Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Addams Family 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 16, 2024

There’s been plenty of attempts to do something with the works of Charles Addams, who originally created “The Addams Family” in 1938, offering single-panel cartoons of amusing antics featuring a macabre family. T.V. programs, movies, musicals, and animated shows have endeavored to interpret Addams’s imagination, and now the creepy clan graduate to a CGI-animated film, with “The Addams Family” hoping to muscle in on “Hotel Transylvania” territory, giving all-ages entertainment a boost of the bizarre. While the production lacks the budget to pull off an absolutely gorgeous representation of the source material, directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan try to make the effort as amusing and spirited as possible, respecting the dark elements of the original concept while delivering modern cartoon elasticity.

After escaping from the Old Country, newlyweds Gomez (voiced by Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) have decided to relocate to a haunted house in New Jersey, building a family that includes Wednesday (Chloe Grace Moretz), Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard), Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll), and servants Thing and Lurch (Conrad Vernon). Resting comfortably high up on a hill, the Addams Family enjoys the finest awfulness around, surrounding themselves with monsters and grotesqueries. Approaching a critical birthday, Pugsley is forced to put down his explosives and prepare for an Addams rite of passage, while Wednesday gets a taste of junior high courtesy of Parker (Elsie Fisher), desiring more time in the open world. Horrified by the presence of the Addams is Margaux (Allison Janney), a home makeover T.V. personality preparing for the debut of her own town of suburban conformity, hoping to get rid of the Addams gang before they scare away potential sales.

There’s only a brief origin story for Gomez and Morticia, who try to enjoy their wedding day before villagers successfully run them out of the Old Country, with the couple fearing they will never find a safe place to settle. They end up in New Jersey, quickly hiring Lurch as a butler after hitting the mental hospital escapee with their car. That’s it for backstory, as the screenplay (credited to Matt Lieberman and Pamela Pettler) is fairly certain most people sitting down to watch “The Addams Family” are already familiar with the snap-happy members of the brood. Gomez and Morticia set up shop inside a house possessed by a violent spirit demanding they “gettttt oooouuuuuttt!” and bring their babies into the world, with Wednesday a sardonic girl with nooses for braids who isn’t impressed with the strangeness of her surroundings. Pugsley is a daredevil who loves to blow things up. Uncle Fester soon moves in with his beloved brother, bringing his own special oddness to the family dynamic, while outside elements such as a pet lion named Kitty and Ichabod, a living tree, also contribute to the demented rhythm of the household.

“The Addams Family” doesn’t strain itself with a complex plot, setting up a ghouls vs. suburban zombies conflict that has Margaux trying to do something with the horrifying home on the hill. She’s hoping to spruce it up to protect her vision for a perfectly homogenized society, which is partially ruled by “Neighborhood Peep,” a Nextdoor-style app that monitors everyone. Subplots make up the difference, tracking Pugsley’s reluctance to take part in a saber-swinging ceremony that will transform him into a proper Addams man. And Wednesday goes to middle school, becoming friends with Parker, Margaux’s daughter, who needs help standing up to hallway bullies, also struggling to establish her own personality. The detours are engaging, giving fans all the Wednesday doom they can handle, but the writing spends too much time with Margaux, who’s not a compelling villain beyond her exaggerated HGTV-style design. Margaux steals screentime best spent with the Addams, who are always more amusing, especially Lurch, who delivers a few organ solos and performs R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” to underline sad times infiltrating the household.

The Addams Family 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Screencaps are taken from the Blu-ray

"The Addams Family" is not a movie with extraordinary animation, but the feature's visual design is handled well in this 4K release. Color is the big draw for the Dolby Vision presentation, with a nice contrast between the spookiness of the Addams Family property with the candied look of suburbia. Hues are defined in full, delivering cooler grays and deep blacks with Addams activity, also exploring woodsy browns and rich reds. Margaux's realm is all brighter pinks and blues, along with sharp greenery. Artistic achievements appear as intended. Detail also goes about as far as possible, capturing CGI artistry with the extreme appearances of the characters. The Addams Family house is also rich with textures to support the horror elements of the living space. Highlights are tasteful. Compression largely holds together, with some slight banding.

The Addams Family 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 7.1 DTS-HD MA mix secures the lively performances found in the picture, keeping accents and attitudes sharp. Scoring efforts are appreciable, with defined instrumentation and dramatic support. Lurch's organ offerings are also distinct, providing a full sound. Musical moods maintain a circular presence at times, joined by active atmospherics around the Addams household. Panning effects are periodic, along with the power of the growling spirit that inhabits the home. Sound effects are crisp. Low-end does well with explosions.

The Addams Family 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Welcome to the Family" (6:02, HD) is a brief overview of production intent, featuring interviews with co-directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon, producers Alison O'Brien and Alex Schwartz, and actors Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Allison Janney, and Nick Kroll. The discussion covers characterization and thematic reach, also exploring the advantages of animation, allowing the production to visit previously unseen areas of "The Addams Family" world.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD) include "Joan of Arc" (1:07), "The Truant Officer" (1:48), "Pugsley Bee Beard" (2:17), and "Assimilate" (1:01).

• "Life of a Scene" (3:21, HD) walks viewers through the artistry and planning required for animation, showing the development of drawings to the final product.

• "Addams Family Throwback" (1:04, HD) is a short examination of the original Charles Addams comics, celebrated by members of the cast and crew.

• "Haunted Heart" (2:50, HD) is a music video from Christina Aguilera.

• "My Family" (1:05, HD) is a music video from Migos, Karol G, Rock Mafia, and Snoop Dogg.

• "Charades with Thing" (3:32, HD) is an animated game with the quietest member of "The Addams Family," who offers five rounds of the popular party competition.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:32, HD) is included.

The Addams Family 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Addams Family" is boosted by an engaged voice cast, finding Isaac having a grand time as Gomez, while Kroll digs into Fester's lispy kookiness. Bette Midler (as Grandmama), Tituss Burgess, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, and Snoop Dogg (offering gibberish as Cousin It) add to the party atmosphere, and the movie regains some energy with a family reunion climax, highlighting all the extreme Addams relatives of the world. The picture has been completed with a lower budget, which doesn't give the project textured animated splendor, but the extremity of Addams's initial vision for his characters is retained, handed a pleasing cartoon bop by the production. "The Addams Family" doesn't fully compete with previous incarnations, but it gets the job done with respect for the brand name and its morbid charms, delivering obvious messages (on the power of family and the evils of conformity) with satisfying silliness.