The Addams Family

Parents of small children who remember fondly the Barry Sonnenfeld-directed live action film of The Addams Family from 1991 may be tempted by the new computer animated version, in the spirit of the successful Hotel Transylvania movies: supernatural creatures repackaged as nonthreatening, cereal-box-worthy kiddy fodder.

But for children older than about seven or eight, it would be best to dig up that film from 28 years ago. For younger kids, the new Addams Family is harmless entertainment. The storytelling is Saturday morning quality; the production values and animation are theatrical grade, but with little flair to divert older children or parents.

What the verdict would be from late cartoonist Charles Addams, who invented the characters in single-panel drawings for The New Yorker magazine, is an open question. His Family was created for adults, intended to comment on the quirks of social convention in the mid 20th century through the funhouse lens of a family of what would now be called goths. (There’s a reason Addams Family Values was the perfect title for the 1993 sequel.)

But translating Charles Addams’ creations into cheery animation with the angular, stick-figure CG design of the Hotel Transylvania or Madagascar cartoons blunts the impact of the family’s strangeness. The townspeople who initially fear the Addams crew are caricatures just as broad as the spooky family, particularly designated nemesis Margaux Needler (voiced by Allison Janney), an egotistical reality TV show host who wants to redecorate the Addams’ decrepit mansion and works to turn the town against them. (The funniest bit in the movie may be the local kids’ performance of the town’s theme song, which includes the line, “It’s easy to be happy when you have no choice.”)

Margaux has a massive hairdo that seems to have a life of its own — it’s nicely animated — and is every bit as oddball as, say, Addams dad Gomez (Oscar Isaac) or his brother Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll). When middle school student Wednesday Addams (Chloe Grace Moretz) looks less ridiculous than the mean girls who make the mistake of trying to bully her, the point of the whole affair is sort of lost.

There’s the usual moral lesson about accepting people different from you, and there’s a grand finale that involves a catapult and many explosions. There are attempts at wordplay, celebrity voices (Bette Midler! Charlize Theron! Snoop Dogg!), and visual gags that work OK, but the bite of the original concept and the live action movies is missing. It’s just another generic fish-out-of-water animated feature intended to cash in on its pre-Halloween release date.

Grade: C. Rated PG (because nothing is rated G anymore). Playing at the AMC River Hills, Carolina Cinemark, and Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Bron Creative/MGM)