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The Addams Family 2
By Sandie Angulo Chen,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Silly sequel focuses on family love; peril, some racy jokes.

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The Addams Family 2
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Based on 11 parent reviews
Garbage
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What's the Story?
THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 starts with Wednesday Addams (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz) showing off an impressive science fair project but being disappointed when everyone at the fair is deemed a winner. When Gomez (Oscar Isaac) worries that angsty Wednesday is distancing herself from the family, he decides to plan a last-minute road trip across the United States for the family, including his wife Morticia (Charlize Theron), kids Wednesday and Pugsley (Javon "Wanna" Walton), Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll), their butler/bodyguard Lurch (Conrad Vernon), and Thing, a disembodied hand servant. The family's trip is complicated by the fact that a mysterious man named Rupert (Wallace Shawn) shows up insisting that he has clients who believe that Wednesday and their daughter might have been switched at birth, making Wednesday their biological daughter. Morticia and Gomez use the trip to manufacture more forced family fun -- and also to avoid Rupert. Meanwhile, back at the Addams mansion, Grandma (Bette Midler) hosts a profitable (but fake) music festival.
Is It Any Good?
This serviceable animated sequel focuses on Wednesday's feelings of alienation and benefits from the family's kid-friendly jokes and road trip adventures. Perhaps because the first movie was so underwhelming, this follow-up seems a bit more rooted in the family's kooky antics. Since the Addamses visit well-known places on their trips -- like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, etc. -- the movie offers a relatable storyline, despite the family's generally eccentric nature. Isaac and Theron once again channel the passionately in-love Gomez and Morticia (they're arguably the most ardent animated parents in movie history) but manage to also convey -- in between arm kisses and caresses -- how worried they are about Wednesday. Parents will empathize with Gomez and Morticia's desire to encourage more family togetherness as their kids get older.
But the sequel is definitely Wednesday's show, and Moretz's flat, emotionless performance is exactly what the role requires. She does a fine job evoking the clever young scientist's disinterest in anything emotional or sentimental. The writing and comedy gags include a memorable sequence that's like Little Miss Sunshine meets Carrie, as well as a running joke about Uncle Fester slowly turning into an octopus. At one point the word "tentacles" is obviously a stand-in for the word "testicles," although it's unlikely that really young viewers will pick up on that or the movie's other risqué/suggestive comments (usually courtesy of the Addams parents). The subplot about Grandma's Fyre Festival-like event (which eventually features Snoop Dogg as Cousin It) is underused and unnecessary, but it's not featured enough to detract from the main story, which takes enough zany twists and turns to amuse younger viewers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the suggestive jokes in The Addams Family 2. Are they necessary to the story?
Are animated movies less frightening than live-action ones? Why, or why not? Do they impact younger viewers differently? How much scary stuff can young kids handle?
Do you consider anyone in the story a role model? What character strengths do they display? Why are communication, empathy, and teamwork important?
Discuss the way family dynamics are explored in the movie. Why does Wednesday feel like she's not "really" an Addams? Is biology what makes someone part of a family, or is it something else?
Movie Details
- In theaters: October 1, 2021
- On DVD or streaming: January 18, 2022
- Cast: Oscar Isaac , Charlize Theron , Chloe Grace Moretz , Bill Hader
- Directors: Greg Tiernan , Conard Vernon , Laura Brousseau
- Inclusion Information: Latino actors, Female actors
- Studio: MGM
- Genre: Family and Kids
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters , Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Character Strengths: Communication , Empathy , Teamwork
- Run time: 93 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: macabre and rude humor, violence and language
- Last updated: September 17, 2023
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