Story
After an outstanding presentation at a school fair, Wednesday Addams (voice of Chloe Grace Moretz) feels jilted because her breakthrough contribution to science was ignored and that every student was given a prize merely for participating. She is also not happy with the keen interest shown by Dr Cyrus Strange (voice of Bill Hader), a mad scientist obsessed with genetic mutations. Wednesday is mortified by the fact that her family has disobeyed her instructions not to attend the fair, along with the fact they are responsible for inadvertently setting the entire place on fire.
Wednesday want nothing to do with her unusual family, which drives her father, Gomez (voice of Oscar Isaac), to organise a family road trip in an effort to bring them closer together. Wednesday’s mother, Morticia (voice of Charlize Theron), recognises her daughter’s need for solitude but goes along with her husband’s plan.
They are joined by Wednesday’s brother, Pugsley (voice of Javon 'Wanna’ Walton), the children’s Uncle Fester (voice of Nick Kroll) and their servant Lurch (voice of Conrad Vernon). Cousin It (voice of Snoop Dog) also makes a brief appearance.
The family enjoys their own adventures at iconic spots like Niagara Falls, The Alamo, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon. However, they are relentlessly pursued by a lawyer (voice of Wallace Shawn) acting on behalf of Dr Strange, who claims that Wednesday is his long-lost daughter. Dr Strange does everything in his power to destroy the Addams family and end their relationship with Wednesday. Wednesday’s response goes to show that, even though her family is unusual, there are some bonds that cannot be broken.
Themes
Family challenges; child rebellion; sibling rivalry; cruelty to others; dishonesty in scientific experimentation and animal testing.
Violence
The Addams Family 2 has some violence. For example:
- Pugsley explodes out of a science fair volcano and sets off a chain reaction of unfortunate events: a character’s head catches on fire, ice spills into an electrical experiment, windows shatter as flames engulf the building, and children run for their lives. Meanwhile, Morticia and Gomez are dancing around the fire.
- Wednesday uses a voodoo doll of Pugsley and snaps its neck. The real Pugsley gets his neck cracked and falls to the floor.
- Uncle Fester falls down the stairs and nearly gets his hand chopped with an axe.
- Wednesday tries to suffocate Pugsley with a pillow.
- The Salem witch trials are briefly discussed.
- A character confesses to decapitating a barbershop quartet.
- Wednesday attempts to behead Pugsley with a sand guillotine.
- Pugsley tries to blow up the Grand Canyon. Rocks explode and people are knocked to the ground.
- A character is caught in a snare trap. Wednesday says she let him go, but it is implied that she dropped him over the side of a steep cliff. The character is not seen again.
- Characters have a bar fight, punching, wrestling and hitting each other.
- Pugsley detonates a grenade in the tube where he is held captive.
- A character is used as a basketball and as a soccer ball.
- The mutated scientist tries to stab and throw other characters.
- Uncle Fester attacks the mutant beast. They both go over a cliff and crash onto a couple below.
Sexual references
The Addams Family 2 has some sexual references. For example:
- Wednesday tells her mother, ‘If you want my permission to take a new lover you have it.’
- Uncle Fester is constantly trying to give Pugsley unsuccessful tips on how to ‘woo’ women.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
The Addams Family 2 has some use of substances. For example:
- Two characters are shown on the floor looking vague and dishevelled. It is mentioned that they hit the catnip pretty hard the previous night.
- Empty martini glasses are shown on occasion.
- Characters drink in a bar and one drunken character stumbles up the steps.
Nudity and sexual activity
The Addams Family 2 has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Uncle Fester is shown on a couple of occasions wearing nothing but his spider underwear.
- Gomez and Morticia kiss passionately on occasion.
Product placement
Nothing of concern.
Coarse language
The Addams Family 2 has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Addams Family 2 (a standalone sequel to the 2019 film, The Addams Family) is an animated adventure with a predictable plot and lots of crude humour, often involving poo. The Addams Family 2 is best enjoyed by slightly older children and fans of the Addams Family. It isn’t recommended for children under 6 years, and we recommend parental guidance for children 9 and under.
These are the main messages from The Addams Family 2:
- Be true to yourself even when you are different from everyone else.
- Great thinkers need obstacles to function.
- The invisible bonds that bind a family are far stronger than we might imagine.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include persistence, courage, uniqueness, creativity and love.
The Addams Family 2 could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:
- dangerous behaviours to others
- running tests on people or injecting them with substances without their understanding or consent
- animal testing and genetic mutations
- teenage rebellion
- using violence to solve conflict.