The Addams Family 2

The Addams are a family who, despite their bizarre attributes, continue to live a “normal” life amongst the many people who see how idiosyncratic this family really is. But they embrace their strange behavior and looks, looping them into peculiar situations. A fun blend and dynamic family offers comedic potential, especially in an animated sense. Yet, somehow, writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit are able to strip away the trademark animated weirdness that these characters are iconic for. And combined with a plot so flat and unoriginal, you’re robbed of 93 minutes of your life watching a slightly weird family road-tripping across the country in the hopes of tightening their bond as a family. All the while, an unsuspecting individual seeks to reveal secrets about Wednesday Addams to the rest of the family. 

The Addams Family 2, directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, who have worked together previously on the VERY questionable animated film, (2016) Sausage Party. The two team up again to direct this cheap sequel, filled to the brim with flat writing, repetitive scenarios for the characters, and an annoyingly amount of licensed songs that feel out of place. It is absolutely baffling how dim the ambiance of this film feels, with such talented animators creating beautiful animations, it seems impossible to ruin the charm of this family. However, the character writing falls completely flat, with The Addams’ charming qualities paper-shredded and given no second thought. 

You’ll find yourself wondering how, with such a brilliant and bombastic cast, someone could write such mundane characters. Chloë Grace Moretz, Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Nick Kroll, Bill Hader, and Wallace Shawn make up most of the cast. With a mountain of proficient individuals lined up, it is bewildering how wasteful the writers were with these actors in mind. For some reason, focusing on the uninteresting narrative rather than the enthusiastic characters felt like a much better idea to said writers. Besides the lovely animation and voice acting, most of the film contributes little to nothing towards this year’s list of animated features. The script uses its time to shove embarrassingly written jokes down your throat, while also adding painful innuendos for parents, but at the end of the day nothing works. 

It’s hard to tell what this film is trying to achieve as it loses its footing 5 minutes in. Instead of concentrating on the loose bond between each family member and using this road trip as a way to strengthen the love for each other in a heartfelt manner, the film takes a 90-degree turn and shoves the Addams into increasingly boring situations. With that, it’s apparent the soul of this film was left behind and never looked back upon as you endure the painful happenstances these characters face. The clunky screenwriting mixed with the tedious narrative delivers a bland-tasting film aiming to be forgettable an hour after sitting through it. 

2019’s The Addams Family certainly missed the mark with its characters, but at least it attempted to capture the spooky nature of the Addams. This year’s installment instead pawns itself as a cheap facade in order to lure kids into the theater to cash in a paycheck, but even kids deserve a better film than this. Its lack of creativity and fun will bore a majority of audiences looking for a spooky good time during the midst of this Halloween season. Children’s animations are somewhat looked down upon at times as they aim to please a specific demographic, but even so, building dynamics and delivering well-written stories should be the norm regardless of the targeted demographic. The Addams Family 2 sabotages itself, giving unenthusiastic attempts at producing an original film with refreshing elements. It’s tasteless and provides zilch to anyone paying to see it.