The Addams Family animated film is a film strictly made for kids. A lot of the gags are too on the nose which will have adults rolling their eyes. However, a majority of the gags do hit home a lot of the film’s important themes and messages. It touches upon a lot of social issues like assimilation and prejudice against people who are different. But unlike most kids’ films, these messages aren’t told subtly at all. When you call your perfect makeover town “Assimilation” you know they’re not going to subtlety here.
The problem is that because the film focuses on delivering its messaging, the film is highly predictable. You can tell where the story is going to go very early on in the film. Luckily, the film gives every family member their just due in terms of story and screen time. But much like the live-action films, Wednesday once again is the central figure of the entire film. She’s the direct connection between the Addams’ and the town of Assimilation. Not to mention, she also is used as a tool to progress the story along.
Charlize Theron and Chloe Grace Moretz do a fine job playing Morticia and Wednesday, respectively. Their performances have certain qualities that you expect from their characters. However, it’s Oscar Isaac who hams it up big time as Gomez Addams. His boisterous and over-the-top performance just screams Gomez Addams.
Regardless, it’s a bit of a nice change of pace to the typical macabre gags from the live-action movies, television series, and Charles Addams’ original cartoons. Speaking of the original cartoons, the designs of the Addams’ are ripped straight from the cartoons themselves. Unfortunately, the animation looks as dated as of the cheesy taglines from the film’s character posters. There’s a modern-day polish that just seems to be missing from this film.
Overall, The Addams Family is a film that kids may appreciate for its fun and over-the-top nature. On the other hand, adults may find the film to be more of a misfire than a nice return for the Addams’. In a year full of amazing animated films, The Addams Family is one of the few films that fizzle upon arrival. It’s a shame since the voice cast is as good as it gets.
Movie Rating: 2.5/5 atoms
Video
The Addams Family hits Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG-AVC with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Because most 3D animated films look great in general, there’s not a lot of flaws in this video transfer. The medium contrast adds depth to the 3D animation, and it also gives the picture a nice brightness and black levels. For an Addams Family film, you’d expect more drab and desaturated color palette. However, the film is very colorful and those colors look bold and vibrant. Also, the picture looks clear all-around as well. Overall, the picture looks great.
Video Rating: 5/5 atoms
Audio
The Addams Family hits Blu-ray with a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Although there’s not much atmospherics or use of dynamic pans, the audio mix does use the surround channels a lot. These accurate sound effects immerse you in the film. At the same time, Mychael and Jeff Danna’s score is layered and fills up the soundstage. Some songs like “Let the Games Begin” has certain instruments dynamically moving across the soundstage. With the dialogue, that’s clear and audible from the center channel too. Overall, this is a great audio mix.
Audio Rating: 4.5/5 atoms
Special Features
The Addams Family has the following special features on the Blu-ray disc:
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Joan of Arc
- The Truant Officer
- Pugsley Bee Beard
- Assimilatte
- Charades with Thing
- Life of a Scene
- Welcome to the Family
- Addams Family Throwback
- “Haunted Heart” Lyric Video
- “My Family” Lyric Video
The deleted and extended scenes are all scenes that don’t add anything significant to the film. Surprisingly enough, “Charades with Thing” is a fun mini-game for the entire family. It’s a little easy when the multiple-choice answers come in but you’ll still have fun guessing what Thing is miming out.“Life of a Scene” gives a cliff notes version of how an animated scene is put together during the production process. It’s quite informative for any budding animators out there. “Welcome to the Family” is a featurette that does have some interesting information in it. It covers everything from the inception of the film to the voice cast talking about their respective characters. “Addams Family Throwback” takes a look at the history of the Addams Family dating back to the Charles Addams illustrations. It’s a nice featurette to watch if you’re unfamiliar with Charles Addams’ work. The lyric videos are self-explanatory and are must-watches for those that are fans of the songs.
Special Features Rating: 3/5 atoms
Overall, The Addams Family is a bit of a disappointing return for Addams franchise. Everything about the film feels as if it was made for the 90s instead of modern-day. The video and audio are both great, but the bonus features are a bit lacking despite some good features in this release.
Overall Rating: 4/5 atoms
This Blu-ray was reviewed using a retail/advance copy/unit provided by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
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