The Addams Family 2

No family embraces their weirdness more than the Addams family. They’re creepy, kooky, and all kinds of spooky. But more than that, they’re a family who sticks together and celebrates their strangeness. The Addams family have always been ostracized by the outside world, but The Addams Family 2 ventures to explore that theme from the inside by throwing into question whether Wednesday is really an Addams or if she was switched with another child at the hospital. It’s an interesting concept, but the animated film struggles to capitalize on it and instead delivers questionable jokes and gags in an attempt to kick it with the cool kids. Unlike the family itself, the animated film feels all too generic.

All's not well with the Addams family as Gomez (Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) feel like they’re losing Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Pugsley (Javon Walton) to the fact that they’re growing older and away. In an effort to get closer together, Gomez decides to take a family road trip and see the sights. At the same time they’re approached by a lawyer (Wallace Shawn) who claims that Wednesday was possibly switched at birth and might not be an Addams. Rather than give the lawyer a DNA sample, Gomez does whatever he can to evade him and keep Wednesday from learning the potential bombshell, which could jeopardize their already fragile relationship.

The biggest hurdle The Addams Family 2 faces is its tone. The humor is all over the place as the film can’t decide whether it wants to be more for kids or the adults who grew up with the original Addams Family franchise. The music itself doesn’t exactly fit with the family dynamic, hearing poppy hip-hop tunes that are more akin to what you would hear in the background of a TikTok video. It’s as if the Addams family is screaming, “Hey! Look how cool we are!” At the same time, it can go in the opposite direction with jokes like Goons Gone Wild. There are moments of macabre that fit the Addams family, but the majority of the film feels out of touch in general. 

The Addams Family 2 feels completely average. There’s nothing absolutely horrible about it; the animation and voice acting are all fine, but nothing particularly stands out about it either. You’ll find yourself asking, “Are we there yet?” long before this roadtrip’s over.