What Happened to The Addams Family?

The phrase “They don’t make ’em like they used to” applies to many things—vinyl records, vintage pens, cars, Pizza Huts, or whatever else. But today, we’re talking about 1991’s The Addams Family because, man… in this case, they REALLY don’t make ’em like they used to.

The Addams Family is one of those IPs that every generation recognizes in some way. With multiple TV shows, movies, cartoons, and endless (and I DO mean endless) shelves of merchandise at your local Hot Topic, it’s safe to say this family has captured our hearts—and wallets—for decades.

But here’s the thing—this one wasn’t just quirky or spooky. There’s something about how this movie came together that still gives people chills… and not for the reasons you think.

And for my money, it doesn’t get any weirder than Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1991 big-screen adaptation. It may seem like a spooky family comedy fit for a night in with the kids, but in reality, it’s much more messed up than you think.

Today, we’re rewinding the clock back to 1991, rediscovering The Addams Family, and figuring out once and for all—what happened to this movie?

The Addams Family follows the titular family—Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, and Thing—through their macabre and spooky misadventures. This includes such activities as séances, secret passageways, general mischief, and a couple of scenes that imply the kids might be murderers. All things every family deals with, right?

The movie picks up with a depressed Gomez longing for a connection with his long-lost brother, Fester—who had to be changed from Morticia’s uncle in the original TV show to Gomez’s brother for this film.

When a crooked real estate agent hatches a plan to settle his personal debts by working with a con artist named Gordon (Christopher Lloyd) to impersonate Uncle Fester, return home, and rob the Addams Family, chaos ensues. The movie follows this plotline all the way to its not-so-natural conclusion.

And folks, the MAKING of this movie is just about as dark as the movie itself…

The film was written by Caroline Thompson and Larry Wilson, and directed by the criminally underrated Barry Sonnenfeld in his first-ever feature. You’d know him as the director of Men in Black, but trust me—his entire filmography is worth exploring.

Originally, the rights to The Addams Family were purchased by Orion Pictures in the 1980s, with plans to make a feature adaptation for around $25 million—which, at the time, was a solid budget for Orion. But as the script developed, pressure from Orion started to mount.

At the time, Orion Pictures was going broke and on the verge of bankruptcy, so they needed this movie to pay off. That pressure led to constant rewrites during pre-production, which ballooned the budget from its original $25 million to just over $30 million—raising the stakes even higher.

Before Sonnenfeld got the gig, Tim Burton was considered to direct—which makes perfect sense. In fact, watching the movie today, you can feel some of that Beetlejuice energy shining through. The Addams vibe fits Burton’s style perfectly anyway—I mean, he’s the one behind the Wednesday series, which had… a few good episodes? I can’t remember.

However, Burton was busy doing Batman stuff, and the gig went to Sonnenfeld—who did a wonderful job with the final product. But directing wasn’t the only thing he ended up doing on this movie… we’ll get back to that.

With a finished script and a crew ready to go, it was time to cast. But there was a problem: Orion was bleeding money and couldn’t afford to continue production. They could’ve made three other Orion movies for what this one was going to cost. So, to stay afloat, Orion sold the production to Paramount—allowing the movie to be made comfortably and freeing it from the intense studio pressure Orion had been applying.

Honestly, it’s a miracle the film survived that handoff. What was happening behind the scenes at this point was bordering on cinematic disaster. People even started to wonder if this movie was cursed.

The film’s main set piece, the Addams Family mansion, cost a whopping $100,000 to build. And there’s a lot to be said for the visual effects, too.

Raul Julia was cast as Gomez Addams—the ideal choice. You’d know him as Bison in Street Fighter, and he’s just as intense and committed here—but in a MUCH more enjoyable way. He called this role the best of his career and the one he was most proud of.

The legendary Anjelica Huston (who kinda looked like my mom in the ’90s) plays Morticia. She was an obvious choice, given her knack for darker roles. The part was also offered to Cher (obviously) and Kim Basinger, who declined due to scheduling conflicts.

Huston later said her experience making this movie was less enjoyable than Julia’s. To capture Morticia’s iconic look, she had to undergo heavy costuming and uncomfortable augmentations—wearing a metal corset, gauze eye lifts, neck tucks, and fake nails daily. She even had strings anchored around her eyes to create Morticia’s signature shape, which reportedly caused her intense headaches almost every day.

Pugsley and Wednesday—the little hellspawn—were played by Jimmy Workman and Christina Ricci, respectively. Workman hasn’t acted in decades, though he still works in film crew roles, which is great to see. Ricci, of course, needs no introduction—she’s still part of the Addams lore, appearing in Netflix’s Wednesday as a new character.

Famously, Ricci improvised the iconic coffin-sleeping position in this movie—a fun fact to hang onto.

Of course, you’ve also got Judith Malina as Granny, Carel Struycken as my man Lurch, John Franklin as Cousin Itt, and Christopher Lloyd as Gordon/Fester—the somewhat straight man, fish-out-of-water character here. I love Lloyd in everything, but this performance? Absolutely top-tier. Interestingly, Anthony Hopkins was originally offered the role of Fester but turned it down.

But just when it seemed like things were under control, everything started to fall apart. What happened next would push the director—and the entire crew—to their breaking point.

While most of the cast and crew were enthusiastic going in, the production quickly became incredibly stressful for Sonnenfeld, as several uncontrollable factors worked against him. Previously a career cinematographer, he stepped away from shooting to focus on directing—but that didn’t last long.

The first DP dropped out in pre-production due to another commitment, forcing Sonnenfeld to scramble and hire a replacement, Gale Tattersall. Unfortunately, she fell seriously ill with a severe sinus infection that hospitalized her. Sonnenfeld ended up taking over cinematography himself for the rest of the shoot. The added responsibility made things harder—but the results speak for themselves. The movie looks beautiful.

And as if directing and shooting weren’t enough, Sonnenfeld even acted in the movie—making a brief cameo as a passenger on Gomez’s model train.

Notably, Thing was created using clever, low-tech practical effects. Hand actor Chris Hart, who had very long fingers, performed as Thing with prosthetics and old-school in-camera tricks, like popping his hand through holes in tables. It looks and works great—no notes.

Christopher Lloyd also wore a fat suit to better match Fester’s proportions. Brendan Fraser, eat your heart out!

To capture the film’s darkly playful tone, the visual style and performances were carefully crafted to entice families while reintroducing the Addamses as the ghostly neighbors you’d never want to bother. Don’t go knocking on their door for sugar—but if you need dynamite or a vial of cyanide, they’ve got you covered.

At the end of the day—despite all the chaos, studio changes, injuries, and a first-time director juggling multiple jobs—the movie was finished and released to massive success. It made over seven times its budget, Sonnenfeld became a bona fide Hollywood director, and Fester joined the family after all. (Because, in a fun twist, Gordon was Fester all along!)

That led to the sequel, Addams Family Values, just two years later—with the same cast, same director, and mostly the same tone. It wasn’t quite as successful as the first, but still pretty damn good.

In the end, maybe that’s what makes The Addams Family timeless—no matter how close it comes to falling apart, it just refuses to die. On screen… or off.

And folks, that is what happened to The Addams Family.

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