Man, I really wanted this to be better just to spite the haters. Though I am probably one of the world’s biggest fans of The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), I’m one of the very few people who seemed to actually enjoyed the first animated Addams movie from 2019. Therefore, when the poor reviews around its sequel came around, I felt a little disheartened. However, I also felt determined to prove they were all wrong, so I’m saddened to say I can’t continue on with that argument anymore.
The Addams Family 2 revolves mainly around a family vacation as a result of Gomez thinking their offspring are drifting away from them. It turns out that Wednesday actually begins to believe she was adopted, and her real father is a wacky scientist named Cyrus Strange (Bill Hader). Honestly, that’s all I can remember about it because the plot was so horrendously weak.
I mean, is there anything more tedious than making a sequel based around a family vacation? Blaaaaaaahhhh. Snoozefest to the max. (Speaking of, I did actually fall asleep once or twice whilst watching this.)
Some people absolutely rinsed this movie, and I can see why, I promise. I’m not here to praise this movie more than it deserves, but I will say this: it’s clear that the majority of these negative reviews were extremely dramatic. Is it the best animated movie ever made? Is it even the best Addams Family movie ever made? Absolutely not. It is without doubt the worst Addams movie, actually. But there are certainly things to like here – don’t believe them when they say WORST MOVIE OF ALL TIME! (That title still belongs to Movie 43, which also happens to star Chloë Grace Moretz.)
So, the positives here are mainly the animation itself and the voice acting. It’s always fun to see animated visuals that aren’t Disney or Pixar (although those are excellent, don’t get me wrong), purely because they usually have a little quirk to them and often seem more original. Plus, how can you hate Charlize Theron and Oscar Isaac as our favourite sadistic parents? They’re not a patch on Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia, but who is? Nick Kroll giving Fester a lisp is irritating as fuck, but once again, he was never going to be as perfect as Christopher Lloyd.
Now here’s the problem: the story is just not interesting enough in any way, shape or form. In fact, it’s one big mess, with the majority of it taking place on a road trip with a flimsy side plot about Wednesday being switched at birth. Honestly I switched off about half an hour in because it got tedious quickly, but I’ll admit there were one or two jokes that earned a strained chortle. (One being a fabulous nod to Billie Eilish.)
Anyway, I won’t be in a rush to sign any online petitions for MGM to make Addams 3 – it’s probably best to forget this one exists really. However, I still can’t knock the animation style, I just wish they utilised it with a more deserving script.
The Addams Family 2 is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
TQR Category Ratings:
Performance: 
Cinematography:
Soundtrack:
Costume & Set Design:
Plot:
Overall Enjoyability Rating:
The Quayside Review 