“Addams Family 2”, which was released at the beginning of the month, offers a spooky story with adult jokes sprinkled in. PHOTO CREDIT: imbd.com
“The Addams Family 2,” the latest animated incarnation of the famous spooky family that originally started as a newspaper cartoon by Charles Addams, proves to be a slightly dark, yet entertaining, family film that features far more adult humor and subplots than many would anticipate.
The film follows the titular family going on a road trip vacation after parents, Morticia and Gomez, feel that their children, Pugsley and Wednesday, are being distant. The Conrad Veron and Greg Tierman-directed film is a rare sequel that vastly improves upon its predecessor due to its odd subplots and creative animation that attempt to make up for its bland and unsurprising plot.
While the plot of the creepy family going on a road is filled to the brim with the cliches of parents trying to connect with their children and over-the-top road stops, the film adds a lot of weird ideas into the predictable narrative. Everything from a subplot about a child being switched at birth to another about Uncle Fester slowly turning into an octopus over the course of the trip make the film very engaging just to see what is going on in the background.
“The Addams Family 2” also incorporates a lot of what makes the original series iconic by keeping up a dark, comedic tone that involves Wednesday constantly torturing her brother, Pugsley, throughout the film. This darker element, when paired with an odd subplot about scientist Cyrus Strange, who wants to partner with Wednesday to create a formula to change human traits, made for a delightfully weird feel. Even a smaller subplot regarding the Addams’ grandmother turning the family’s house into a rave concert venue is initially strange and funny before it is forgotten about by the film’s second act.
The film’s frenetic pace makes its unexciting story, which involves a lawyer tracking down the Addams family on their trip to talk to Wednesday about possibly being switched at birth, fly by. Every sequence in the film features an odd, but clever joke that may catch audiences by surprise, whether it is a reference to “Carrie” at a random pageant or Cousin It and the family tiger having too much catnip the night before.
There is never a truly dull moment in the film because it is full of smaller adult jokes within its predictable narrative and features plenty of good voice acting performances that inflict the television shows. Oscar Issac, Charlize Theron and Chloe Grace Moretz all fit very well in the roles of Gomez, Morticia and Wednesday Addams respectively and Bill Hader gives a delightfully over-the-top performance as scientist Cyrus Strange.
“The Addams Family 2” follows the third-act-family-break-up scenario to a tee with Lurch and Wednesday encountering a rather entertaining performance of “I Will Survive” in a biker bar being a pretty funny addition. The film’s final sequence is pretty lackluster beyond its inventive animation style that tries to make up for the tensionless monster-based action scene. Lastly, it ends with the ever-popular animated dance sequence that almost works due to a fun, albeit egregious, cameo performance from rapper Snoop Dogg as Cousin It.
Overall, “The Addams Family 2” is an odd and slightly humorous animated sequel that takes a bland and derivative plot and adds just enough adult humor and weird subplots to make up for its thoroughly predictable narrative. 6/10.