Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures (MGM) Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman has finally announced the voice cast for their upcoming animated feature The Addams Family.
Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted) and Greg Tiernan (Thomas & Friends, Day of the Diesels) who are on board, will direct a talented 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 will co-direct the feature from Matt Lieberman’s screenplay based on the Charles Addams’ iconic cartoon series which originally appeared as an unrelated group of 150 single panel cartoons by Addams. Half of it were originally published in The New Yorker between 1938 and 1988. The film will also be produced by Vernon along 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. MGM’s executive director for Worldwide Motion Pictures, Tabitha Shick is overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. CG Animation and digital visual effects production is underway in Vancouver at Cinesite Studios.
Vernon mentioned, “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.”
The Addams Family is 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. Since its inception, they’ve been adapted to a well-known TV series, a series of live-action films, and most recently a Broadway musical. The upcoming 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.
“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,” added Glickman.
The character synopsis goes : 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 deadpan wit. Pugsley, a menacing 10 year old on overdrive, 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.
MGM’s upcoming slate includes the Operation Finale, Creed II, The Girl In the Spider’s Web, Fighting with my Family, The Hustle and the feature adaptation of Nicola Yoon’s novel The Sun Is Also A Star.
The Addams Family will be distributed theatrically in the US by MGM on 11 October 2019.
