Top of the Goths

Those Addams incarnations rated

THE MOVIES (1991/1993)

Elegant visuals and sizzling chemistry between Raul Julia and Angelica Huston made these ’90s remakes an absolute delight. Addams Family Values bucked the trend for inferior sequels with a bitchy, bone-dry script from Paul Rudnick and Joan Cusack’s crazed performance as black widow Debbie Jellinsky. Her war cry: “Malibu Barbie!”

THE TV SHOW (1964-1966)

The family’s first screen adaptation was more kooky than creepy, running for two years as a half-hour sitcom, with screwball scripts from Marx Brothers veteran Nat Perrin. Best remembered for its finger snaps, funhouse set design and Carolyn Jones’ Morticia, one of the most GIF-able performances in screen history.

THE MUSICAL (2009)

Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth provided star wattage in this otherwise so-so Broadway production from the writers of Jersey Boys. Still touring today, the recent UK run improbably starred Les Dennis as Fester.

THE NEW SCOOBYDOO MOVIES (1971)

Hanna-Barbera revived the characters in the early ’70s, first for a Scooby-Doo crossover and later for a Saturday morning cartoon, based on Charles Addams’ drawings. A young Jodie Foster voiced Pugsley, alongside returning members of the sitcom cast.

STRAIGHT TO VIDEO (1998)

Third time unlucky, Addams Family Reunion was a bargain-basement movie sequel made for video and cable. Tim Curry played Gomez with a wavering accent alongside a miscast Daryl Hannah as Morticia. A mediocre kids’ TV series followed.