In need of a vacation this Halloween? Well, MGM’s iconic macabre family has you covered with that in The Addams Family 2! Hop on board the old Addams camper and check out the new trailer to get a taste of what odd encounters to expect on this trip!
Here’s the official synopsis:
Everyone’s favorite spooky family is back in the animated comedy sequel, The Addams Family 2. In this all new movie we find Morticia and Gomez distraught that their children are growing up, skipping family dinners, and totally consumed with “scream time.” To reclaim their bond they decide to cram Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester and the crew into their haunted camper and hit the road for one last miserable family vacation. Their adventure across America takes them out of their element and into hilarious run-ins with their iconic cousin, It, as well as many new kooky characters. What could possibly go wrong?
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The first movie from 2019, despite its lukewarm reception, became a runaway hit in a year of underperforming non-Disney animated movies. By grossing $204 million worldwide, 8.5 times its small $24 million budget, it’s no that surprise that after a successful opening weekend, MGM fast-tracked a sequel to be released just two years later, which is an impressively quick turnaround time.
Directing duo Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon return to helm the sequel, with Vernon also producing once again alongside Gail Berman, Danielle Sterling, and Alison O’Brien. For the writers, MGM made the interesting choice of hiring Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, who both worked together on the screenplay for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. Like with the first movie, Cinesite Vancouver provides the animation service.
The main cast of the original will also return, including Oscar Isaac as Gomez, Charlize Theron as Morticia, Chloë Grace Moretz as Wednesday, Bette Midler as Grandmama, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, and Snoop Dogg as Cousin Itt. Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton (Utopia) replaces Finn Wolfhard as Pugsley, while Wallace Shawn (Toy Story) and Bill Hader (Tiernan and Vernon’s Sausage Party) join the spooky cast in currently undisclosed roles.
[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]
The Addams Family 2 heads into cinemas on October 1, 2021. However, there is a massive catch, because it currently shares the exact same date as Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. Last month, Sony made the surprise date shift for the fourth and final Hotel Transylvania entry to be head-to-head with the Addams, a move in which MGM and United Artists Releasing saw no threat and remained committed for the date. I don’t think there have been two theatrical animated features competing day-to-day since 1991 with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Ambimation’s An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.
Considering how both The Addams Family 2 and Hotel Transylvania 4 are animated Halloween sequels aiming for the same family-friendly crowd, it will be fascinating to see which of the two will come out victorious at the box office. And let’s not forgot that both films will be sandwiched in blockbuster competition with Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage the week prior, and MGM’s much-anticipated No Time to Die the following week. (Who would have thought my joke from a year ago about Gomez and Drac fight a box office battle would eventually become a reality?)
