteran voice actorsJim Cummings,Debi Derryberry, Jeannie Elias andPat Fraley did the voices of Lurch, Wednesday, Pugsley and Cousin Itt, respectively. New artistic models of the characters were used for this series, though still having a passing resemblance to the original cartoons. Two seasons were produced, with the third year containing reruns. Oddly in this series, Wednesday maintained her macabre, brooding attitude from the Addams Family movies. Still, her facial expressions and body language conveyed the happy-go-lucky, fun attitude of her portrayal in the original television show. The originalVic Mizzy theme song, although slightly different, was used for the opening.
The New Addams Family was filmed inVancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and ran for 65 episodes (one more than the original TV series) during the 1998–1999 season on the then-newly launchedFox Family Channel. Many storylines from the original series were reworked for this new series, incorporating more modern elements and jokes. John Astin returned to the franchise in some episodes of this series, albeit as "Grandpapa" Addams (Gomez's grandfather, a character introduced inAddams Family Reunion). The cast included Glenn Taranto as Gomez Addams, Ellie Harvie as Morticia, Michael Roberds as Fester, Brody Smith as Pugsley, Nicole Fugere (the only cast member fromAddams Family Reunion to return) as Wednesday,John DeSantis as Lurch, Betty Phillips as Grandmama and Steven Fox as Thing.
In 2021,Netflix announced a live-action TV series adaptation based on Wednesday Addams, produced byMGM Television and starringJenna Ortega as the title character.Alfred Gough andMiles Millar were the showrunners andTim Burton directed several episodes in his first televised directorial effort.[35] Wednesday, a student at Nevermore Academy, solves mysteries using herpsychic ability. These include murders and a 25-year-old mystery involving her family.[36]Luis Guzmán stars as Gomez,[37] andCatherine Zeta-Jones stars as Morticia.[38] In addition,Fred Armisen appears as Uncle Fester, George Burcea as Lurch, Victor Dorobantu as Thing, andIsaac Ordonez as Pugsley. Hunter Doohan,Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa,Emma Myers,Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday,Percy Hynes White,Riki Lindhome,Jamie McShane andGwendoline Christie were also added to the cast as series regulars.[39][40] In March 2022, Christina Ricci, who portrayed Wednesday inThe Addams Family (1991) andAddams Family Values (1993), joined the cast as a series regular.[41]
| Crew/detail | Live action | Animated | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Addams Family (1991) | Addams Family Values (1993) | Addams Family Reunion (1998) | The Addams Family (2019) | The Addams Family 2 (2021) | |
| Director | Barry Sonnenfeld | Dave Payne | Conrad Vernon Greg Tiernan | Conrad Vernon Greg Tiernan Co-directed by: Laura Brousseau Kevin Pavlovic[42] | |
| Producer | Scott Rudin | Mike Elliott | Gail Berman Conrad Vernon Alex Schwartz Alison O'Brien | Gail Berman Conrad Vernon Danielle Sterling Alison O'Brien | |
| Writer(s) | Caroline Thompson Larry Wilson | Paul Rudnick | Rob Kerchner Scott Sandin | Screenplay by: Matt Lieberman Story by: Matt Lieberman Erica Rivinoja Conrad Vernon | Screenplay by: Dan Hernandez Benji Samit Ben Queen Susanna Fogel Story by: Dan Hernandez Benji Samit |
| Composer | Marc Shaiman | Amotz Plessner | Mychael Danna Jeff Danna | ||
| Cinematography | Owen Roizman | Donald Peterman | Christian Sebaldt | N/a | |
| Editor(s) | Dede Allen | Arthur Schmidt Jim Miller | J. J. Jackson | David Ian Salter | Ryan Folsey |
| Production company | Scott Rudin Productions | Saban Entertainment | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Bron Creative Nitrogen Studios Cinesite Studios The Jackal Group | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Bron Creative Nitrogen Studios Cinesite Studios The Jackal Group Glickmania | |
| Distributor | Paramount Pictures (United States and Latin America) Columbia Pictures (International)[43] | Paramount Pictures | Warner Home Video | United Artists Releasing (United States) Universal Pictures (International) | |
| Runtime | 99 minutes | 94 minutes | 91 minutes | 87 minutes | 93 minutes |
| Release date | November 22, 1991 | November 19, 1993 | September 22, 1998 | October 11, 2019 | October 1, 2021 |
In the 1990s,Orion Pictures (which by then had inherited the rights to the series) developed a film version,The Addams Family (released on November 22, 1991). Because of the studio's financial troubles at the time, Orion sold the US rights to the film toParamount Pictures. On October 1, 2019,Paramount Pictures[44] released a double feature ofThe Addams Family andAddams Family Values on Blu-ray in the United States.
Upon the last film's success, a sequel followed:Addams Family Values (released on November 19, 1993, with worldwide distribution by Paramount). Loosened content restrictions allowed the films to use far more grotesque humor that strove to keep the Addams cartoons' original spirit (in fact, several gags were lifted straight from the single-panel cartoons). The two films used the same cast, except for Grandmama, played by Judith Malina and Carol Kane in the first and second films, respectively. A script for a third film was prepared in 1994, but was abandoned after the sudden death of actorRaul Julia that year.
Another film,Addams Family Reunion, was releaseddirect-to-video on September 22, 1998, this time byWarner Bros. through its video division. It has no relation to the Paramount movies, being in fact a full-length pilot for a second live-action television version,The New Addams Family, produced and shot in Canada. The third movie's Gomez, played byTim Curry, follows the style of Raul Julia, while the new sitcom's Gomez, played byGlenn Taranto, is played in the style of John Astin, who had played the character in the 1960s. The only actors in this Warner Bros./Saban Entertainment production to have acted in the previous Paramount films were Carel Struycken as Lurch and Christopher Hart as Thing.
In 2010, it was announced thatIllumination Entertainment, in partnership withUniversal Pictures, had acquired the underlying rights to the Addams Family drawings.[45] The film was planned to be astop-motion animated film based on Charles Addams's original drawings.Tim Burton was set to co-write and co-produce the film, with a possibility to direct.[46] In July 2013 however, it was reported that the film was cancelled.[47]
On October 31, 2013, it was announced inVariety that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer would revive The Addams Family as an animated film withPamela Pettler to write the screenplay and Andrew Mittman and Kevin Miserocchi to executive produce the film and they were in final negotiations withBermanBraun'sGail Berman andLloyd Braun to produce it.[48] By October 2017,Conrad Vernon had been hired to direct the film, which he produced along with Berman and Alex Schwartz, based on a screenplay written by Pettler, with revisions byMatt Lieberman.[49] The film was released on October 11, 2019.[50] On October 8, 2020, MGM announced that asequel is in the works with an announcement trailer.[51] Much of the original cast returned, with the exception ofFinn Wolfhard, who was replaced byJavon "Wanna" Walton as the voice ofPugsley Addams.Bill Hader voiced a new character named Dr. Cyrus Strange. DirectorsGreg Tiernan andConrad Vernon also returned for the sequel. The film released on October 1, 2021.[52]
Ten video games released from 1989 to 2021 were based onThe Addams Family.
Apinball game byMidway (under theBally label) was released in 1992 shortly after the movie. It is the best-selling pinball game of all time.[56]
This first novelisation of the television series, written byJack Sharkey, was released near the end of the show's second season. The book details the family's arrival in their new home and explains how it got its bizarre décor. The arrival and origins of Thing are explained. Each chapter reads as a self-contained story, like episodes of the television show. The novel concludes with the Addams family discovering that their lives will be the basis for a new television series. It was published in paperback byPyramid Books in 1965.[57]
The Addams Family Strikes Back by W.F. Miksch tells how Gomez plans to rehabilitate the image ofBenedict Arnold by running for the local school board. The tone and characterizations in this book resemble the TV characters much more closely than in the first novel. Cousin Itt appears as a minor character in this story, but as a tiny, three-legged creature rather than the hairy, derby-hatted character seen on television and in the movies. The novel was published in paperback form by Pyramid Books in 1965.[57]
The Addams Family: An Evilution is a book about the "evilution" of The Addams Family characters, with more than 200 published and previously unpublished cartoons, and includes text by Charles Addams and H. Kevin Miserocchi, Director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation. Pomegranate Press published the book in 2010.
In 1994, the actors cast as the Addamses in the first two films (sans the recently deceased Raul Julia) were in several Japanese television spots for theHonda Odyssey.[58] The Addamses are seen speaking Japanese—most prominently Gomez (for whom a voice actor was used to impersonate Julia while footage fromAddams Family Values was seen) and Morticia.[59]
In 2007 and 2008, the Addams Family appeared asM&M's in an advertising campaign for M&M's Dark Chocolate.[60]
Atheme song for the 1964 TV series as well as a soundtrack album the next year were released, both composed byVic Mizzy and the latter containing all of his compositions for the series entitledOriginal Music From The Addams Family.[61]
In May 2007, it was announced that a musical inspired by The Addams Family drawings by Charles Addams was being developed for theBroadway stage. Broadway veteransMarshall Brickman andRick Elice wrote thebook, andAndrew Lippa wrote the score. Julian Crouch andPhelim McDermott (Improbable theatre founders) directed and designed the production, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo.[62] A workshop and private industry presentation was held August 4–8, 2008. Featured in the cast wereBebe Neuwirth as Morticia,Krysta Rodriguez as Wednesday, andNathan Lane as Gomez. In addition,Kevin Chamberlin played Uncle Fester andZachary James played Lurch.
The musical opened in previews at theLunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway on March 8, 2010, with an official opening on April 8,[63] after an out-of-town tryout in Chicago at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts from November 13, 2009, to January 10, 2010.[64][65] The cast includes Lane as Gomez, Neuwirth as Morticia,Terrence Mann as Mal Beineke,Carolee Carmello as Alice Beineke, Chamberlin as Uncle Fester,Jackie Hoffman as Grandma,Zachary James as Lurch,Krysta Rodriguez as Wednesday, andWesley Taylor as Wednesday's love interest, Lucas Beineke.[66] The Broadway production ran for 22 months, closing on December 31, 2011, after 35 previews and 722 performances.[67]
On September 5, 2016, it was announced that the musical would premiere in the UK, on a major UK and Ireland tour produced byJames Yeoburn andStuart Matthew Price for United Theatrical.[68] The production was directed byMatthew White and it opened atEdinburgh Festival Theatre on April 20, 2017, starringSamantha Womack,Les Dennis andCarrie Hope Fletcher.[69]
| Video games | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gomez | Morticia | Pugsley | Wednesday | Uncle Fester | Grandmama | Lurch | Cousin Itt | |
| The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem (2021) | Jonathan Lipow | Alexa Kahn | Paul Castro Jr. | Cristina Vee | Bill Rogers | Jocelyn Blue | Kaiser Johnson | Jonathan Lipow |
The family has had a profound influence onAmerican comics,cinema andtelevision,[70][71][72] and it has also been seen as an inspiration for thegoth subculture andits fashion.[73][74] According toThe Telegraph, the Addamses "are one of the most iconic families in American history, up there withthe Kennedys".[75] Similarly,Time has compared "the relevance and the cultural reach" of the family with those of the Kennedys and theRoosevelts, "so much a part of the American landscape that it's difficult to discuss the country's history without mentioning them".[76] ForTV Guide, which listed the characters in the top ten of the "60 greatest TV families of all time", the Addamses "provid[ed] the design for cartoonish clans to come, likethe Flintstones andthe Simpsons".[77] Owing to their popularity, the first feature-length adaptation has been identified as a "cult film",[78] whileAddams Family Values was listed as one of the "50 bestfamily films" byThe Guardian[79] and nominated for theAmerican Film Institute's'100 Years ... 100 Laughs' at the turn of the century.[80] Ricci's portrayal of Wednesday in the film series was ranked one of the "100 greatest movie characters" byEmpire,[81] and in 2011AOL named Morticia one of the "100 most memorable female TV characters".[82]
At the same time, Illumination has scrapped a number of planned movie ideas:Waldo and a Tim Burton-helmed, stop-motionThe Addams Family are dead. The company abandoned aWoody Woodpecker pic., and couldn't crackClifford the Big Red Dog.
The Addams Family left an indelible mark on pop culture was an obvious influence on future pop culture icons gained a loyal cult following, and influenced the work of future ghoulmeisters likeTim Burton.
I think [Charles Addams]'s influence is, like the man, largish. In cartooning, you can see the direct influence of his work in someone likeGahan Wilson, and his influence extends beyond thehorror genre, to humor.
Addams's influence is reflected not only in the work of generations of cartoonists but also in movies like "A Nightmare on Elm Street", and those byWes Craven, and television shows likeThe Simpsons.
| Characters | _franchise_logo_(1).svg){kind=logo} | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Television |
| ||||
| Films |
| ||||
| Video games |
| ||||
| Music | |||||
| Other media |
| ||||
