The Addams Family (Dir Conrad Vernon & Greg Tiernan, 1h 27m)

In 1938, American cartoonist Charles Addams began a series of enjoyably macabre cartoons involving a Gothic parody of the traditional family unashamedly going about their odd, and often darkly comic, pursuits. This was, of course, The Addams Family, who, since their creation, have gone on to appear in several live action and animated series, three live action films, the first two starring the late Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, and now, for the first time, an animated film. However, whilst this animated adventure for the Family Addams, whilst bringing Charles Addams' illustrations excellently to life, and sporting a talented and well-cast set of voice actors, is an unremarkable film, in which the only thing that's ghoulish is the formulaic plot and script

Beginning with what is undoubtedly the best scene of the film, in which a younger Gomez (Oscar Isaacs) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) tie the knot, only to be rudely interrupted by the traditional rent-a-mob, complete with pitchforks and torches. After their escape, they're forced to keep on the run, until, in the film's single best joke, they decide to move to the creepiest place in the world...New Jersey! Badumtish. Now with a family, of explosives-and-weapons-obssessed Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard) and macabre and positively homicidal Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz) and butler Lurch (voiced by co-director Conrad Vernon) in tow, a new threat emerges from, in that most formulaic of comedy horror tropes, property developers, in the form of television personality, Margaux, who has built a show town in the valley below, and who sees the Addams and their spooky ways as a threat to making money.

Around this formulaic plot, that sees the Family making contact with, and eventually having to fend off Margaux and the entire town, in a sadly tired plot that goes through every fish-outta-water trope in quick succession, is a number of subplots that buzz unnecessarily around the main plot, in a vague attempt to support it. One of these, and by far the stronger is Wednesday going to school and making friends with Margaux's daughter, a social-media obsessed girl named Parker, with whom Wednesday essentially shares a cultural exchange, with Parker getting a gothic makeover whilst Wednesday explores being, well, normal.

The other, which the film almost forgets about from time to time involves Pugsley practising, with his father and Uncle, Fester (Nick Kroll) for what will essentially mark his move into manhood, the fiendishly complex Mazurka, the reason for the entire Addams clan arriving in New Jersey in the first place. Both of these plots are weak, and do nothing to support the already teetering gothic pile of the main plot. In a better-scripted film in which the plot wasn't My First Gothic Comedy By Numbers, both these subplots could have been interesting, rather than connecting back to the main plot in a pefunctory manner, because Screenwriting 101 says you have to, something I can only put down to writer Matt Lieberman's inexperience.

The humour, to be blunt, isn't much better. The Addams Family and Addams Family Values are full of quotable lines, from wry observational humour to sharp one liners. Addams 2019 has, alongside a few witty one liners, and some well-animed slapstick, that life-support system of comedy itself, pop-culture references. These include; several musical interludes which only exist to plump the run-time out, including a two minute section where Lurch sings Everybody Hurts by REM, gothic and horror references, toned down for a PG crowd, including a scene evoking Pennywise's balloons from It which can only be described as a throw-away trailer-bait line, and, in the strangest gangsta-rap-meets-animated-films moment since...last year's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Snoop Dogg.

Snoop's sudden appearance as Cousin It, midway through the second third of the film, driving what can only be described as a pimpmobile, number-plated "CUZ" whilst a laughably badly censored version of Drop It Like It's Hot plays in the background, is the straw that breaks the Addams' back. It's...a mess, tonally, plot wise, a pandering mess of a scene...hell, Snoop is barely recognisable beneath the voice modulation, and the only moment he's recognisable in the film is when he rolls up post-credits to briefly rap, before cashing in his paycheck. It's one of the strangest moments, and not one of the best, in his entire career.

What is good about the film, aside from the faithful rendering of the Addams into animation? The voice cast, from Oscar Isaacs, whose performance, whilst clearly channelling the sophisticated but cheerily gothic performance by Raul Julia, brings enough new material to make his version of the character enjoyable, whilst Theron also adds a little more to the character than previous version. In fact, with the exception of Snoop, it's a wellcast set of voice actors, each well placed for their role. However, a good cast, even one as good at this, cannot save this film from being a clunky, unfunny, formulaic mess.

And what one is left with, in short, is a painfully derivative, funny-by-numbers, mall-store gothic draped film, that, despite showing the Addams Family closer to the comics than ever before, fails utterly to capture their endearing, enduring qualities, their morbid charm, and most of all, reduces them to little more than tired and tested gothic tropes. Less creepy and kooky, more creaky and hookey.

Rating: Neutral