Movie fans, it’s offically spooky season. October is notoriously the perfect time to revisit our favorite creepy and kooky characters, and The Addams Family is now altogether ooky back in theaters! An animated movie following the classic comic strip, television show and ‘90s films of the same name is here to provide audiences with family-friendly Halloween fun.
Before you snap your fingers and buy a movie ticket to The Addams Family, it’s worth asking: “To 3D, or Not To 3D?” Our official review for new ghoul tale can be read elsewhere, but if you’re itching to know if it's worth seeing the release with tinted glasses on, make yourself at home! We have a full run-down to die for…
3D Fit Score: 3/5
The Addams Family is best known as a ‘60s sitcom featuring black humor and sinister-looking creatures in a haunted mansion. This doesn’t particularly scream 3D format, but the animated film does embrace adventure and physical comedy elements often found in the genre’s 3D flicks. You’ll be immersed in some 3D concept shots and techniques throughout The Addams Family. But the film’s more simplistic animation style and bleak color palette doesn’t exactly lend itself to the format as well as other movies might. While the movie doesn’t feel completely at home in 3D, it does add to the enjoyment of the experience!
Planning & Effort Score: 3/5
Although The Addams Family isn’t the perfect fit for 3D as a film, there are some fun places where the format implements the technology. The filmmakers thought through some of the specific shots for a 3D audience that benefits the viewing. One early sequence that has Gomez and Morticia’s son Pugsley rocketing explosives into midair is exhilarating to witness on the big screen. Wednesday’s crossbow acts as a particularly amusing element to the format. It does feel as though there were missed opportunities to really take advantage of 3D.
Before the Window Score: 4/5
The Addams Family has some elements perfect for jumping out at the screen. “Thing” the crawling hand, for instance, often lends a limb to the format at the front of the screen. Other examples include shots involving swordplay – since the plot revolves around an Addams family ritual involving Pugsley mastering a traditional sword technique – and Lurch (the Frankenstein-esque butler) scaling tunes on the haunted mansion’s grand piano. The movie does a nice job of showcasing the 3D technology with a few “jump-out-at-ya” moments that contribute greatly to the experience.
Beyond the Window Score: 4/5
Just as important as objects coming off the screen in a 3D movie is a nice use of depth, and The Addams Family uses this to its advantage as well. Much of the use of background 3D has to do with the interactive house of the ghoul family and their home sticking out like a sore thumb in the neighboring new town. The movie has cool effects when it comes to the fog surrounding the Addams’ residence. The use of “beyond the window” is impressive, but doesn’t send jaws dropping for extended periods.
Brightness Score: 4/5
It’s tough to give a movie with characters made up of colors largely in the grayscale a perfect 5 of 5 brightness score. The Addams Family implements the aesthetic of the beloved television show by giving the core family and house they live in a bleak color palette. They are contrasted by a brightly lit neighborhood below them. Still, the 3D is able to thrive in the grays and blacks the movie largely consists of, thus providing a positive viewing experience for moviegoers in this format. The dark elements such as the mansion are more than visible and bright enough.
Glasses Off Score: 3/5
As previously described, The Addams Family isn’t an incredibly intensive 3D film. There’s not always something going on to make you feel engrossed in the format, though it does makes good use of it when it is implemented. Since the movie is mostly dialogue scenes between the characters and doesn’t involve constant image manipulation, you could take off your glasses intermittently and not be bothered by the image. The blurriness isn’t incredibly bothersome when glasses are off, further indicating the movie may not be an expertly planned visual spectacle for the format.
Audience Health Score: 5/5
A lot of the time when audiences contemplate viewing a movie in 3D, worries of leaving with headaches or discomfort due to the technology are something often kept in mind. The Addams Family is perfectly executed with these health concerns in mind. It’s an effortless viewing experience with your glasses on. The 3D isn’t constantly in your face, there’s easy-on-the-eyes muted colors and the runtime is a breezy 87 minutes. There’s fun elements of 3D to catch throughout but it’s not actively overwhelming the senses or leaving you queasy.
The Addams Family isn’t a “must-see 3D” type of movie. Its content doesn’t make a strong case for paying the extra dollars for to experience as such. This is largely due to the movie’s bleak setting and somewhat unattractive animation. It does make efforts to be a 3D viewing experience, and if you enjoy watching animation movies in this format, it does deliver! However, I wouldn’t recommend Addams Family particularly for its image manipulation in 3D, because it’s just not as impressive in the format as other movies in theaters can offer.
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