Addams Family 1&2 Double Feature, The: Collector’s Edition (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Sep 05, 2024
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan

Release Date(s)

2019/2021 (May 7, 2024)

Studio(s)

United Artists/MGM (Shout! Studios)

Film/Program Grade: See Below
Video Grade: See Below
Audio Grade: See Below
Extras Grade: D+
Overall Grade: C+

Review

The Addams Family has been a mainstay in popular culture for decades, beginning with the original Charles Addams cartoons, continuing with the iconic 1960s TV series, moving forward with the mostly forgotten 1973 animated series, and more or less halting as a franchise in the 1990s with the live action films. 2019’s The Addams Family welcomes the creepy and kooky family into the feature-length animated world for the first time, but with mixed results.

Upon the eve of their wedding, Gomez (Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) are driven from their home by an angry mob of villagers, with Grandmama (Bettle Midler), Fester (Nick Kroll), and Thing helping them to escape. Along their route they discover escaped mental patient Lurch (Conrad Vernon), whom they take in after moving into an abandoned asylum nearby. Years later, they have two children, Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard) and Wednesday (Chloe Grace Moretz), two mischievous kids with a penchant for chaos. Wednesday is becoming curious about the outside world, looking beyond the fog banks of their property, particularly at the community below. Gomez is struggling with preparing Pugsley for the upcoming Mazurka ceremony, which will be judged by the rest of the family, including Cousin Itt (Snoop Dogg) and Great Auntie Sloom (Jenifer Lewis). Morticia becomes distracted with the sudden change in Wednesday, even turning to her dead parents (Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara) for guidance. In the town below, the perfection-seeking Margaux (Allison Janney) aims to sell this “perfect” community on her reality TV show, and the Addams Family are on the chopping block of parts of the neighborhood that must go.

What The Addams Family maintains, as with all previous iterations of the characters, is a sense of macabre fun, where the unorthodox is not only the status quo, but even humdrum at times. Wednesday attempting to bury her brother alive and Pugsley setting off explosives are just everyday, mundane things, and the film reflects that darkly comedic side well enough. Its failings come from its story and its voice cast. Oscar Isaac, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Allison Janney pull off surprisingly effective performances, but the majority of the rest of the cast is merely passable. Charlize Theron is not suited for the role of Morticia at all, coming off as snobbish instead of the sexy and mysterious character we’ve come to know in previous adaptations.

The story itself is the cookie cutter “everybody’s different and we should all be more accepting” fodder that we’ve see many times over. In the world of the Addams Family, this doesn’t seem appropriate. Previously, characters outside of the family were taken aback, even horrified, by what they found inside the Addams household. This film attempts to capture some of that flavor, albeit fleetingly, but it never quite succeeds. That said, there’s still something charming about any adaptation of The Addams Family that’s always worth watching, especially in animated form. The animation itself is enjoyable, but this incarnation borders on mediocre overall.

Because the film was a nice little success, it obviously warranted a sequel right away. Released in October of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Addams Family 2 managed to make about seven times its original budget worldwide (not accounting for marketing), but was not nearly as well received as its predecessor. Nearly all of the original voice cast returned, aside from Finn Wolfhard (replaced by Javon Walton), and the story attempted to keep things focused on the family itself this time around, but failed spectacularly in nearly every way.

During her school science fair, Wednesday mixes DNA between her pet octopus Socrates and her Uncle Fester, and a visiting scientist named Cyclus Strange (Bill Hader) takes notice. Meanwhile, Gomez and Morticia begin to fear that their days with the children are numbered, prompting them to take a road trip with them, much against their wishes. Also coming along are Thing, Lurch, and Pugsley, and staying behind is Grandmama. While on their trip, which takes them from Niagara Falls to the Grand Canyon and everywhere in between, a pesky lawyer named Mr. Mustela (Wallace Shawn) pursues them, wanting a DNA sample from Wednesday for his client who believes that she was switched at birth. Heeding advice from Cousin Itt, Wednesday struggles with finding the truth and figuring out where she really belongs.

Unfortunately, The Addams Family 2 is an awful film. It’s actually the worst kind of modern animated film. All of the macabre humor associated with the characters has been stripped out and replaced with jokes that range from generic to crude, pop songs every few minutes, frequent product placement, references to other (better) films, pop culture references, unmotivated character actions and hijinks, and slicker visuals. Pugsley is now suddenly interested in girls, Cousin Itt rides a jet ski and does a cool trick in slow motion (among other things), the Addams dress up as cowboys (don’t get me started on what the filmmakers perceive San Antonio to be), Lurch sings I Will Survive in a biker bar, and the story thoroughly de-evolves into sentimentality and a slugfest between the villain and the family in the end. I could go on, but I’ll stop there.

The Addams Family 2 has almost no redeeming value. Even though the same production team behind it is the same as the first (problematic, though charming), it feels like a new team came in and took it over entirely. This is not what Charles Addams had mind, nor was it what a director like Barry Sonnenfeld had in mind when making the live action Addams Family films. What began in the last film as a rocky start that could have been built upon and improved winds up actually being worse. Small kids may like it, but adults may find it insulting, depending upon their tolerance for low brow humor and a complete disregard of the established characters.

The Addams Family and The Addams Family 2 were digitally animated by Cinesite Studios and Nitrogen Studios and finished as 2K Digital Intermediates with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Shout! Studios debuts both films on Ultra HD disc for the first time with “New 4K presentations from the original master for both films.” In other words, 2K upscales. Universal’s previous Blu-rays needed some improvement, so it’s nice to see these films make the leap to UHD. However, it’s not a perfect transition. They share a single, triple-layered 100GB disc with erratic bitrates that drop between 15 and 40Mbps in scenes with higher levels of detail, rarely ever stabilizing in a more ideal 70 to 90 range. That said, the bitrate does hover between 30 and 60 at the best of times, which is more beneficial than Blu-ray for two 90-minute films. Banding and pixelation from the Blu-ray are absent, though the smoothness of the animation can be visually off-putting at times, which is more of a critique of the film’s art style than its UHD presentation. Detail and textures are marginally improved, and the HDR passes offer some boost to the overall palette, whether it’s the dark, textured environments in and around the Addams house, the bright and colorful neighborhood below them, or the many and varied locales seen in the second film. Contrast is a little better with slightly deeper blacks, but not much more detail can be wrung out of them. As is, it’s an improvement, but many may not find it to be enough to warrant the upgrade.

For both films, audio is included in English 7.1, 5.1, and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional subtitles in English SDH. (The Universal Blu-rays also contained Spanish 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, and English 2.0 Descriptive Video Service tracks, as well as optional Spanish and French subtitles.) Though an Atmos container would likely send this soundtrack over the top in terms of quality, the 7.1 track, which was also included on the previous Blu-ray release, is certainly no slouch. Prioritization for the varied sound effects, including both atmospheric and explosive moments, are given careful placement in every speaker, including the overheads. Everything is rich and full with boisterous low end support. Dialogue exchanges are clear and precise, and the score and music selection assist the overall soundtrack dutifully.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): C+/A-/A
THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): F/A/A

Shout! Studios’ 4K Ultra HD release of The Addams Family 1&2 Double Feature (Collector’s Edition) sits in a black Amaray case (with a slipcover) alongside a 1080p Blu-ray containing both films plus extras, all of which are in presented HD:

DISC ONE: THE ADDAMS FAMILY (2019)

Deleted and Extended Scenes (4 in all – 6:13):
- Joan of Arc (1:07)
- The Truant Officer (1:48)
- Pugsley Bee Beard (2:17)
- Assimilate (1:01)
Charades with Thing (3:32)
Life of a Scene (3:21)
Welcome to the Family (6:02)
Addams Family Throwback (1:04)
Haunted Heart Lyric Video (2:50)
My Family Lyric Video (1:05)
NEW Trailer (2:32)

These extras encompass roughly 26 minutes and 39 seconds worth of material. The Deleted and Extended Scenes were cut during the storyboard and layout processes before lighting and final animation, and they include Wednesday putting various historical figures to death via her dolls, Pugsley trapping a truant officer who informs the family about public school, Gomez and Fester demonstrating various Mazurka techniques for Pugsley, and Fester working at the coffee shop. Charades with Thing is a short but enjoyable bonus game featuring several rounds with Thing. Life of a Scene demonstrates the four stages of animation by an unknown narrator. Welcome to the Family and Addams Family Throwback speaks to the main cast, directors, and some of the crew about the film, the latter featurette speaking more about the original Charles Addams cartoons. Last are two lyric videos, one for the song Haunted Heart by Christina Aguilera and My Family by Migos, Karol G, Rock Mafia, and Snoop Dogg. None of this material is that substantial outside of the deleted scenes, and the only new extra is the film’s trailer.

DISC TWO: THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 (2021)

We’re Altogether Addams (8:51)
Courage to Be Kooky (2:41)
The Addams Family Road Trip Checklist (4:04)
NEW Trailer (2:15)

These extras encompass roughly 17 minutes and 51 seconds worth of material (even less than the first film). We’re Altogether Addams speaks to members of the cast and the crew about the franchise, which includes behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions. Courage to Be Kooky discusses the Addams family itself and who they are as people. The Addams Family Road Trip Checklist gives you tips on what to pack for a road trip, what to eat and drink, and what games to play—presumably from Morticia’s point of view.

Sadly, the 3D versions of each film appear to have been left in the digital dust, as has any substantial bonus materials that might help to elevate them.

While The Addams Family is fairly mediocre, The Addams Family 2 is mostly trash, despite the excellent animation and sound design. A self-contained story not directly involving the outside world but the family itself would have been far more intriguing, but perhaps less appealing to a general populace. Would it have hurt either film’s chances at the box office? Who knows, but this is not the best representation of this intellectual property, especially the second film. Instead, these films travel the safer route, skirting the edges of what makes these characters interesting and appealing in the first place. Shout! Studios’ 4K UHD incarnations boost the film’s visuals, but only mildly.

- Tim Salmons

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