Their house is a museum where people come to see them. They’re horrible, but love it, and in the best kind of way. They’ve been a hit in Hollywood for over 55 years and are arguably one of the most famous fictional families of all. From a show to three live action movies, they’re now an animated movie. Returning to the screen, “The Addams Family” is back. 

Hollywood reviving classics is nothing new as this past decade has seen fresh remakes of cult franchises like “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Blade Runner,” “Ghostbusters,” “Terminator” and more.  It was only a matter of time until Metro-Goldwyn Mayer’s 1991 “The Addams Family” would join these blockbuster hits, and the Oct. 11 release came just in time for Halloween. 

The 2019 adaption follows the quirky and ghoulish Addams family, who reside in New Jersey and live an odd but undisturbed life. The infamous Addams’ home, beloved by both the family and the audience, is under threat as a suburban paradise project called “Assimilation” is built next to the hill the Addams live on. The project is micromanaged by a famous home designer, Margaux Needler, who tries to remove the Addams Family home to make her planned town perfect.

All while trying to keep their home, Pugsley is trying to keep the family tradition to become a man, Wednesday is trying to fit into society with a friend and Morticia and Gomez are trying to be the best parents they can and plan an Addams Family reunion. All together, it’s a recipe for scary amounts of chaos!

While goofy, the family horror comedy also underlies a sneaky moral about family and cultures, which ties in many modern day issues that weren’t hinted in the older versions. The idea of what other people in society who think they’re “normal” and looking at someone else’s family as weird and alien just because they’re different. Like how some Americans sometimes view foreign immigrants in their neighborhoods as odd and resentful, because the come from different backgrounds and beliefs. It’s not making the town nit picky perfect that makes the town perfect, but the diversity and the gathering of cultures that makes a town perfect It does a good job conveying these themes in the movie while still making it enjoyable and sentimental.

The movie’s directors, Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, do an amazing job at keeping the feel of the classic adaptations and showcase great writing from Matt Lieberman and Pamela Pettler. The amazing voice talents of household names Finn Wolfhard, Chloe Grace Moretz, Charlize Theron, Oscar Isaac Snoop Dog, Martin Short and Harland Williams bring a fresh take to the classic roles. A spectacular, iconic and nostalgic harpsichord score by Michael Danna (“Life of Pi”) and Jeff Danna (“The Good Dinosaur”) accompanies the amazing animation and character design by the company Cinesite.

The cast and crew have done a great job reviving the beloved family and reintroducing these characters to a new generation by showing them what it really means to be an Addams.

Featured Image Citation: “The Addams Family” Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures