MGM’S ANIMATED FEATURE THE ADDAMS FAMILY FINDS ITS BROOD
Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Bette Midler and Allison Janney lend their voices
Photo Courtesy Of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures/Cinesite
The voice cast for Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures (MGM) animated feature The Addams Family is set, it was announced today by Jonathan Glickman, MGM’s President, Motion Picture Group. Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted) and Greg Tiernan (Thomas & Friends, Day of the Diesels) direct a voice cast led by Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Annihilation) as Gomez Addams, Academy Award winner Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road) as Morticia Addams, Chloë Grace Moretz (The Miseducation of Cameron Post, If I Stay) as Wednesday Addams, Finn Wolfhard (It, Netflix’s Stranger Things) as Pugsley Addams, Nick Kroll (Big Mouth, Sing) as Uncle Fester, Bette Midler (Hocus Pocus, Beaches) as Grandmama and Academy Award winner Allison Janney (I, Tonya) as the family’s arch nemesis Margaux Needler.
Vernon and Tiernan co-direct from Matt Lieberman’s screenplay based on the Charles Addams' iconic cartoon series. The film will be produced by Vernon with Gail Berman, via her shingle The Jackal Group, and Alex Schwartz. It will be executive produced by Andrew Mittman, Kevin Miserocchi and Joe Earley. Tabitha Shick, MGM’s Executive Director, Worldwide Motion Pictures is overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. CG Animation and digital visual effects production is underway in Vancouver at Cinesite Studios, one of the world's most highly respected independent digital entertainment companies.
Based on the famous New Yorker creations of Charles Addams, this animated action-comedy will follow the Addams family whose lives begin to unravel when they face-off against a crafty reality-TV host while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration, Addams-style.
Vernon said, “Greg and I have always been a fan of the Addams Family in past versions, so when we set out to make this movie, we were excited to do something new. With that in mind, 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. This unique approach is what drew me in to direct the film. 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.”
“Conrad and Greg are masters of animation with the keen ability to create something both kids and their parents will enjoy for different reasons. Adding to that a world class caliber of talent with Oscar, Charlize, Chloë, Finn, Nick, Bette and Allison - we can’t wait to bring their fresh and modern take on The Addams Family to the worldwide audience,” said Glickman.
Morticia, devilishly devoted to her husband and children, is the pale glue that holds her clan together. Gomez, debonair, sinister and passionately in love with his wife, is enthusiastic about whatever dreadful scheme he’s cooked up. Wednesday is a brilliant and sinister teenage girl with long braids and dead-pan wit. Pugsley, a menacing 10 year old on over-drive, enjoys getting into any kind of dreadful mischief he can find. Mad Uncle Fester is good natured, merry and likes to create mayhem any way he can. Grandmama is smitten with her grandchildren who enjoy her cookies shaped like bats and skulls. Margaux Needler, the reality TV makeover queen, is consumed with a desire for absolute suburban, pastel perfection.
The Addams Family are a satirical inversion of the ideal American family; an eccentric, wealthy clan who delight in the macabre and are unaware that people find them bizarre or frightening. They originally appeared as an unrelated group of 150 single panel cartoons by Addams, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between debuting in 1938 and Addams' 1988 death. They have since been adapted to other media, including the well-known television series, a series of live-action films, and most recently a Broadway musical.
MGM’s upcoming slate includes the Operation Finale, directed by Chris Weitz and starring Golden Globe Winner Oscar Isaac and Academy Award Winner Ben Kingsley, will release on September 21, 2018; Creed II, a continuation of the Rocky saga, starring Golden Globe Winner and Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan, will be released in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures on November 21, 2018; thriller The Girl In the Spider’s Web, based on the global bestseller by David Lagercrantz, with Sony Pictures starring Emmy Award nominee Claire Foy, in theaters November 9, 2018; Fighting with my Family, a comedy-drama written and directed by Stephen Merchant, based on the true personal story of WWE Superstar PaigeTM and her family of professional wrestlers, starring Florence Pugh, Vince Vaughn and Dwayne Johnson, on March 1, 2019; The Hustle, a hilarious new comedy about two female scam artists, one low rent and the other high class, who compete to swindle a naive tech billionaire out of his fortune starring Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, will release in theaters on May 10,2019; the feature adaptation of Nicola Yoon’s best-selling novel The Sun Is Also A Star with Warner Bros. Pictures, directed by Ry Russo-Young and starring Yara Shahidi, in theaters on May 17, 2019.
The Addams Family will be distributed theatrically in the U.S. by MGM on October 11, 2019.
