Addams Family Values
Addams Family Values is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, serving as a sequel to the 1991 film The Addams Family and based on characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams.[1] The story centers on the eccentric Addams family, including Morticia (Anjelica Huston) and Gomez Addams (Raúl Juliá), as they navigate the birth of their son Pubert, sibling rivalries between Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), and Uncle Fester's (Christopher Lloyd) ill-fated romance with the serial-killing nanny Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack), who schemes to exploit the family's wealth.[1] Released on November 19, 1993, the film satirizes 1990s cultural norms around assimilation, traditional family values, and holiday traditions through exaggerated gothic humor and subversive plot elements, such as a Thanksgiving pageant critiquing historical narratives.[2] Critically, it holds a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 115 reviews, often regarded as superior to its predecessor for its sharper wit and memorable set pieces, though it underperformed commercially with a domestic gross of $45.7 million against a production budget estimated at $27 million.[2][2] Notable for Joan Cusack's acclaimed villainous performance, which drew Oscar buzz but no nomination, the film earned a Razzie for worst original song and recognition for production design.[3][4] Its enduring appeal lies in championing unconventional family bonds over societal conformity, influencing later gothic comedies while avoiding major controversies beyond minor critiques of its satirical edge.[5][6]Synopsis
Plot
Morticia Addams gives birth to the family's third child, a boy named Pubert, who survives multiple near-fatal "accidents" orchestrated by his jealous siblings, Wednesday and Pugsley, including an attempt to decapitate him with a guillotine.[7][8] To supervise Pubert and distract the older children, Gomez and Morticia hire a nanny, Debbie Jellinsky, whose wholesome demeanor masks her history as a serial killer who marries and murders affluent bachelors to claim their estates.[9][7] Debbie soon targets the Addams' wealthy bachelor Uncle Fester, seducing him with conventional comforts that contrast the family's gothic preferences, such as pastel decorations that Morticia finds repellent.[7] The two marry in a lavish ceremony, after which Debbie arranges for Wednesday and Pugsley to attend Camp Chippewa, a saccharine summer camp promoting traditional values and activities that horrify the siblings.[10] At camp, Wednesday clashes with counselor Amanda Buckman, befriends the outcast Gary, and subverts a patriotic Thanksgiving pageant into a revolt, portraying historical figures in a macabre reinterpretation before escaping with Pugsley.[7] Suspecting Debbie's motives, Wednesday and Pugsley investigate her background, uncovering evidence of her past crimes stored in a hidden room.[8] With assistance from the disembodied hand Thing, the children alert Gomez and Morticia, who confront Debbie during her attempt to electrocute Fester on their honeymoon bed disguised as an electric chair.[9] In the ensuing chaos at the Addams mansion, Debbie's scheme unravels; she tries to eliminate the family with a bomb, but fails, leading to her capture and punishment in a satirical Christmas scene where the Addamses tar and feather her amid yuletide festivities.[7][8] Fester emerges unscathed, reaffirming his bond with the family.[10]Cast and Characters
Principal Roles
The principal roles in Addams Family Values (1993) were largely reprised by the lead actors from the 1991 The Addams Family film, with Joan Cusack added as the central antagonist.[1] [2]| Character | Portrayed by |
|---|---|
| Morticia Addams | Anjelica Huston |
| Gomez Addams | Raúl Juliá |
| Uncle Fester | Christopher Lloyd |
| Wednesday Addams | Christina Ricci |
| Pugsley Addams | Jimmy Workman |
| Grandmama | Carol Kane |
| Lurch | Carel Struycken |
| Debbie Jellinsky | Joan Cusack |
Supporting and Cameo Roles
Joan Cusack portrays Debbie Jellinsky, a money-obsessed serial killer posing as a nanny who marries Uncle Fester to further her schemes after murdering her previous husbands.[12][13] Carol Kane plays Grandmama Addams, the eccentric family matriarch skilled in brewing potions and explosives, providing comic relief through her unorthodox child-rearing methods.[12][13] Carel Struycken reprises his role as Lurch, the hulking, monosyllabic butler who communicates primarily through grunts and aids the family in various tasks.[13] Christopher Hart operates and voices Thing, the sentient disembodied hand that assists with espionage and household chores.[13] Peter MacNicol appears as Gary Granger, Debbie's henpecked husband and a driving instructor whom she murders early in the film.[12] Christine Baranski plays Becky Martin-Granger, Gary's domineering sister who hosts a Thanksgiving dinner that escalates into chaos.[12] Dana Ivey portrays Margaret Alford Addams, Gomez's straitlaced mother who arrives to mediate family tensions but clashes with the Addams' macabre lifestyle.[12][13] David Krumholtz stars as Joel Glicker, Wednesday's awkward classmate and brief romantic interest who suffers a near-fatal allergic reaction during a camp outing.[12] Additional supporting roles include Mercedes McNab as Amanda Buckman, a perky camper targeted by Wednesday's pranks at Camp Chippewa; Sam McMurray as Don Buckman, the camp director; and Harriet Sansom Harris as Ellen Buckman, his wife, both embodying the film's satire of wholesome Americana.[12] John Franklin provides the physical performance for Cousin Itt, the fur-covered relative who briefly appears in family scenes.[12] Cameo appearances feature Nathan Lane as a cynical police desk sergeant interviewing the Addams family; David Hyde Pierce as a doctor in the delivery room during a hallucinatory sequence; and Charles Busch as Countess Cousin Aphasia du Berry, an ancestor glimpsed in a family portrait come to life.[12] Tony Shalhoub makes a brief appearance in a minor role, contributing to the film's ensemble of quirky outsiders.[12]Production
Development and Writing
Addams Family Values was developed as a sequel to the 1991 film The Addams Family, which had achieved commercial success with a worldwide gross exceeding $191 million against a $30 million budget, prompting Paramount Pictures to greenlight the project under returning producer Scott Rudin.[14] Director Barry Sonnenfeld, who helmed the original, collaborated with Rudin to expand the narrative while preserving the macabre essence of Charles Addams' cartoons, focusing on family dynamics amid external threats.[15] The production emphasized satirical inversion of mainstream American values, building on the first film's tone but introducing sharper social commentary.[16] The screenplay was written by Paul Rudnick, who had previously contributed uncredited rewrites to the 1991 film; Addams Family Values marked his first original feature-length script.[17] Rudnick drew inspiration from Addams' original New Yorker cartoons and the 1960s television series, crafting a story centered on the Addams clan's resilience against assimilationist influences, including the introduction of a duplicitous nanny character as a foil.[15] He incorporated elements like a subversive Thanksgiving pageant to heighten the film's critique of normative traditions, stating in reflections that the goal was to "push the satire further" by contrasting the family's unconventional bonds with societal expectations.[15] Executive producer David Nicksay praised Rudnick's script for its fidelity to the source material while enhancing the comedic edge.[16] The writing process prioritized witty, character-driven dialogue, with Rudnick's background in playwrighting informing the film's rhythmic humor.[18]Filming and Design
Principal photography for Addams Family Values commenced in Los Angeles on February 4, 1993, and wrapped after approximately three months of shooting.[17] Interiors and many exteriors were filmed on soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, including a newly constructed facade for the Addams family mansion that incorporated an expanded conservatory extension to accommodate key scenes.[19] Additional location work occurred at private residences in Pasadena and Palos Verdes Estates for domestic sequences, Linda Vista Hospital in Boyle Heights for hospital interiors, and Long Beach Airport for aerial and transitional shots.[17] The summer camp sequences, depicting "Camp Chippewa," were primarily shot at YMCA Camp Sequoia on Sequoia Lake within Sequoia National Forest, with arrival scenes filmed on-site and interior musical numbers staged on controlled sets to replicate the camp's rustic yet sanitized aesthetic.[20][21] Production designer Ken Adam, renowned for his grandiose sets in James Bond films, oversaw the visual realization of the Addams' gothic opulence, blending practical builds with exaggerated scale to evoke Charles Addams' original cartoons—such as towering, shadowy interiors filled with taxidermy, torture devices, and biomechanical elements that emphasized the family's macabre whimsy without relying heavily on digital augmentation.[22][19] Cinematographer Donald Peterman employed 35mm film stock to capture the film's high-contrast lighting, using deep shadows and desaturated palettes to heighten the satirical tone, with dynamic camera movements like sweeping dollies during family dances and steady, voyeuristic tracking shots in camp scenes to underscore social contrasts.[23] Costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge crafted wardrobe that amplified character archetypes: Morticia Addams' form-fitting black gowns featured ragged hems and flowing trains for ethereal menace, while Debbie Jellinsky's suburban disguises incorporated pastel suburbia motifs like floral prints and cheerleader uniforms to parody 1950s Americana.[24][23] Special effects leaned on practical techniques, particularly for Thing—a severed hand puppeteered by performer Christopher Hart—achieved through on-set prosthetics, wires for movement, and post-production rotoscoping to erase the performer's body, ensuring seamless integration into live-action environments like tabletops and streets without early CGI dominance.[25][26] Other effects, such as exaggerated sword fights and baby Pubert's contraptions, utilized miniatures, pyrotechnics, and mechanical rigs filmed at controlled speeds to maintain the film's tangible, vaudevillian absurdity.[27]Music and Soundtrack
The musical score for Addams Family Values was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Marc Shaiman, building on his work for the 1991 Addams Family film with gothic, whimsical motifs including waltz-like structures and adaptations of Vic Mizzy's original 1964 television series theme.[28][29][30] Shaiman's score emphasizes playful tension through cues like the "Addams Family Values: Tango," which integrates Mizzy's theme with orchestral flourishes for scenes of family dynamics and satire.[30] The full incidental score, recorded with a full orchestra, supports the film's dark humor via recurring motifs for characters such as Wednesday Addams and the black sheep Debbie Jellinsky. The dedicated score album, Addams Family Values: The Original Orchestral Score, was released on December 7, 1993, by Varèse Sarabande Records (catalog VSD-5465), comprising 11 tracks spanning 38 minutes and 14 seconds.[31][32] Key tracks include "It's an Addams!" (2:05), "Sibling Rivalry" (3:01), "Love on a Tombstone" (1:01), "Debbie Meets the Family" (2:17), and "Camp Chippewa / Camp Chippewa Song" (2:45), highlighting sequences of familial conflict and summer camp parody.[33] In addition to the score, the film incorporates licensed songs for comedic and thematic effect, such as the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing" during a dance sequence, William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful for What You've Got" for ironic social commentary, and Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree" in a Thanksgiving pageant scene.[34][35] A separate commercial soundtrack album, Addams Family Values (Music from the Motion Picture), compiled these and other contemporary tracks (11 songs totaling 50 minutes), released on November 16, 1993, via Atlas Records to promote the film.[36][37]Release and Commercial Performance
Theatrical Release
Addams Family Values premiered theatrically in the United States on November 19, 1993, distributed by Paramount Pictures as a wide release.[38] The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) assigned the film a PG-13 rating, citing brief gore and some sexual references.[17] Paramount handled domestic distribution, while United International Pictures managed theatrical releases in international markets such as Norway and the United Kingdom.[39] The release followed the success of the 1991 Addams Family film, positioning the sequel during the holiday season to capitalize on family audiences.[2]Box Office Results
Addams Family Values opened in 2,577 theaters on November 19, 1993, earning $14,117,545 during its first weekend and securing the top position at the North American box office.[40][38] The film concluded its domestic theatrical run with a total gross of $48,919,043, slightly exceeding its reported production budget of $47,000,000.[40][1] Worldwide earnings aligned closely with the domestic figure at $48,919,043, reflecting negligible international box office contribution relative to the 1991 predecessor film's global performance.[40]| Financial Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Production Budget | $47,000,000 [1] |
| Opening Weekend Gross | $14,117,545 [40] |
| Domestic Box Office | $48,919,043 [40] |
| Worldwide Box Office | $48,919,043 [40] |