The Addams Family | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Charles Addams |
Developed by | David Levy |
Directed by | Charles A. Nichols |
Voices of |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 16 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | |
Producer | Iwao Takamoto |
Running time | 30 min. |
Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 8 – December 22, 1973 |
Related | |
The Addams Family is an American animated sitcom adaptation of the Charles Addams single-panel comic for The New Yorker . The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for Saturday mornings in 1973, and was later rebroadcast the following season. [1] Jackie Coogan and Ted Cassidy, who played Uncle Fester and Lurch, respectively, in the 1960s television series, returned in voice-over roles. [2] The cast also included 10-year-old Jodie Foster, who performed the voice of Pugsley Addams. [3] The show's theme music was completely different and had no lyrics or finger snapping, but retained a recognizable part of the four-note score from the live-action series.
The Addams Family consists of husband and wife Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, as well as Grandmama, Uncle Fester, Thing, Cousin Itt, and their butler, Lurch. The Addamses are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests and supernatural abilities. No explanation for their powers is explicitly given in the series.
This series depicts the Addamses on a cross-country road trip, exploring the United States in their Victorian-style creepy camper that resembles their mansion. [4] Along the way, they stop off at various locations and venues. They inadvertently cause mayhem wherever they go due to their unusual interests and mannerisms, their willingness to trust those who probably shouldn't be trusted (although they do occasionally aid others who genuinely need help), and their getting swept up in criminal schemes or problems without their knowledge.
The Addams Family's first animated appearance was on the third episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies , "Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family" (a.k.a. "Wednesday is Missing"), which first aired on CBS Saturday morning on September 23, 1972. John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, and Ted Cassidy provided the voices for their respective Addams Family characters while voice actors were used to voice Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Cousin Itt. The episode details the Addams Family in a mystery with the Scooby-Doo gang. The Addams Family characters were drawn to the specifications of the original Charles Addams comics.
The first animated series ran on Saturday mornings from 1973–1975 on NBC. In a departure from the original series, this series took the Addamses on the road in a Victorian-style recreational vehicle (RV) that resembles their house. This series followed the relationships of the original Addams comics in that Fester is Gomez's brother, and Grandmama is Morticia's mother. Many cast members from the original series and the Scooby-Doo episode reprise their roles in the series, with the exceptions of John Astin and Carolyn Jones whose characters were voiced by Lennie Weinrib and Janet Waldo. Ted Cassidy was a frequent voice actor for Hanna-Barbera television productions at the time, and had previously voiced Lurch for New Scooby Doo Movies. The show also introduces the Addams Family's animal companions Ali the alligator, Ocho the octopus and Mr. V the vulture, who are often seen with their fellow pet Kitty Kat the lion.
No. | Title | Original air date | |
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1 | "The Addams Family in New York" | September 8, 1973 | |
The Addams Family are offered a bargain: New York City's Central Park. To help them clean it up, they free animals from the zoo, but the police come and the Addamses are about to be arrested when Gomez produces unexpected proof that he is in fact the rightful owner of Central Park. The park was bequeathed to an ancestor, Van Dyke Addams, and a deed confirms that it is to be passed on to his heirs. But the cops still have a hard time with Gomez's story. | |||
2 | "Left in the Lurch" | September 15, 1973 | |
The Addams Family goes to Nashville in search of dinosaur bones, but find themselves caught up in a rock festival instead. Lurch is anxious about meeting his pen pal. He becomes a lead guitarist and vocalist for the group Freddy and the Frogs. | |||
3 | "Boola Boola" | September 22, 1973 | |
The rare Boola-Boola is said to be found in the Black Lake and the Addams Family have an exciting time when they join in on the search. But they have more to look for than the Boola-Boola when Ocho the octopus is kidnapped. | |||
4 | "The Fastest Creepy Camper in the West" | September 29, 1973 | |
In Indianapolis, petroleum shortage promises to be a thing of the past via Uncle Fester's new invention — "Festerine" — but the Addamses are caught up outwitting Count Evil and the Race Ace. When they succeed at this task, they win a million dollars for Gomez's favorite charity: Vulture Culture at The Ghoul School at Dracula University. | |||
5 | "The Mardi Gras Story" | October 6, 1973 | |
The Addams Family enjoy all the fun and gaiety of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but it is difficult to recognize them in their funny masks. Tensions mount when a couple of crooks masquerade as Fester and Gomez. | |||
6 | "Follow That Loaf of Bread" | October 13, 1973 | |
7 | "Aloha, Hoolamagoola" | October 20, 1973 | |
8 | "The Reluctant Astronauts' Trip to the Moon" | October 27, 1973 | |
The Addams Family arrives at Cape Kennedy and receive a trip to the moon from two crooks. Preparations arise for a visit to inspect their new possession, and their rocket blasts off with a little help from Uncle Fester. Then comes the problem of trying to find a place to land. | |||
9 | "The Great Balloon Race" | November 3, 1973 | |
A balloon race is attracting a lot of attention, but Professor Orville Byrd's balloon is sabotaged during its entire route from New York City to Los Angeles by the Nasty Brothers. The Addams Family decide to lend a helping hand to the imperiled professor. | |||
10 | "Ghost Town" | November 10, 1973 | |
Spooks are scaring everyone away from the Old Prospector's land and they try to scare off the Addams Family as well when they arrive, to no avail. The spooks manage to scare Wednesday and Pugsley but the Addamses' pets manage to scare the spooks. | |||
11 | "The Circus Story" | November 17, 1973 | |
The Addams Family visit a circus which they discover is "The Worst Show On Earth". They decide to help when Honest John tells them of its troubles with a rival circus stealing its workers. | |||
12 | "The Addams Family at Sea" | November 24, 1973 | |
The Addams Family take their first ocean voyage, but the sight of Ali the alligator and Ocho the octopus dancing has every passenger aboard spooked; so much so that they jump overboard. The crooks Lefty and Joe promptly steal all the valuables aboard as a result, but the Addamses are soon in hot pursuit of the thieves as they attempt a getaway in a speedboat. | |||
13 | "The Voodoo Story" | December 1, 1973 | |
Madame Hoodoo finds all her curses and spells fail miserably to frighten the Addams Family and things digress from bad to worse for her when her love potion backfires and Granny puts a blessing on her. She decides to go back to Haiti for advanced voodoo lessons. | |||
14 | "The Roller Derby Story" | December 8, 1973 | |
Wednesday Addams chooses to visit the Roller Derby for her thirteenth birthday celebration, and the Addams Family are soon involved between the bitter rivalry of the Angels and the Demons, resulting in the Addams Family playing for the Angels. | |||
15 | "The Addams Family Goes West" | December 15, 1973 | |
Following the trail of the great pioneers, the Addams Family goes to the wide open spaces of the West and find themselves outsmarting such characters as Wyatt Burp, Silly the Kid, Wild Bill Hiccup and Badmouth Ben. | |||
16 | "The Addams Family at the Kentucky Derby" | December 22, 1973 | |
Pugsley Addams wants a horse for his birthday celebration, so the Addams Family go to Kentucky to buy one. They choose a worn-out old nag named Bones, but Granny's cooking does him so much good that he becomes a fast runner again and is ridden by Pugsley to victory at the Kentucky Derby. So in the end, after sacrificing their good name, the Addamses sadly give Bones back to the Kellys, as he is now a winner, leaving Pugsley disappointed and heartbroken. |
Concurrently with their series, the animated Addams characters appeared in public service announcements for the Boy Scouts of America (featuring Pugsley as a Scout), the four nutritious food groups then promoted by the USDA, and forest fire prevention for the United States Forest Service. [5]
In October 2010, Warner Archive released The Addams Family: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. [6] The series is also available for purchase at the iTunes Store.
From 1974 to 1975, Gold Key Comics produced a comic book series in connection with the show, but it only lasted three issues. Each issue was adapted from a TV episode, starting with "In Search of the Boola-Boola" (October 1974). [7]
The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between 1938 and their creator's death in 1988. They have since been adapted to other media, such as television, film, video games, comic books, a musical, and merchandise.
Uncle Fester (Addams) is a member of the fictional Addams Family and has been played by numerous actors, beginning with Jackie Coogan in the television series The Addams Family (1964).
Thing T. Thing, often referred to as just Thing, is a fictional character in The Addams Family series. The Addamses called it "Thing" because it was something that could not be identified, being originally an unseen creature in the original cartoons but starting with the live-action television series it was settled to be a disembodied hand. It is known as "Mãozinha" in Brazil "Cosa" (Thing) in Spain, "Dedos" (Fingers) in Hispanic America, "Mano" (Hand) in Italy, "La Chose" in French speaking countries, "eiskaltes Händchen" in German, and "Rączka" in Polish.
Addams Family Values is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to The Addams Family (1991). The film features almost all the main cast members from the original film, including Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Carel Struycken, Jimmy Workman, and Christopher Hart. Joan Cusack and Carol Kane joined the cast for this film.
Morticia Addams is a fictional character from the Addams Family multimedia franchise created by American Charles Addams in 1933. She plays the role of the family's reserved matriarch. Morticia Addams has been portrayed by several actresses in various Addams Family media, including Carolyn Jones in the television series The Addams Family (1964), Anjelica Huston in the feature films The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the streaming television series Wednesday (2022).
Lurch is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Charles Addams as a butler to the Addams Family. In the original television series, Lurch was played by Ted Cassidy.
Grandmama is a fictional character in the Addams Family television and film series. First appearing in the works of cartoonist Charles Addams, she is a supporting character in the film, television, and stage adaptations.
Gomez Addams is the patriarch of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for The New Yorker magazine in the 1940s and subsequently portrayed on television, in film and on the stage.
Theodore Crawford Cassidy was an American actor. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction works, such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and he played Lurch on the live-action The Addams Family TV series of the mid-1960s. He also narrated the intro sequence for the 1977 live-action The Incredible Hulk TV series and provided the growls & roars for the Hulk for the series's first 2 seasons before his untimely passing, with actor Charles Napier providing the title character's vocals for the remainder of the series.
The New Scooby-Doo Movies is an American animated mystery comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is the second television series in the Scooby-Doo franchise, and follows the first incarnation, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! It premiered on September 9, 1972, and ended on October 27, 1973, running for two seasons on CBS as the only hour-long Scooby-Doo series. Twenty-four episodes were produced, sixteen for the 1972–73 season and eight more for the 1973–74 season.
Wednesday Addams is a character from the Addams Family multimedia franchise created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. She is typically portrayed as a morbid and emotionally reserved child that is fascinated by the macabre, often identified by her pale skin and black pigtails.
Addams Family Reunion is a 1998 American comedy horror film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams. Directed by Dave Payne, the film was intended to serve as a pilot for a new proposed television series produced by Saban. The film stars Daryl Hannah and Tim Curry as Morticia and Gomez Addams respectively while Carel Struycken and Christopher Hart's hand are the only ones to reprise their roles from the last two films. The film's plot focused on the eccentric, macabre aristocratic Addams family mistakenly arriving at the wrong family reunion and encountering a man who seeks to commit murder in order to inherit a fortune.
Pugsley Pubert Addams is a member of the fictional Addams Family, created by American cartoonist Charles Addams.
Cousin Itt is a fictional character in the Addams Family television and film series. He was developed specifically for the 1964 television series and is a regular supporting character in subsequent motion-picture, television and stage adaptations.
The Addams Family is an American gothic sitcom based on Charles Addams's New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute television series took the unnamed characters in the single-panel gag cartoons and gave them names, back stories, and a household setting. The series was spearheaded by David Levy, who created and developed the it with Donald Saltzman in cooperation with cartoonist Addams, who gave each character a name and description. Shot in black-and-white, The Addams Family aired for two seasons on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966, for a total of 64 episodes — its opening theme was composed and sung by Vic Mizzy.
The Addams Family is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the eponymous comic strip characters by Charles Addams. It is the second cartoon show to feature the characters, and ran from September 12, 1992, to November 6, 1993, on ABC. The series' development began in the wake of the successful 1991 Addams Family feature film. Two seasons were produced. It remained part of ABC's Saturday Morning lineup until it was replaced by Fudge in January 1995.
The New Addams Family is a sitcom that aired from October 1998 to August 1999 on YTV in Canada and Fox Family in the United States and CITV in the United Kingdom on weekends. It was produced by Shavick Entertainment and Saban Entertainment as a revival of the 1960s series The Addams Family. The series was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Halloween with the New Addams Family is a 1977 American made-for-television comedy horror film based on the 1964–1966 sitcom The Addams Family. In contrast to the "new" in the title, most of the original series regulars reprised their roles, including John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, Ted Cassidy, Lisa Loring, Ken Weatherwax and Felix Silla. Eleven years after the cancellation of the 1960s TV series, it was the only presentation that brought together most of the original cast in a color production, shot on videotape.
The Addams Family is a 2019 animated supernatural black comedy film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams. It was directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, with a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and a story by Lieberman, Erica Rivinoja, and Vernon. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Allison Janney.
The Addams Family 2 is a 2021 animated supernatural black comedy film based on the characters created by Charles Addams and the sequel to The Addams Family (2019). It was directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and co-directed by Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic, from a screenplay by Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Ben Queen, and Susanna Fogel, and a story by Hernandez and Samit. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon Walton, Wallace Shawn, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Bill Hader. It tells the story of the Addams family as they go on a road trip.