Based on the famous New Yorker cartoon creations of Charles Addams and the ‘60s TV series of the same name, The Addams Family is the story of a bizarre, macabre, aristocratic family who reconnect with whom they believe to be a long-lost relative. When a man (Christopher Lloyd) claiming to be Fester, the missing brother of Gomez Addams (Raul Julia), arrives at the Addams’ home, the family is thrilled. However, Morticia (Anjelica Huston) begins to suspect the man is a fraud, since he cannot recall details of Fester’s life. With the help of lawyer Tully Alford (Dan Hedaya), Fester manages to get the Addams clan evicted from their home. Gomez realizes the two men are conspiring to swindle the Addams fortune and that he must challenge Fester.

The Addams Family was a famously challenging production. Originally developed at Orion, the film went $5 million over budget due to constant rewrites throughout shooting; health problems of people involved in the filming; and an overall stressful filming for Sonnenfeld himself, which caused multiple delays. The rise in production costs from the film’s $25 million budget to $30 million led Orion, financially struggling and fearful of another big-budget flop, to sell the film to Paramount. Then it made $191 million and got nominated for an Oscar, and Orion went bankrupt. (And THEN, of course, it spawned live-action sequels and an animated feature and helped create an audience for the smash-hit Netflix series Wednesday.)

In other words: don’t bet against the Addams.

This special “Mummy & Me” screening is FREE for ages 12 and younger. 

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