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Parents' Guide to

Addams Family Values

By Polly M. Robertus, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Witty '90s sequel has lots of innuendo, violent scenes.

Movie PG-13 1993 94 minutes
Addams Family Values Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 5 parent reviews

kennedy1984
kennedy1984 Parent of 12-year-old
November 5, 2020
age 10+
Movieandshowrates
Movieandshowrates Adult
October 19, 2020
age 9+

9 and up!

This has a bit of violence but it is good for 9 and up. It is not exposing.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The Addams Family is back in ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES, in which the children's jealousy of new baby brother Pubert leads to the hiring of an evil nanny named Debby (Joan Cusack), who has designs on Uncle Fester. When she sends Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) to a snobbish summer camp and marries Fester, things look grim. Can the kids expose Debby in time to save their uncle -- and the rest of the family?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (30 ):

More complex and just as witty as the first film, this one is also more disturbingly violent and sexually insinuating -- too much so for the youngest ones who might enjoy the first movie. Cusack is marvelous as the greedy black widow, and the addition of Pubert to the family offers lots of laughs, especially when we learn how much his parents are enjoying Morticia's painful labor. However, a lot of violent action (with too-near misses) involves him, and some parents might feel uncomfortable with it.

The scenes at camp are among Addams Family Values' cleverest. Kids who've felt isolated at camp will identify entirely as misfits Wednesday and Pugsley struggle in a world of conformist blond snobs. Although the action here occasionally drags, the other campers and the enthusiastic, uncomprehending counselors make great foils for the Addams children's macabre revenge. Again, some parents might find that the humor goes unnecessarily far. And it's a satisfying relief when the family members are reunited, and return to their bleakly cozy mansion.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about macabre humor. How does the movie use humor rooted in death and violence to get laughs?

  • Talk about a time when each family member maintained his or her values in the face of peer pressure in Addams Family Values.

  • What would be the challenges in trying to adapt a television show from the past into something that would appeal to modern audiences?

Movie Details

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