Tim Burton’s Wednesday: 5 Things That Excite Us About The Netflix Addams Family Show (& 5 That Give Us Pause)

Wednesday has always been a favorite for Addams Family fans, who are thrilled about Tim Burton’s Netflix show, though there are some reservations.

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In 2020, fans of both Tim Burton and The Addams Family found out that the master of the macabre was going to apply his creative brushstroke to a new live-action series involving the eccentric clan. Burton’s directorial debut in television has since been refocused, and he will helm an eight-episode series for Netflix focusing specifically on Wednesday Addams.

While this is certainly good news for Wednesday fans, there are aspects of the announcement that implant doubt, mainly about whether Burton’s time collaborating with Disney has altered his creative style to the point where it won’t be applicable to the material, and if the YA focus will alter what makes the character fun and diabolical. Whether the news makes fans excited or hesitant, one thing’s for sure — the world could use some more Addams.

10 Excites Us: It’s Being Told From Wednesday’s Perspective

Since the series will be a coming-of-age story involving Wednesday’s formative years, it presents the perfect opportunity for fans to get Wednesday’s perspective on being raised in such an unconventional and dynamic household as the Addams’. Every other adaptation has focused on the family group dynamic, so this will be a welcome change.

In the ’60s sitcom, Wednesday was the younger, more impressionable sibling, and in the live-action movies and recent animated movie, she’s been the older, more experienced one. It will be fascinating to see in what potentially nihilistic perspective Wednesday will view the world.

9 Gives Us Pause: It’s Being Directed By Tim Burton

Back in the ’90s, Tim Burton would have been the perfect visionary to adapt a live-action series involving the Addams Family, but his particular artistic visual style and method of storytelling has changed quite a bit in the last two decades. It seems Burton may no longer be the master of the macabre necessary to bring their creepy, kooky eccentricities to life.

If Burton can harness the same maverick magic he did when he made movies like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, the series might stand a chance.

8 Excites Us: It Takes Place At Nevermore Academy

The various Addams Family television series and live-action movies have shown Wednesday and Pugsley going to school, but nowhere as mysterious sounding as Nevermore Academy, which makes the place seem like a high school for supernatural students.

This presents the possibility that Wednesday will not only get to interact with a student body that’s able to use special abilities but might have dormant ones herself. The criteria for attending Nevermore Academy might be that every student comes from a family with an affinity for magic, immortality, or some mysterious Addams family secret.

7 Gives Us Pause: It May Not Feature The Other Addams

Given that Wednesday will be spending the majority of her time at Nevermore Academy, it stands to reason that she won’t be spending all that much time at home with her beloved family, especially if it’s similar to a boarding school and she has to live there.

Fans of the rest of the kooky Addams clan will be unhappy if they don’t get to see a lot of Gomez and Morticia, as well as Fester, Grandmama, Lurch, and Thing. Wednesday may not be enough of a draw for audiences who expect to see the entire family playing off of her.

6 Excites Us: It Involves A Mystery

Given that the series will have a mystery at its center, allowing Wednesday the chance to become a bit of a gothic Nancy Drew, there might be more suspense than the typical Addams Family storyline, which are mostly played for laughs.

According to Empire, Wednesday will have quite a lot to juggle with mastering her new psychic ability, as well as preventing a monstrous killing spree that will threaten the local town, and solving a mystery that has embroiled her parents for many decades.

5 Gives Us Pause: Casting And Getting Wednesday Right

Wednesday Addams is a beloved fictional character with a particular personality that resonates with her fans. She’s a precocious child whose motivations are mysterious, and in many ways she’s inaccessible to her audience. She’s very smart for her age, has a sarcastic sense of humor, and doesn’t much care for the antics of her peers.

The characterization of Wednesday will be very important to get right, which will come down to the writing and casting. Whomever Netflix gets to play Wednesday will have to carry the series, along with writing that reflects her core values as an Addams.

4 Excites Us: It’s Been Decades Since The Last Live-Action Addams Family

The Addams Family Reunion movie in 1998 and The New Addams Family television series of the late ’90s were the last times the Addams Family was given the live-action treatment on screen, marking over two decades since fans have seen actors inhabit the roles of the cadaverous clan (outside of the Broadway production). Since then, only The Addams Family animated movie has been used to revitalize the franchise.

Even if the series turns out to be less exceptional than expected, there are Addams Family fans who will just be happy that there’s enough renewed interest to make a live-action project.

3 Gives Us Pause: Teen Drama

The latest animated Addams Family movie received divisive reviews. While the cast of the voice actors and art style was praised, the story was not, as it focused on Wednesday Addams and her desire to fit in with her friends at her new school. Fans felt it didn’t accurately reflect her character, and didn’t fit into the overall themes of the family.

Addams Family: 5 Things The Animated Movie Got Right (And 5 It Got Wrong)

The writing team will have to be careful about how they depict Wednesday at Nevermore Academy, because quite a few fans may be turned off if they think they’re going to get a YA teen drama series in place of something darker or more unique.

2 Excites Us: It Will Be Empowering

According to Netflix’s Teddy Biaselli, Wednesday represents “the ultimate lone wolf”, and her character combined with Tim Burton’s vision was one of the reasons why the streaming giant wanted to get on board with developing the series. Biaselli says that Burton has a “history of telling empowering stories about social outsiders…[bringing a] unique vision to Wednesday and her spooky classmates at Nevermore Academy.”

Making lonely, ostracized characters in the vein of Lydia Deitz, Edward Scissorhands, or Batman the focus of the series will generate even more representation on the screen for different types of young adults and different types of socialization.

1 Gives Us Pause: It Could Be A Copy Cat

From The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to The Umbrella Academy, there are a variety of moody series featuring eccentric characters with strange gifts, their focus often pulled to a snarky character with hidden depths who must inevitably help save the day.

Hopefully, Burton and the powers that be at Netflix won’t use Wednesday and the Addams Family simply for their brand recognition and instead make something uniquely suited for the streaming service that doesn’t feel like it’s already been done a dozen different ways and better.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/tim-burton-netflix-wednesday-addams-family-show-fans-excited-nervous/