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The Addams Family (1992 TV series)
1992 animated series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Addams Family is an American animated television series produced by H-B Production Co. and based on the eponymous comic strip characters by Charles Addams.[1] It is the second cartoon show to feature the characters (the first was the 1973 series, also produced by Hanna-Barbera), and ran from September 12, 1992, to November 6, 1993, on ABC. The series' development began in the wake of the successful 1991 Addams Family feature film.[2] Two seasons were produced. It remained part of ABC's Saturday Morning lineup until it was replaced by Fudge in January 1995.[3]
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Premise
The series focuses on the Addams Family at their ancestral home in the fictional town of Happydale Heights. Much of the plot lines focus on mostly the family dealing with an issue concerning their lives, which they seek to resolve. In some stories, the Addams find themselves dealing with the Normanmeyer family who seek to exploit their situation or thwart their schemes in order to be rid of them from the town; the exception being the family's only son, who is friends with the Addams children. Most episodes focus on a single story, concluding with the Addams celebrating their success with a family dance.
As with the 1973 series, the macabre nature of the Addams family was toned down in order to be acceptable for children. An example of this is Gomez's love of cigars not being shown, along with his response to his wife's use of foreign languages being reduced to a mere kissing frenzy. In addition, writers also ensured that the plots for episodes followed a similar nature to those written for other Saturday morning cartoons of the period.
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Characters
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Addams Family
- Gomez Addams (voiced by John Astin, reprising his role from the 1960s TV series) – The patriarch of the family and the younger brother of Fester. He is a caring and enthusiastic father and is deeply in love with his wife, Morticia. As a running gag, he becomes excited and romantic whenever she (or he himself) speaks in a foreign language or mentions violence or misery. He usually spends his time with unusual activities in the home, mostly accompanied by Fester. Unlike in the other versions, Gomez is usually seen wearing a pink suit.
- Morticia Frump-Addams (voiced by Nancy Linari) – The matriarch of the family. Like her husband, she is very much involved with the raising of her children, and returns the amorous attention she receives from her husband. Her hobbies include art and taking care of the plants. She can be described as a vamp and is commonly seen wearing black gothic dresses. Gomez's nickname for Morticia is Tish. Morticia's catch phrase is, "Oh, Gomez".
- Wednesday Addams (voiced by Debi Derryberry) – The intelligent daughter of Gomez and Morticia and the younger sister of Pugsley. She has low enthusiasm for most activities, and enjoys torturing her brother with dangerous objects, though in a friendly atmosphere. Unlike in other versions, she is the taller of the children. Wednesday wears pigtails and a blue dress, and often carries her headless doll Marie (which she considers one of her best friends). In "Happyester Fester", Marie's name mistakenly is given as Juliet. In "Dead and Breakfast", Wednesday does not like to be grabbed by the pigtails which leads to her beating up the person who did it offscreen.
- Pugsley Addams (voiced by Jeannie Elias) – The son of Gomez and Morticia, and older brother of Wednesday. He is an overweight boy with blond hair, and slightly dim-witted. He has a close bond with his sister, but shows it by terrorizing her (as she also does to him). Pugsley usually wears a yellow shirt with green stripes.
- Uncle Fester (voiced by Rip Taylor) – Gomez's bald older brother with white skin who takes a special interest in blowing himself up. He commonly joins the children with their unusual plans, taking it to the limit, and also spends a lot of his time inventing and creating formulas in the basement lab. Uncle Fester also has a superhero counterpart called Festerman who is the protector of Happy Dale Heights in the Festerman comics that Uncle Fester writes. Uncle Fester's catch phrase is "Oh darn." A running gag throughout the series is Uncle Fester not believing that Granny has psychic powers. Uncle Fester is allergic to whip cream.
- Granny Frump (voiced by Carol Channing) – Mother of Mortitia, mother-in-law of Gomez's, and grandmother of Wednesday and Pugsley. Granny is a witch with psychic powers, expressed through a crystal ball, which she uses for her own fortune-telling "psychic hotline" business. Granny is always trying to find a boyfriend, but never succeeds. She does not get along well with Fester.
- Lurch (voiced by Jim Cummings) – The blue-skinned butler of the Addams family. He is very tall and strong, which intimidates most guests, although he is in fact sweet. He almost never talks, and usually responds by mumbling in a deep voice. His catchphrase is "No comment", uttered when witnessing or becoming part of the antics of the rest of the family. Lurch is one of Wednesday's best friends.
- Thing – A pet of the Addamses, Thing takes the form of a disembodied hand. It constantly helps out the family by reaching them objects, and although it lives in a box, can pop up everywhere in the house. Unlike in other versions, Thing has the ability to fly in this series.
- Cousin Itt (vocal effects provided by Pat Fraley) – A cousin of Gomez and Fester; has a body fully covered by hair, and speaks only in gibberish in a high-pitched voice (though other characters can somehow understand it). Although credited in the main cast, Itt is not seen in all episodes, much like in the original live-action series. Cousin Itt is apparently a government agent. Itt and Fester are close.
- Snappy – A shy alligator that lives with the Addams Family.
Relatives
Although some of the relatives of the Addams Family are only mentioned, just like in the classic TV series, some of them made appearances in the show:
- Aunt Noggin - A two-headed woman with one head being African and the other head being Caucasian. They are the family's friendly aunts. They wear an old Victorian dress.
- Uncle Cleaver (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - A relative characterized by constant nervous behavior. He has red hair and wears a long brown raincoat in which he hides knives.
- Uncle Frankus - A giant with features of a boar, Frankus is one of the several members of the family who is not human. Intimidating due to his height and temper, he does not speak very often.
Normanmeyers
- Norman Normanmeyer (voiced by Rob Paulsen in a loose impersonation of Paul Lynde) - The Addams' neighbor. The opposite of the Addams' in almost every way, he is often outraged by their unusual activities and tries to sabotage most of their plans. Despite his contempt of the Addams family, Norman's obsession with underwear (he has his home festooned with underwear) ironically makes him just as abnormal as the Addams clan. Normanmeyer wears a blue suit, has a bit of a pot belly, and is the CEO of an underwear company called "Normanwear". Uncle Fester is fond of Norman and thinks that he's his best friend. Uncle Fester's nickname for Norman is "Norm". Norman is also on the Happydale Heights City Council. In "Festerman," it is shown that Normanmeyer has a superhero counterpart named Underman in the Festerman comics.
- Normina Normanmeyer (voiced by Edie McClurg) - Mr. Normanmeyer's traditional wife. Like her husband, she often tries to sabotage the Addams Family and Morticia in particular. Normina thinks that the Addams are dangerous. Normina is overprotective of N.J. She is most known doing her "Eek" scream. Both she and Norman call each other by revoltingly sweet pet names.
- Norman "N.J." Normanmeyer Jr. (voiced by Dick Beals) - The pre-teen son of the Normanmeyers. Unlike his parents, he likes the Addams and is able to look through their odd behavior. When not spending time with Wednesday and Pugsley, he often attempts to convince his parents to leave the Addams Family alone. Normina's nickname for N.J. is "Little Normie".
Other characters
- Spy Twins (voiced by Jim Cummings) – Identical twin criminals who have set their eyes on the Addams fortune and are common enemies of Cousin Itt. They are tall and skinny, and usually wear long coats with matching hats. The Spy Twins are trademarked by the habit of finishing each other's sentences. The brothers' plots usually go horribly awry with them getting hurt. One twin has red hair and the other one has brown hair. Fans of the show believe their names are Choke and Dagger based on the title of the episode in which they first appeared.
- Underwear Hitman "Fingers" (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A spy for RumpCo and an underwear hitman. He is large, bald and very intimidating, though somewhat dimwitted.
- RumpCo CEO "H.Q." (voiced by Jim Cummings) – The owner of RumpCo. RumpCo had a lot of success with their prize in every pair gig. The prizes in their underwear were shoes.
- Mr. Limp (voiced by Ernest Harada) – A health inspector and a friend of Mr. Normanmeyer. He is seduced by Grannny.
- Mrs. Quaint (voiced by Susan Silo) – A red-haired guest at the Addams residence, she turns out to be a criminal who is sought in eight states for hotel burglary. She tries to steal the family treasures only to be stopped by the Addams Family and arrested by the authorities.
- Lurch's Girlfriend – The female equivalent to Lurch. Like her boyfriend, she is very tall and big, thus intimidating. She is pink-skinned and has dark hair.
- Harry Palmer (voiced by Jim Cummings impersonating William Shatner) – A movie star whose right hand Finger Fellow lost an audition against Thing. Since then, Harry Palmer has developed a grudge on Thing and tries to get rid of him, which always goes awry.
- Principal Macnamara – The African American principal of Happydale Heights Elementary School, the school that Wednesday, Pugsley, and N.J. attend. Principal Macnamara is good friends with N.J.'s parents.
- Shella – A foreign classmate of Wednesday and Pugsley who is, due to her sweet character, a beloved person in school. Pugsley falls for her, but she soon reveals that she has to return to her homeland.
- Mortimer (voiced by Pamela Adlon) – The overweight red-haired school bully who often takes Pugsley as one of his victims.
- Mrs. Blossom (voiced by Marcia Wallace) – The teacher of Wednesday, Pugsley and N.J.
- Ian Thundermane (voiced by Héctor Elizondo) – A criminal with metal hair who is one of Cousin Itt's enemies.
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Production
New artistic models of the characters were used for this series, though still having a passing resemblance to the original comics. Lurch, for instance, has blue skin in the animated series. The Addams Family Theme, re-recorded with a basso profondo lead vocal, was reused as the theme for the series.
Episodes
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Season 1 (1992)
Season 2 (1993)
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Principal voice actors
- John Astin - Gomez Addams
- Dick Beals - N.J. Normanmeyer
- Carol Channing - Granny Frump
- Jim Cummings - Lurch, Spy Twins, Underwear Hitman "Fingers" (in "Happyester Fester"), RumpCo CEO (in "Happyester Fester", "Pet Show Thing"), Harry Palmer (in "A Thing is Born"), Mega Fingers (in "Festerman Returns"), Hairdo (in "Double O Honeymoon")
- Debi Derryberry - Wednesday Addams
- Jeannie Elias - Pugsley Addams
- Pat Fraley - Cousin Itt, Prison Guard (in "Itt's Over"), Police Officer (in "Little Big Thing", "Color Me Addams"), Camper (in "Camp Addams")
- Nancy Linari - Morticia Frump Addams
- Edie McClurg - Normina Normanmeyer
- Rob Paulsen - Norman Normanmeyer, Uncle Cleaver (in "N.J. Addams"), Van Swash (in "Color Me Addams")
- Rip Taylor - Uncle Fester
Additional voices
- Pamela Adlon - Mortimer (in "Sweetheart of a Brother")
- Michael Bell - Buck (in "No Ifs, Ands or Butlers")
- Earl Boen -
- Julie Brown -
- Ruth Buzzi -
- Peter Cullen - The Big As A Barn Kid (in "No Ifs, Ands or Butlers")
- Héctor Elizondo - Ian Thundermane (in "Double O Honeymoon")
- Richard Gautier -
- Robert Guillaume - Mr. Corblarb (in "Color Me Addams")
- Ernest Harada - Mr. Limp (in "Dead and Breakfast")
- Anna Maria Horsford - Mayor of Happydale Heights (in "F.T.V.")
- Candy Houston -
- Gordon Hunt -
- Erv Immerman -
- Nick Jameson -
- Vicki Juditz -
- Page Leong -
- Brian Mitchell -
- Ian Monfette -
- Marion Ramsey -
- Hal Rayle -
- Charles Nelson Reilly - Watch-Pet Competition Judge (in "Pet Show Thing")
- Robert Ridgely -
- Susan Silo - Mrs. Quaint (in "Dead and Breakfast")
- Marcelo Tubert -
- Renée Victor -
- Marcia Wallace - Mrs. Blossom (in "Sweetheart of a Brother")
- Marsha Warfield - Mail Carrier (in "Hand Delivered")
- Frank Welker - Boxing Turtle (in "Pet Show Thing"), Doberman Pinscher (in "Pet Show Thing"), Poddles (in "Pet Show Thing")
- Anderson Wong -
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Merchandise
Playmates Toys produced a series of nine action figures based on the Addams Family animated series. This includes Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Pugsley, and Granny among others. Each figure includes multiple points of articulation, accessories, and a biography card on their cardback. No commercial was ever made for this. Books were also produced.
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External links
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