Adams Family - 1991

They're creepy, they're kooky, they're mysterious and spooky — and now they're on DVD. The Addams clan, those wacky, offbeat psychopaths who made their debut on TV in the '60s and first graced the big screen in 1991, have never been in better form. In The Addams Family and its 1993 follow-up, Addams Family Values, director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Get Shorty) combines stellar casting, witty scripts, and top-notch cinematography and special effects in his cauldron and bubbles up a pair of darkly funny, stylish classics.

Beneath the Cobwebs Lurks a Loving Family

The first movie introduces the viewer to the core Addams family — passionate patriarch Gomez (the late, lamented Raul Julia); statuesque matriarch Morticia (Anjelica Huston); and their children, stoic Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) and grim, pale Wednesday (a very young Christina Ricci). All of the actors are spot-on perfect in their roles, particularly Ricci, whose performance as Wednesday helped cement her status as the queen of dark, offbeat films.

The plot kicks in when Gomez's long-lost brother Fester (Christopher Lloyd), missing for 25 years, suddenly returns (or does he?). But the story is really secondary here — what drives the movie are its stunning visuals and pitch-black humor. (Morticia to her husband: "Don't torture yourself, Gomez. That's my job.") That, and the fact that beneath the cobwebs, the Addamses are a close, loving family that values the bonds of blood above all else.

Those bonds are put to the test in Addams Family Values, which is just as hilariously macabre as its predecessor and has more plot to boot. The movie opens with the birth of the Addams' third child, Pubert, to whom Pugsley and Wednesday take an immediate, violent (as in guillotines and guns) dislike. To spare a serenely stressed-out Morticia — "I wish I had more time to seek out the dark forces and join their hellish crusade," she says — Gomez hires a nanny, Debbie (played by a voluptuous, delightfully cracked Joan Cusack), who turns out to be a serial killer known as the Black Widow. Debbie makes a play for rich bachelor Fester, clearing her way by packing the kids off to perky Camp Chippewa, where some of the film's funniest scenes take place. Will Wednesday save her uncle from disaster? If you don't know (or can't guess), you'll have to watch the movie to find out.

Flawless DVDs with Few Features

Both films look and sound terrific on DVD; their transfers are flawless (impressive, considering that the first one is now almost 10 years old) and the high quality means that every detail of the elaborate sets and special effects is crystal clear. Both are presented in widescreen (1.85:1) only and have been enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Unfortunately, neither disc offers much in the way of features (would it have killed them to include the music video for M.C. Hammer's "Addams Groove"?). The short list includes theatrical trailers (two apiece), scene selection, and English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired, as well as English Dolby Surround and 5.1 Surround sound options.