History WesternAnimation / TheAddamsFamily1992

!!Tropes:

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** The episode "FTV" has Fester set up his own TV network with the rest of the family pitching in with broadcast content. One show is ''The Dead Detective'', about an inanimate skeleton with a deerstalker who "captures" a crook (Fester) by the HypercompetentSidekick (Wednesday) throwing it at them.

* MadBomber: Uncle Fester is a very rare heroic example, as he's mostly interested in blowing up ''himself'' and doesn't cause much collateral damage in the process.

* ShoutOut: The Spy Twins are reminiscent of the spies from ComicStrip/SpyVsSpy, though they're colored like regular humans and don't wear monochrome outfits.

* StepfordSuburbia: Played with Happydale Heights, the show's setting, puts a lot of weight on being [[StepfordSmiler "happy"]] and normalcy, but the majority of its residents seem to have a little problem with the Addams, and only interfere when their antics spill out into the town itself. The only characters who seem to be interested in rigidly enforcing the standards are the teachers of the elementary school, and Mr. and Mrs. Normanmeyer.

** The bell on a rope to summon Lurch and his catchphrase "You rang?" is often modified with a different sound effect and verb - "You screamed?", etc.

** The bell to summon Lurch, and his catchphrase "You rang?" is often modified with a different sound effect and verb - "You screamed?", etc.

** Brief voice clips of Fester and Lurch are often used for them commenting on scenes despite them not being onscreen (or being in different locations entirely, depending on the story), almost in a non sequitur manner - like Lurch's groans and Fester's "This is just great."

* RunningGag: Whenever Morticia says something in a different language, Gomez immediately pops up by her side, exclaims "Tish! That's [insert language]" and attempts to kiss her arm before Morticia tells him now isn't an appropriate time. Gomez even did this when ''Fester'' said something in a different language, at which point he tells Gomez to "do that with your wife".

* PreferJailToTheProtagonist: "Hook, Line and Stinkers" has the Spy Twins enduring scores of injuries at the hands of Wednesday, Pugsley and the Addamses' pet alligator Snappy. When Cousin Itt shows up to arrest the twins, they are grateful to be sent to a maximum security prison. Unfortunately for the Spy Twins, Snappy ends up to joining them in the armored car that's to transport them to the prison.

* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Lurch and his girlfriend play this trope straight with their skin colors.

* LookBehindYou: In "FTV", Norman Normanmeyer distracts the Addamses by claiming to a see a six-car pileup.

* LicensedGame: ''The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt'' for the Game Boy, NES, and SNES. The Game Boy and NES versions were essentially 8-bit versions of the video game tie-in to [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the first live-action film]] that was released for the SNES and Sega Genesis with the differences of some levels and bosses being omitted as well as Gomez and Pugsley exchanging roles as the player character and family member rescued by defeating a boss, while the SNES version had new content while still being a platformer where you played as Pugsley.

* HypocriticalHumor: Fingers called Fester "Baldy" even though he is also [[BaldOfEvil bald]].

* SpringtimeForHitler: {{Parodied}} in the episode "The Day Gomez Failed", where Gomez is trying to live up to the [[EpicFail Addams Family tradition of being a failure]] - however, every time he tries to embark on some ZanyScheme that would ruin him, [[CursedWithAwesome it always backfires, making him even more of a success]]. [[spoiler: However, as Morticia points out, that simply makes him [[UpToEleven an even bigger failure]], because he failed '''''[[InsaneTrollLogic at failing]]'''''. This immediately cheers him up.]]

* ObsessivelyNormal: Norman and Normina Normanmeyer strive to be as normal as possible. Because of this, they despise their abnormal neighbors the Addams for this very reason. They expect the same from their more open-minded son, N.J. Ironically, some would say that the Normanmeyers are the most abnormal characters on their show due to their obsession with underwear, Norman being the CEO of a large underwear manufacturing corporation.

** In the episode "Itt's Over", Norman manages to get Fester arrested for 'killing' Cousin Itt. However, it turns out Cousin Itt is alive and well, and his 'disappearance' was because he left for an emergency hair appointment. As a result, Norman gets arrested for lying to the police that he 'witnessed' the crime and replaces Fester in prison.

* LaserGuidedKarma: In the episode "Itt's Over", Norman manages to get Fester arrested for 'killing' Cousin Itt. However, it turns out Cousin Itt is alive and well, and his 'disappearance' was because he left for an emergency hair appointment. As a result, Norman gets arrested for lying to the police that he 'witnessed' the crime and replaces Fester in prison.

* ObsessivelyNorman: Norman and Normina Normanmeyer strive to be as normal as possible. Because of this, they despise their abnormal neighbors the Addams for this very reason. They expect the same from their more open-minded son, N.J. Ironically, some would say that the Normanmeyers are the most abnormal characters on their show due to their obsession with underwear, Norman being the CEO of a large underwear manufacturing corporation.

The second animated series based on ''Franchise/TheAddamsFamily'' that was produced by Creator/Hanna-Barbera, which aired in 1992 on Creator/{{ABC}} in the wake of [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the recent live-action movie]]. It was more similar to the 1960s live-action sitcom, mainly taking place in the Addams' big mansion, and featuring original Gomez Creator/JohnAstin returning to his role. Unlike the 1973 series, this iteration also used the classic theme song. The show was later rerun on Creator/CartoonNetwork and Creator/{{Boomerang}}.

The second animated series based on ''Franchise/TheAddamsFamily'' that was produced by Creator/HannaBarbera, which aired in 1992 on Creator/{{ABC}} in the wake of [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the recent live-action movie]]. It was more similar to the 1960s live-action sitcom, mainly taking place in the Addams' big mansion, and featuring original Gomez Creator/JohnAstin returning to his role. Unlike the 1973 series, this iteration also used the classic theme song. The show was later rerun on Creator/CartoonNetwork and Creator/{{Boomerang}}.

** "The Day Gomez Failed" revolves around Gomez feeling he had run out of challenges and figuring that the only thing he hadn't accomplished yet was to ''fail'' at something. He spends the whole episode trying to do (and fail at) ridiculous, impossible things, [[SpringtimeForHitler only to succeed with blinding colors in spite of himself.]] [[spoiler: At the end of the episode, Morticia points out that he actually succeeded at his goal after all, by ''failing at failing.'']] [[MindScrew Don't think too hard about that one.]]

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: While Gomez looks ''slightly'' closer to his comic book appearance than his live action counterparts, his face still looks fairly normal so he can pass as a sophisticated gentleman. Similarly to the live action versions, he also has a more lean and athletic physique than the chubby comic book version.
* AdaptationalDumbass: In spite of being a boy genius in the original live-action series, this continuity portrays Pugsley Addams as a thick-headed numskull.
* AnAesop: "Little Big Thing" revolves around Grandma needing glasses and stubbornly refusing to accept it, which leads to her turning Thing into a giant monstrosity that almost wrecks the town when she enlarges him to make reading his palm easier. At the end, Morticia gives her a lecture about how many people, even ''Lurch'', wear glasses (in Lurch's case, they're reading glasses).
* AmericanGothicCouple: The ''American Gothic'' painting is spoofed briefly in the episode "Hide and Go Lurch", where one of the first hiding places Gomez and Fester try while avoiding Lurch is a similar portrait. Gomez is disguised as the daughter while Fester is disguised as the father.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: For some odd reason, Fester absolutely refuses to believe in Grandmama's fortunetelling powers despite the supernatural nature of the Addams, and is very vocal about it. The show is ambivalent whether she can tell the future or not, though she has been shown to have other magic abilities.
* ArchEnemy: One-sided with the Normanmeyers, who hate the Addams and constantly try to ruin them. The Addamses don't consider them enemies at all, and see their abuse as friendly neighborly behavior.
** Thing of all beings manages to get himself an arch enemy in a weird hand model named [[PunnyName Harry Palmer]] who tries to kill him after Thing takes most of his roles. He reappears in a later episode, now living in Happydale Heights as a security guard, who's been kidnapping guard animals to keep him safe after developing paranoia about Thing.

* AuthorFilibuster: If an episode has an aesop, then Wednesday will make sure you learn it.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The series plays with this Trope an interesting way. Morticia, wanting to bond with her children, volunteers to help out at the local school, but even before she starts, Wednesday knows she won't be able to fit in. True enough, Morticia's attempt at helping out with lessons and school lunches backfires in a major way (though the schoolchildren are mostly amused), and Morticia doesn't understand why, since she, by her own standards, did a perfectly fine job. Gomez also comments on the faculty being angry at her, since he recalls his own schooling being a lot like what Morticia did. Wednesday and Pugsley are perfectly aware that the Addams type of morality isn't the norm, but Morticia and Gomez, not interacting much with society at large, aren't.

* BrokenPedestal: Wednesday experiences a mild example when she finds out that her teen idol crush Graveyard Gary is just a normal guy playing a role. He's not a huge dick or anything, but the Addams lifestyle really freaks him out and he can't keep character.

* DramaticThunder: The opening of this show starts with a lightning and a brief OminousPipeOrgan.
* DrillSergeantNasty: D.I. Holler, the camp counselor of Camp Holler in "Camp Addams". An unusual variation as Holler is eventually shown to be right AND wrong, as the camp is meant to be to straighten out spoiled rich kids (Mr. Normanmeyer dumped Pugsley and Wednesday there to keep them away from N.J), and when the campers revolt at the end, Wednesday points out that for all of Holler's harshness, she really does teach important lessons of fitness and self-reliance (which the rich kids realize when they apply Holler's lessons without realizing it), then tells Holler that while her training is correct, she'd be easier to understand if she didn't yell so much. Holler ends up calming down.

* EveryEpisodeEnding: The episodes mostly end with one of the family members announcing a ‘family dance’ to celebrate resolving the problem of the week. One member generally thinks of a song which someone else rejects and then comes up with another one which they all agree on and then they dance.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Mr Normanmeyer just can’t get that any harm he does to the Addams, will be welcomed with open arms.

* FreakyIsCool: N.J. Normanmeyer certainly falls here. Unlike his parents, who despise the Addamses, N.J. thinks the family is pretty cool, enjoys hanging at their house and is best friends with Wednesday and Pugsley. This seems to go for almost all the children of Happydale, who on several occasions join the Addamses in their antics, especially in a notable episode where Morticia arranges a scavenger hunt in the Addams house. Which, let's be honest, if the implements that can kill, maim, hurt or transform someone are kept out of reach, is the most perfect place for a scavenger hunt, EVER.

* HalloweenEpisode: In "Puttergeist", Wednesday, Pugsley and their friend N.J. try to determine whether the legend of the Puttergeist ghost, the spirit of a headless golfer who was struck by lightning on the Happydale golf course 40 years ago, is true or not. At first, it seems the Puttergeist was only N.J.'s father, Norman, in a costume. [[spoiler:But then it turned out the Puttergeist was RealAfterAll]].

* HypocriticalHumor: Fingers called Fester "Baldy" despite that fact that he is also [[BaldOfEvil bald]].

* IJustWantToBeNormal: In the "Sweetheart of a Brother " episode, when Pugsley wants to become a normal kid after he gets a crush on a foreign exchange student, and is afraid she wont like his Addams personality. Not only does she not care about it, as she can tell he's a good person, but becoming normal means Pugsley cant scare away the school bully like he usually does. He only snaps out of it after the bully threatens the girl for standing up against him, and reverts to his usual self to protect her.

* LicensedGame: ''The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt'' for the Game Boy, NES and SNES. The Game Boy and NES versions were essentially 8-bit versions of the video game tie-in to [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the first live-action film]] that was released for the SNES and Sega Genesis with the differences of some levels and bosses being omitted as well as Gomez and Pugsley exchanging roles as player character and family member rescued by defeating a boss, while the SNES version had new content while still being a platformer where you played as Pugsley.

* MirroringFactions: Despite greatly disliking the Addams-family for their "strangeness," the Normanmeyers themselves aren't nearly as "normal" as they themselves like to think they are. For example:
** Norman's weirdly obsessed with underwear, being major manufacturer of it.

* PetTheDog: The Normanmeyers, neighbors of the Addams Family, hated the Addamses and frequently plotted to get rid of them, but the episode "N.J. Addams" showed that they actually cared about and loved their son N.J. (who did not inherit their hatred; instead, he was close friends with Wednesday).

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The Mayor of Happydale Heights and Principal [=MacNamara=]. Neither has any personal issue with the Addams, and are only forced to interfere when they're worried that the Addams' behavior may be harmful to the other citizens. Both of them even join the Addams family dance when offered.

* SpringtimeForHitler: {{Parodied}} in the episode "The Day Gomez Failed", where Gomez is trying to live up to the [[EpicFail Addams Family tradition of being a failure]] - however, every time he tries to embark on some ZanyScheme that would clearly ruin him, [[CursedWithAwesome it always backfires, making him even more of a success]]. [[spoiler: However, as Morticia points out, that simply makes him [[UpToEleven an even bigger failure]], because he failed '''''[[InsaneTrollLogic at failing]]'''''. This immediately cheers him up.]]
* StepfordSuburbia: Played with Happydale Heights, the show's setting, puts a lot of weight on being [[StepfordSmiler "happy"]] and normalcy, but the majority of its residents seem to have little problem with the Addams, and only interfere when their antics spill out into the town itself. The only characters who seem to be interested in rigidly enforcing the standards are the teachers of the elementary school, and Mr. and Mrs. Normanmeyer.

* SweetAndSourGrapes: Humorously inverted in "The Day Gomez Failed." When Norman Normanmeyer tricks Gomez into signing over the deed to the Addams's property and then tells the city that they can build a freeway on it, the construction workers discover that the land is too swampy to use, and reward Gomez for saving them millions. Ordinarily, that would be the "sweet" to the sour of nearly losing the land...but Gomez is more depressed than ever, because it just means that he's ''yet again'' succeeded when he wanted to fail!
* TruthInTelevision: In "The Day Gomez Failed," one of Gomez's many attempts to fail at something involves buying tons of stock in the worst company he can find. Unfortunately, he apparently doesn't understand how Wall Street works--when other investors hear that one of the richest people in the world is purchasing stakes in a business, they all rush to get in on the action, which in turn makes the company's shares skyrocket. This is common practice in actual stock markets.

* VictoryIsBoring: This happens a lot with Gomez. In "The Day Gomez Failed", he has achieved so much he decides to try his hand at failure, and in another episode he wins a long-standing feud only to find it’s awful being a winner.
* VillainSong: "The Polycotton Blues" by Mr. Normanmeyer about how much he dislikes living next door to the Addams and how he wants to get rid of them (with Mrs Normanmeyer and even N.J. joining in).

* WaifFu: Wednesday is fencing enthusiast like her father.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Wednesday has an uncontrollable urge to dance when she hears music, which Pugsley uses to beat her in the family's annual [[MotorcycleJousting joust]] for the first time ever in "Sir Pugsley". The same episode had Gomez and Morticia's joust end because Gomez predictably got distracted by Moritica saying "en garde".

* RealityEnsues: In "The Day Gomez Failed," one of Gomez's many attempts to fail at something involves buying tons of stock in the worst company he can find. Unfortunately, he apparently doesn't understand how Wall Street works--when other investors hear that one of the richest people in the world is purchasing stakes in a business, they all rush to get in on the action, which in turn makes the company's shares skyrocket. This is common practice in actual stock markets.
** In another episode "Itt's Over", Norman manages to get Fester arrested for 'killing' Cousin Itt. However, it turns out Cousin Itt is alive and well, and his 'disappearance' was because he left for an emergency hair appointment. As a result, Norman gets arrested for lying to the police that he 'witnessed' the crime and replaces Fester in prison.