After two live action movies and cartoon in the 90s the Addams Family became a household name, sadly because the second movie didn’t do well at the Box Office and the death of Raul Julia we did not see a third film even if the property was still popular. However Saban (Yes, Power Rangers’ Saban) was able to get the rights and we got a new movie that was straight to video as well as a new live action tv series, so let’s take a look back at these two attempts and how well they did.
The Addams Family Reunion
Making a third movie after the amazing first films was going to be a difficult task especially without any of the cast and a much lower budget since it was a direct to video film. For this movie they decided to go for a younger audience but it obviously maintained the main ideas that the 90s reboot had established as the Addams Family. The name of The Addams Family Reunion uses a similar pun like the second film and since all 3 are movies it’d be easy to think this was just another sequel with a different cast but I’ll go into continuity a little bit later.
The main plot of the film is about The Addams’ Grandparents suffering from a disease that makes them act “normal” so Gomez thinks that taking them to a family reunion might help them. There is a mix-up and they go to the family reunion of the Adams Family which means there’s going to be a lot of confusion on what’s happening. That’s a decent enough plot for the most part, it’s not like the first two had the most amazing ones but it’s all about how you handle it and this movie doesn’t do that very well. Tim Curry is a great Gomez but he’s no Raul Julia and his interpretation of him is a little less subtle but it works. The rest of the Actors are alright but nothing stand out.
Fester who pretty much saves the first two movies is relegated to the b-plot of some pet monster he lost and needs to get it back and he’s just the dumb slapstick humor of the film and a member of the Adams Family accidentally going to the Addams mansion. There is even a fourth small plot which is actually decent of Lurch finding love. Overall the movie just drags and it’s a a chore to sit through but it did work as a pilot for The New Addams Family
The New Addams Family
What they really wanted is to make a new show and they did with 65 episodes aimed at kids, even though the DTV served as a pilot of sorts all the cast is new except for Wednesday who is still played by Nicole Fugere and she did a better job than most. We get a new Gomez played by Glenn Taranto and while no Raul Julia or Tim Curry he does ground the character into someone who the family can love. The rest of the cast are decent enough but definitely an improvement over the Reunion movie versions.
The show is episodic which fits the Addams Family well and it felt like small little episodes of the movie adventures when I was a kid so they succeeded. Yes, this show is for kids so it’s not very witty but it’s a decent tv version of the movie and that’s all I could’ve asked for as a kid. As an adult the tone of the show is a bit light but I can’t count that against it despite it being a bit slapstick friendly. Most of the episodes take place in the Addams Mansion for budget reasons so things get tiring as well with most great episodes being the ones that took place outside the Mansion.
Apparently most of the episodes are either remakes or make references to the original show which I’ve never watched. Wednesday isn’t as sadistic but keeps most of her movie personality and Pugsley is still the scaredy cat sibling but at least gets an episode or two to have a bit more character, and of course Fester is just a goofy idiot. I can’t say that the show works for an adults to binge watch since it’s a little too much but one a day is not bad and overall the show is pretty good.
Continuity
As far as continuity well it’s up in the air, the characters do have most of the personality of the first two movies but they act a lot wackier and goofier which doesn’t really fit with the previous two movies. The title of the movie fits with the first sequel but that’s not enough to put it together. They did attempt to bridge continuity by having the same Lurch, I’d still have to say that it’s not in continuity.
However the New Addams family show was always meant to spin-off from the third movie. It is even more goofy and kid friendly so you’d definitely not expect that one to be in continuity with the first two films but it’s not so different in tone from the third one. They actually do mention a third son who was featured in the second film and they explain his absence by having Wednesday killing it but that’s a little dark and she is known to kid and a quick one note joke not meant to be taken seriously but who knows. I wouldn’t put it in continuity with the first two films. Wednesday is played by the same actress as the one from the movie so there’s that but then again Lurch being in the previous movie didn’t mean it was.
Overall I’d just say The Addams Family Reunion is in continuity with the New Addams Family since nothing contradicts and they were made by the same company with a similar tone while the first two movies are just entirely different. If you enjoyed the article or have any thoughts let me know by commenting below or by tweeting at me. You can also share the article or hit me up an email with your thoughts, it’s nice to hear from other fans.
