The Addams Family 2019 Now

The script is surprisingly safe. For a family that celebrates pain, chaos, and the unconventional, the plot is formulaic to a fault. The Addams must defend their home from a reality-TV-style “perfect” neighborhood (led by Allison Janney’s blandly villainous Margaux Needler), leading to a climax about… embracing your weirdness. Yes, the core message is fine, but it’s delivered with all the edge of a daycare poster. Where is the bite? The satirical wit of Charles Addams’ original cartoons or the 90s films? Instead, we get slapstick chases and pop-song needle drops.

The voice cast is clearly having fun. Isaac and Theron ooze dark romantic chemistry, and Moretz captures Wednesday’s deliciously morbid monotone. The animation style—all sharp angles, pinched silhouettes, and a color palette of purples, blacks, and grays—is visually inventive, especially during the family’s Rube Goldberg-esque morning routine. There are also a handful of genuinely clever gags, like Lurch’s running “You rang?” bit and Cousin Itt stealing the show with a flamenco dance. the addams family 2019

The Addams Family returns in this animated reboot, voiced by a stellar cast including Oscar Isaac (Gomez), Charlize Theron (Morticia), Chloë Grace Moretz (Wednesday), and Nick Kroll (Uncle Fester). On a surface level, the film looks the part: the signature Gothic mansion, the deadpan humor, and the gloriously macabre aesthetic are all present. But beneath the cobwebs and creeping ivy, this Addams Family struggles to find a heartbeat. The script is surprisingly safe

★★½ (2.5/5)