Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Addams Family Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 16, 2020

A popular 1960s TV series introduced The Addams Family to the world and two feature films helped keep Charles Addams' creation in the popular conscience, but it's the catchy theme song that seems to be the franchise's heartbeat and its most familiar component, even beyond the creepy and kooky and mysterious and spooky family members. It's been more than a quarter-century since the family has been on the screen, which is not long enough for Universal to declare the property evergreen and viable for contemporary audiences. Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan helm 2019's The Addams Family, a digitally animated adventure that pits the Addams' against...a reality television show host. But no matter the specifics, it's a joy to see them back on the screen, even in digital renderings rather than made-up flesh and blood.

Gomez (voiced by Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (voiced by Charlize Theron) are pronounced...”monsters!” Just as the couple is about to tie the knot, the ceremony is interrupted by torch-and-pitchfork villagers who run them out of town. They kiss and make their vows in a rush but decide to get a fresh start, somewhere where they will never be bothered again. They find their dark tranquility in...New Jersey. Before they can arrive in their new home, they run down a man on the middle of the road, an escapee from the state hospital. That turns out to be Lurch (voiced by Conrad Vernon) who the family takes in as their butler and organist. They make a home at the local asylum, the spirit of which doesn’t want them there, but they make a go of it, anyway. As the years pass, the couple has two children -- Wednesday (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz) and Pugsley (voiced by Finn Wolfhard ) -- who wonder what might exist beyond the foggy boundaries around the home.

It comes time for a family celebration known as Mazurka, a ceremony to celebrate Pugsley's coming-of-age. Arriving to help set things in motion is Uncle Fester (voiced by Nick Kroll), Gomez’s bald, rotund brother. But as the fog begins to lift and the sights and sounds of the world beyond become so ever-present that they can no longer be ignored, the family ventures outside and discovers the cookie-cutter modern suburb known as Assimilation, run by Margaux (voiced by Allison Janney), a reality television host who will stop at nothing to prevent her utopia from failing from Addams contamination.

The material is perhaps more at home, and more liable and able to stretch and do cool things, in the animated realm, affording it the greatly expanded freedom away from the physical limitations of makeup and set design. Indeed, this digital animated version is free to explore. It’s familiar in core design but able to expand its reach both within the home and through the world around it, to have more fun with the characters and locations and odds and ends with which they interact that previous iterations on both the small and large screens could not achieve, or even attempt. Animation also creates a more welcome environment. For the comic overtones in the television show and films, an inescapable creepy vibe clung to every shot. That’s alleviated to an extent here. The filmmakers find enough adherence to the foundational frights while maneuvering enough towards cute and cuddly and welcoming to draw new and younger audiences while still satisfying savvy series veterans.

The story is fluid and fun but certainly takes a backseat to both character development and interaction as well as world building and eerie eye candy. The digital artists have painstakingly put together a world made of familiar sights and sounds while also building an expansive environment beyond. The villain is of little consequence -- she's there to add some fun for the audience and an opportunity to explore both beyond the familiar confines of the dark and dreary home and to offer the audience and the family a vital change of pace and scenery in Assimilation -- while the main characters build rapport from the opening moments and fall into place thanks to both finely honed animation and enthusiastic voice performances from an impressive pool of talent. The voice actors develop the characters with both unique cadences and identifiable personalities while finding instant chemistry and broad and intimate understandings of the individuals and their collective place under a shared roof.

The Addams Family Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Addams Family's 1080p transfer is by-and-large excellent with only a few flubs to note. The occasional banding swath is in evidence and the image suffers from some noisy corners but is otherwise in excellent condition. Textural might is on display in nearly very shot. The Blu-ray proves more than capable of bringing out the finest in the digitally animated source, revealing character models with ease but perhaps more interestingly the various locales, whether musty and spooky corners in and around the house or the more lively and well manicured locales down in Assimilation. Colors are challenged to cover the full spectrum from gray and black and bleary to cheerful and vibrant. All color comers appear with excellent tonal fidelity and nuance. Fans will not be disappointed beyond one or two mild trouble spots.

The Addams Family Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Addams Family's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is terrific. In the opening sequence, dialogue is a bit shallow at reference volume and music tends to compete with it. But it balances out thereafter, with the spoken word presenting with fine natural clarity, firm front-center placement (beyond some reverb as necessary), and excellent prioritization, even in some of the more chaotic moments, of which there are several. Indeed, the track proves prodigiously intense on several occasions, including the house's guttural "get out!" proclamations that power through the stage with spine-tingling depth, efficiency, and ferocity. A rocket blasts through with high end power, featuring plenty of surround swooshing that takes full advantage of the entire seven-channel configuration. School hallway din is nicely filling and engaging in chapter nine when Wednesday makes her junior high debut. Additional ambient fill is perfectly integrated as well. Musical fidelity is top-notch and spacing is seamless. The theme, first played on an organ, has never sounded so rich, so flavorful, so detailed, so immersive. This is an excellent track through-and-through.

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

The Addams Family Blu-ray includes four deleted and extended scenes, several featurettes, and a pair of music videos. A DVD copy of the film and an iTunes digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p, 6:14): Included are Joan of Arc, The Truant Officer, Pugsley Bee Beard, and Assimilate. These are presented in the conceptual digital previz state.
• Charades with Thing (1080p, 3:32): The family's hand character performs with a narrator providing play-by-play and offering three answer choices at the end.
• Life of a Scene (1080p, 3:22): Viewers are introduced to the animated filmmaking process using one shot as an example, beginning with full-screen storyboards and moving through layout, animation, and lighting. The four again appear on screen simultaneously at the end. Brief commentary is included.
• Welcome to the Family (1080p, 6:03): Co-Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan discuss this "chapter in [the family's] history that had not been told yet," exploring the family's immigration status, the early romance between Gomez and Morticia, voice work, core character beats, set design, and story details.
• Addams Family Throwback (1080p, 1:05): A look at how the movie recalls Charles Addams' original material.
• Lyric Video (1080p, 2:50): "Haunted Heart."
• Lyric Video (1080p, 1:05): "My Family."

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

The Addams Family feels at home in the digitally animated realm. The world and characters are free to expand beyond live action's limits, vital in a world such as this. The film falls somewhere in between a nightmarish Burton-esque construct and lighter fare such as Monster High. For The Addams Family, that's a good place to be. Universal's Blu-ray isn't kooky or spooky. It's quite good, featuring fine video and awesome audio. The studio has even included a well-rounded collection of extra content. Recommended.