Bette Midler, Charlize Theron, Allison Janney, & More Lend Voices To ‘Addams Family’ Animated Movie
The creepy and kooky Addams family will hit movie theaters once again — but this time in cartoon form. And many Hollywood A-listers have signed on to voice the mysterious and spooky members of the household.
Actor Oscar Isaac was previously announced as the voice of family patriarch Gomez, according to Deadline, and now MGM, the studio releasing the film, has revealed the rest of the cast.
Three award-winning actresses will provide the voices of the film’s leading ladies: Bette Midler as Grandmama, Charlize Theron as Morticia, and Allison Janney as the Addams’ arch nemesis Margaux Needler.
The Addams children, Wednesday and Pugsley, will be played by Chloe Grace Moretz and Finn Wolfhard, respectively.
Last but not least, lovable Uncle Fester will be voiced by Nick Kroll.
The voices behind Cousin Itt and butler Lurch have yet to be announced.
The new flick will follow the family “as they face-off against a crafty reality TV host voiced by Janney while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration, Addams-style,” reported Deadline.
“I drew from the brilliantly original Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons for the look of the film and decided to tell the story of how Gomez and Morticia meet, find their house, and start their family,” said Conrad Vernon, the film’s director, according to Deadline.
‘Addams Family’ Movie Scares Up Charlize Theron, Bette Midler, Allison Janney & More For Voice Cast https://t.co/hSlCGvkCNT
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 5, 2018
“The reimagining also extends to the stellar cast we’ve put together who will each bring their own spin to our film that will appeal to longtime fans of the Addams and introduce them to a new generation,” he added.
The macabre Addams family first appeared in pop culture in 1938 as a single-panel cartoon series in New Yorker magazine. Cartoonist Charles Addams’ drawings appeared in the publication until his death in 1988.
From 1964 to 1966, television viewers welcomed the Addams family into their households. The black-and-white ABC series, simply titled The Addams Family, was toplined by John Astin (Gomez) and Carolyn Jones (Morticia). The series’ theme song is one of the most recognizable tunes in TV history.
The actors reprised their iconic roles in 1977 in a made-for-TV movie, NBC’s Halloween with the New Addams Family.
In the early 1990s, there were two major motion pictures made by Paramount Pictures about the crazy clan: 1991’s The Addams Family and 1993’s Addams Family Values. The films, which grossed more than $240 million worldwide, starred Angelica Huston (Morticia), Raul Julia (Gomez), Christopher Lloyd (Uncle Fester), and a young Christina Ricci (Wednesday) in one of her first roles.
In 1998, there was a direct-to-video movie featuring Daryl Hannah (Morticia) and Tim Curry (Gomez).
In 2010, the characters were brought back to life in a Broadway musical starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as the heads of the household (see photo below).
The family has been animated several times in the past for various different television programs. First there was a one-season series created by Hanna-Barbera for NBC in 1973. Then, in 1992, ABC aired a new cartoon version. In 1998, The New Addams Family was shown on the Fox Family network.
The Addams Family is scheduled to be released on Oct. 11, 2019.
