History YMMV / TheAddamsFamily

* MyRealDaddy: For many fans, Christina Ricci ''is'' Wednesday Addams. Creator/RaulJulia as Gomez, Creator/AnjelicaHuston as Morticia and Creator/ChristopherLloyd as Fester could qualify as well, but they still face competition from the 1960s actors, whereas Creator/LisaLoring's portrayal of Wednesday isn't as memorable as Ricci's.

** Fester demands little Wednesday be beaten for helping herself to his fireworks collection. Gomez's ''only'' objection with that is there should be good reason for a beating.

* NightmareFuel: The "[[Recap/TheAddamsFamilyS1E8GreenEyedGomez Green-Eyed Gomez]]" episode where a misunderstanding leads Gomez to think that Morticia has betrayed him for someone else and deciding as a result to experience death alone (as opposed to his dreams of sharing it with her), by attempting suicide.
** Then comes [[Recap/TheAddamsFamilyS1E22AmnesiaInTheAddamsFamily Amnesia in the Addams Family]]" where we get to see the beloved patriarch losing his mind and becoming a stranger in his own home. From his point of view meanwhile everyone wants him dead.
** While also darkly hilarious there is Grandmama's reference to Gomez having doubled as a doctor for a single time along with one patient who apparently also never again became a patient...
** The mistaken assumption that Cleopatra consumed Pugsley with the shot of his empty shoes lying right next to her though the comedic aspect wins out.

** The "[[Recap/TheAddamsFamilyS1E8GreenEyedGomez Green-Eyed Gomez]]" episode where a misunderstanding leads Gomez to think that Morticia has betrayed him for someone else and deciding as a result to experience death alone (as opposed to his dreams of sharing it with her), by attempting suicide.
** Then comes [[Recap/TheAddamsFamilyS1E22AmnesiaInTheAddamsFamily Amnesia in the Addams Family]]" where we get to see the beloved patriarch losing his mind and becoming a stranger in his own home. From his point of view meanwhile everyone wants him dead.
** While also darkly hilarious there is Grandmama's reference to Gomez having doubled as a doctor for a single time along with one patient who apparently also never again became a patient...
** The mistaken assumption that Cleopatra consumed Pugsley with the shot of his empty shoes lying right next to her though the comedic aspect wins out.

%%* NightmareFuel: Thing in most adaptations, if you aren't expecting him.

* NewerThanTheyThink: Many fans accuse the Munsters of ripping off the Addams, notably because the Addams Family are based on a comic series made in the 1930s, and because of the shows' similar concepts. However, in addition to premiering the ''same week'' (and thus, giving the Munsters' writers no time to copy anything), the Universal monster franchise that they're based on came ''before'' the comics were published.

* MyRealDaddy: For many fans, Christina Ricci ''is'' Wednesday Addams. Creator/RaulJulia as Gomez, Creator/AnjelicaHuston as Morticia and Creator/ChristopherLloyd as Fester could qualify as well, but they still face competition from the 1960s actors, whereas Lisa Loring's portrayal of Wednesday isn't as memorable as Ricci's.

* CrossoverShip: There is a rather large base of fans who ship Wednesday Addams and Lydia Deetz (''Franchise/{{Beetlejuice}}'') around the internet, with it being especially popular on [=AO3=]. This is mainly because they are both goths in BlackComedy franchises who have dry senses of humor and a fascination with death.

** Many, many fans ship Morticia with [[Series/TheMunsters Lily Munster]], as they're both goth [[HotMom hot moms]] with similar tastes and hobbies.

* NightmareFuel: Thing in most adaptations, if you aren't expecting him.

** Many, many fans ship Morticia with [Series/TheMunsters Lily Munster]], as they're both goth [[HotMom hot moms]] with similar tastes and hobbies.

** Many, many fans ship Morticia with Lily Munster, as they're both goth MILFs with similar tastes and hobbies.
** Similarly, some ship Marilyn Munster with teen Wednesday in a TomboyAndGirlyGirl/GleefulAndGrumpyPairing.

** A minority of people don't care for the snark and occasionally mean-spirited humor of the 1990s remakes, nor how some of the characters changed (such as Wednesday going from a macabre but warm-hearted CheerfulChild to an expressionless NotLikeOtherGirls DeadpanSnarker, or how Gomez is suddenly conventionally attractive).

* FandomRivalry: With ''Series/TheMunsters'', which was less popular than the Addams but generally considered to be the funnier of the two, due to their similar premises and releases.

* ValuesDissonance: As noted above, the original Broadway version has Mal getting raped which is PlayedForLaughs. Yes it’s a squid, but still, given how sexual abuse and harassment are taken much more seriously, it’s likely that the show would never attempt to have the main conflict solved by a character getting molested.

** Similar case in ''Addams Family Values'' when it's "revealed" that Lurch had killed a stripper by cooking her alive, to which every one laughs off. Some people take it seriously as evidence that the Addams are bad people, whilst other believe that there was no stripper and it was just Gomez making a really morbid joke.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The whole time Wednesday and Pugsley are at camp, they try to escape so they can save Fester. When they finally get out and make their way home, [[spoiler: they end up tied up and just as helpless as the rest of the family, and Pubert ends up saving them.]]

** Gomez tells Debbie that "of course" they have cable. Why would this be obvious? Some viewers see it as a ContinuityNod to the first movie, in which Gomez starts watching ''Series/GilligansIsland'' to cope with being evicted, others think it refers to them watching horror movies and dark documentaries on TV, still others think it refers to their enjoyment of whipping one another, some think it refers to tightrope walking (which seems like something they'd do) and a ''fifth'' interpretation is that it refers to Fester experimenting with electrical wires.

* CriticalResearchFailure: ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' are Disney productions. But Joel mentions "''But... It's Disney!''" right before ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'', ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' and ''Theatre/{{Annie}}'', none of which are Creator/{{Disney}} productions, start playing. The tape that is announced last and inserted into the machine by the counselor is ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', though. Every home video release of ''Values'' has since borne the disclaimer "[[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope Some of the music has been changed for this release]]", so it's possible the original theatrical version actually ''did'' feature Disney music in that scene, and Paramount simply couldn't work out a deal with the Mouse House for home entertainment releases.
** When the Addams kids head for Camp Chippewa, Wednesday claims that "Chippewa" means "orphan". In actuality, it's named after the real life Native American tribe called the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojibwe Ojibwe]].

** Being a baby, did Pubert simply take part in a series of bizarre chain reactions that led to Debbie being electrocuted, and had no idea what was happening? Or, being an ''Addams'', does he instinctively act to protect his family while exacting a gruesome revenge on their would-be killer? His giggle at the end supports either interpretation.

* Being a baby, did Pubert simply take part in a series of bizarre chain reactions that led to Debbie being electrocuted, and had no idea what was happening? Or, being an ''Addams'', does he instinctively act to protect his family while exacting a gruesome revenge on their would-be killer? His giggle at the end supports either interpretation.

** Creator/MercedesMcNab (Harmony in the Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}) appeared as a girl scout in the first movie and had the larger role of Amanda in ''Addams Family Values''.

** Mercedes [=McNabb's=] performance as an agonizingly chipper Girl Scout in the first film was so well-received that she got an expanded role in the sequel.

** Mercedes [=McNab=] (Harmony in the Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}) appeared as a girl scout in the first movie and had the larger role of Amanda in ''Addams Family Values''.

** The family's patriarch was coded as a [[WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant WASP]] in the comics, and while the '60s TV show came up with the name "Gomez", Creator/JohnAstin otherwise stayed close to that depiction. Then came Creator/RaulJulia's portrayal of Gomez as a LatinLover with a thick Puerto Rican accent, which solidified the character as Hispanic in the popular consensus, with later adaptations casting Creator/OscarIsaac and Creator/LuisGuzman in the part.

** ''Addams Family Values'' has become a cult favorite among queer audiences, thanks to Wednesday's enlarged role and Creator/JoanCusack's over-the-top performance as villainess Debbie. Additionally, Gomez and Morticia accepting "Normal" Pubert, and continuing to love him even though they didn't understand or like his change in looks and personality, resonated with queer viewers. Being produced by openly gay creators like Paul Rudnick and Scott Rudin certainly helps.

** In one of the introductory shots of the first movie, we see the Addams' clock, which chimes the hours via minature figurines of Gomez and Morticia audibly kissing one another. The intended humor of this scene clearly lies in highlighting the absurd eccentricity of the Addamses, having commissioned an elaborate clock which depicts themselves as chimes. However, due most likely to a slight mis-calibration by the prop creators, the Gomez figurine appears to miss Morticia's lips when he leans in to kiss her, [[FunbagAirbag and instead lands his face upon her bust!]] Driving the mistake home is that fact that the noise he makes sounds like a particularly slurpy kiss, making the entire shot feel like a very AccidentalInnuendo moment.
*** No, it's specified in the script that the figurine is kissing her "decolletage", nothing accidental about it.

** In ''Addams Family Values'' Joel says that he has all the cards in the serial killer trading card series, except for "Jack The Ripper and that Zodiac Guy". Funny because a) No one knows who they were, so there would be no pictures for the card and b) Even the cards of them can't be caught.

* MagnificentBitch: Wednesday Addams is the younger of the two children who despite a penchant for wanting to become a killer or a witch later in life is smart, compassionate, methodical and perceptive in her youth. While often convincing older brother Pugsley to let her put him in death traps, Wednesday--in addition to helping lead a séance--begins to suspect and investigate when an apparent imposter shows up claiming to be Uncle Fester and eventually when finding out the truth is able to escape capture immediately after. In the sequel, Wednesday along with Pugsley also makes creative attempts to get rid of their new baby brother Pubert and then spies on new nanny Debbie Jellinsky, discovering she's a deranged, greedy killer targeting Fester. When Debbie has her and Pugsley sent to what ends up being a very racially-insensitive and Xenophobic summer camp, Wednesday eventually convinces everyone she wants to conform to the status quo while then leading all the other put upon kids in a daring and elaborate insurgence to bring the whole camp to its knees and then escape with Pugsley to go home to their family.

** More downplayed when it comes Gomez and Fester, who’s versions here feel more in line than the other family members, and are seen as two of the stinger characters. However, the {{Flanderization}} of Gomez’s Latin nationality and Fester’s obsession with love are seen as somewhat out there choices. And as mentioned above, some didn’t like Gomez’s noticeable province over Morticia.

** A common assumption is that Wednesday here is TruerToTheText compared to the '60s show. However, this isn't the case and if anything, the incarnation from the '60s show is the one that is more in line with her characterization from the original cartoons, as Wednesday in the original cartoons was depicted as a melancholy, sensitive, "wan and delicate" person who can be a CheerfulChild on occasion, unlike this film's version of her, which depicts her as a stoic DeadpanSnarker.