The Munsters and Addams family are fifty years old this year!

[Rottedfreak]

I'm having a Munsters marathon

/watch?v=891XuTSjqaM

/watch?v=L90UsYMkPaY

[Neil]

Both great series!

[wayzim]

I liked both shows, but there was just something really dark about the Addams Family which appealed more to my macabre sense of humor.
And the Charles Addams cartoons were wonderfully twisted. Here's a cool New Yorker article about the man behind the madness.

http://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/bob-mankoff/charles-addams

[bassman]

I love both series', but The Munsters is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Got the whole series(waiting on a remastered blu ray), multiple shirts, figures, models and dioramas, etc. I couldn't even tell you how many times I've watched every episode.

I also own several seasons of The Addams Family and really enjoy the first two films with the late Raul Julia. It's a shame he passed away so soon because I would've loved to have seen that same team continue with more films after "Values".

Bryan Singer created a remake of The Munsters several years back called Mockingbird Lane. While different from the original series, I felt like he made a great modern adaptation and I still have it saved on my DVR. Sadly it never made it past that pilot episode, which is a shame.

[slickwilly13]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/ken-weatherwax-pugsley-addams-family-dead-59-article-1.2038861

[bassman]

The Addams Family is getting a new film, which will be animated and more inspired by the original Charles Addams cartoons.

http://c-6rtwjumjzx7877x24his7-bbbx2ehtrnslx78ttsx2esjy.g00.comingsoon.net/g00/3_c-6bbb.htrnslx78tts.sjy_/c-6RTWJUMJZX77x24myyux3ax2fx2fhis7-bbb.htrnslx78tts.sjyx2ffx78x78jyx78x2fzuqtfix78x2f lfqqjwdx2fymj-fiifrx78-kfrnqd-7564x2ffiifrx786.oulx3fn65h.rfwpx3dnrflj_$/$/$/$/$/$



Voice cast led by Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac as Gomez Addams, Academy Award winner Charlize Theron as Morticia Addams, Chloë Grace Moretz as Wednesday Addams, Finn Wolfhard as Pugsley Addams, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, Bette Midler as Grandmama and Academy Award winner Allison Janey as the family’s arch nemesis Margaux Needler.

[bassman]

Poster for the upcoming animated Addams Family:

(Only slight differences from the above image, but what’re ya gonna do...)
https://www.joblo.com/assets/images/joblo/posters/2019/03/addams_family_xlg.jpg

With it’s stellar voice casting and being in animation where anything is possible, I’m really looking forward to this! They may get a lot of hate, but I love the Hotel Transylvania series for similar reasons, so I can see this being the same type of dark family fun! And as I said....the voice casting seems spot on!

[blind2d]

Poster for the upcoming animated Addams Family:

(Only slight differences from the above image, but what’re ya gonna do...)
https://www.joblo.com/assets/images/joblo/posters/2019/03/addams_family_xlg.jpg

With it’s stellar voice casting and being in animation where anything is possible, I’m really looking forward to this! They may get a lot of hate, but I love the Hotel Transylvania series for similar reasons, so I can see this being the same type of dark family fun! And as I said....the voice casting seems spot on!

Woohoo! I'm actually excited for this! :D

[bassman]

I just realized that in the poster, Thing is wearing a Fitbit on his wrist! :lol:

[shootemindehead]

Am I the only one that always preferred 'The Munsters' over 'The Adams Family'?

[bassman]

Am I the only one that always preferred 'The Munsters' over 'The Adams Family'?

No, you’re not the only one, I definitely prefer Munsters. I really enjoy both, but Munsters has always been my go-to show out of the pair. I watch the whole Munsters series at least once a year, and even have models, figures/statues, shirts, etc. It’s one of my top five shows of all time, actually! :D

That being said, Addams Family is also immensely enjoyable. The show and the two movies from the nineties.

You should seek out Bryan Singer’s remake pilot/film, Mockingbird Lane. It’s an interesting modern adaptation of The Munsters and manages to have some of the heart and soul that made the original so great. Sadly, it never made it past the pilot episode, but I still quite enjoy it in a weird way...

[shootemindehead]

Never felt anything for 'The Adams Family', have to say. 'The Munsters' on the other hand was right up my street. I used to love it as a kid, it was on after school in the 80's. Always thought it was gas the way the believed Marilyn looked shite, even though she was the most normal out of the lot of them.

[bassman]

Ever seen the episode where they make Eddie a super go-cart and Herman takes it to the streets? I hurt from the laughter the first few times I saw it! Classic comedy! :)

[shootemindehead]

Can't recall that. Watching some now on YouTube. There's a great one with Paul Lynde I'm looking at now.

[bassman]

Another great thing about the show is that on certain episodes they commented on real topics such as racism and politics. Like all the great science fiction works that did the same, they were able to get away with these things through the filter of “oh, it’s just a silly monster show”. Otherwise it would have never made it through the censors. Great stuff! :thumbsup:

[JDP]

No, you’re not the only one, I definitely prefer Munsters. I really enjoy both, but Munsters has always been my go-to show out of the pair. I watch the whole Munsters series at least once a year, and even have models, figures/statues, shirts, etc. It’s one of my top five shows of all time, actually!

That being said, Addams Family is also immensely enjoyable. The show and the two movies from the nineties.

You should seek out Bryan Singer’s remake pilot/film, Mockingbird Lane. It’s an interesting modern adaptation of The Munsters and manages to have some of the heart and soul that made the original so great. Sadly, it never made it past the pilot episode, but I still quite enjoy it in a weird way...

Several attempts at reviving (pun fully intended!) The Munsters have all failed. They will never work because, no matter what you do, you will never, ever, be able to get a cast that matches the original. Their performances as these kooky characters have become so ingrained into generations of viewers' psyches that it's just not possible to successfully pull it off with a different cast. Fred Gwynne is "Herman Munster", Al Lewis is "Grandpa", and so forth. The original cast pretty much made the characters their own. Therefore, other actors, no matter how good, will never be able to "fill them shoes".

The Addams Family, on the other hand, had a good degree of success with the two feature length 90s movies with a whole new cast. I attribute this to the fact that they had a pretty different kind of humor that did not depend so much on the original cast's talents to portray them, so these characters seem to be more flexible, other actors can play them as successfully as the original cast.

[bassman]

There’s no denying that the original cast with Gwynne, Lewis, and Decarlo was a magical combination and it’s a near impossible task to fill those shoes, but I think it is possible to make a new version of the characters. The key is to do something different with them, while at the same time carrying the essence of what made the characters so memorable. Much like you mention with Sonnenfeld, as he was able to pull off with his Addams cast in the nineties. Raul Julia defined Gomez Addams for a generation, while simultaneously being his own version and paying tribute to John Astin.

It’s a very difficult task, but could be pulled off in the right hands. That’s why I enjoyed Mockingbird Lane, because they weren’t trying to imitate Gwynne’s Herman at all. They took the character in a different direction, while also carrying over some of the traits that made the character so enduring. No actor could match Gwynne, but they found a small window in which to replicate the heart of Herman. In this pilot’s case, it’s even his literal heart, as it’s part of the plot! :lol:

Much like James Bond, Bruce Wayne, or even Frankenstein’s monster himself, it’s all about doing what fits the current actor/story and not trying to replicate the past, but just paying tribute to it. There will never be another Fred Gwynne version of Herman that works, but there can be new versions of Herman, it’s just a difficult undertaking to find that right balance. That pilot did a great job with that balancing act, but sadly the network turned down the series before the pilot even aired due to the hefty production costs that Singer brought to the series. Likely due to his history with expensive blockbusters.

[bassman]

The Addams Family Teaser Trailer:

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Certain elements seem right, but I’m not sure how I feel about it just yet. It’s just a Teaser, so I’ll wait to see what the full trailer looks like...