They’re Creepy and They’re Kooky — And Now They’re Animated: The First ‘Addams Family’ Trailer Is Here!

C’mon, you can do it: They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky. They’re all together ooky, The Addams Family — finger-snapping optional, though highly recommended. Definitely tapping into the Classic TV series of the 1960s, a new animated version of the family Addams is headed our way, and the film’s first trailer has just been released.

Macabre is the best word to describe The Addams Family which, beyond offering up one of TV’s great theme songs, brought to life the characters of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday and Pugsley — as well as assorted relatives that would come to visit. Despite their, shall we say, eccentric lifestyle, they didn’t intentionally terrorize anyone and happily lived their lives wondering why people reacted so strangely to them.

Charles Addams came up with the idea of doing a bizarre and (there’s that word again) macabre look at the typical American family (a theme that is played with in the trailer above), turning it into a one-panel comic for The New Yorker magazine beginning in 1938. A total of 150 were produced in all, and proved so popular that they inspired TV shows, animated series, feature films, and more.

The official description of the film reads: “The Addams family’s lives begin to unravel when they face-off against a treacherous, greedy, crafty reality-TV host while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration.” The voice cast includes Oscar Isaac as Gomez, Charlize Theron as Morticia, Chloe Grace Moretz as Wednesday, Finn Wolfhard (admit it, that name’s perfect for a film like this!) as Pugsley, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, Bette Midler as Grandmama and Allison Janney as that reality TV host, Margaux Needler. Talk about an all-star cast!

A Quick Addams Family Timeline

1964-66: The original series airs, starring John Astin (Gomez), Carolyn Jones (Morticia), Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester), Ted Cassidy (Lurch), Marie Blake (Grandmama), Ken Weatherwax (Pugsley) and Lisa Loring (Wednesday).

1972: We get Scooby-Doo Meets The Addams Family, an animated hourlong adventure that is pretty much what the title describes it to be.

1973-75: The Addams Family animated series, which ran on Saturday mornings on NBC. The character designs went back to the original Charles Addams drawings.

1977: Halloween with the New Addams Family. The live action cast was back for this TV movie which had a lot going against it — most notably the fact it was in color (as opposed to the show’s black and white), was shot on video tape rather than film, had an obnoxious laugh track and was written by people who simply didn’t seem to understand the charms of the original.

1991: The show made the leap to the big screen in 1991 with The Addams Family, bringing with it Raúl Juliá as Gomez, Anjelica Huston as Morticia, Christopher Lloyd, fresh off of the Back to the Future trilogy, as Uncle Fester; Carel Struycken as Lurch, Christina Ricci as Wednesday and Jimmy Workman as Pugsley. Two years later, Addams Family Values was released with the same cast.

1992-93: The Addams Family — The Animated Series. This show moved closer to the ’60s sitcom in its approach. John Astin reprised the voice role of Gomez.

1998: Addams Family Reunion is a family-friendly version of the family Addams. It’s a direct-to-video film starring Tim Curry as Gomez, Daryl Hannah as Morticia, Nicole Fugere as Wednesday, Jerry Messing as Pugsley, Patrick Thomas as Uncle Fester and Carel Struycken as Lurch (reprising his role from the ’90s films).

1998-99: The New Addams Family. This American-Canadian revival lasted a single season and failed to make much of an impression on anyone. It’s primarily included here so that people can say, “I never knew that!” The cast features Glenn Taranto as Gomez, Ellie Harvie as Morticia, Brody Smith as Pugsley, Nicole Fugere as Wednesday (reprising the role from Addams Family Reunion), Michael Roberds as Uncle Fester, and Betty Phillips as Grandmama.

Look for the animated feature film version of The Addams Family in theaters on October 11.

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