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Review of The Addams Family (2019) (Mychael Danna/Jeff Danna)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you appreciate thoughtful melodic development in your parody scores, even if it is expressed in a bizarre and sometimes obnoxious mixture of Latin, Eastern European gypsy, and American folk styles.

Avoid it... if you expect any of the waltz-led elegance of Marc Shaiman's music for the 1990's live-action films to survive, though the original Vic Mizzy television theme is liberally applied.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Addams Family: (Mychael Danna/Jeff Danna) To nobody's surprise, the original 1938 comic characters of "The Addams Family" finally found themselves in an animated feature film in 2019. While rather pedestrian in its story and execution, MGM's The Addams Family adaptation pulled in enough audiences to merit immediate sequel talk. The origin story tells of how the group met and, despite their bizarre, far-flung European roots, managed to find themselves together in a hick American setting. (In some versions, this town is called "Eastfield" and in others it's called "Assimilation," so approach the soundtrack's cue titles with both options in mind.) How they respond to the locals and the town's pesky founder occupies the script, with the addition of hidden cameras and live streaming built in to modernize the concept. The film makes a point of joking about the diversity of the Addamses, and that point has an overwhelming impact on the soundtrack. Ever since The Good Dinosaurin 2016, brothers Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna have ventured into the mainstream animation realm, the veteran composers often bringing their tendency towards eclectic worldly instrumentation into these lighter projects. In the case of The Addams Family, the Danna Brothers went wild with the cultural elements to address the characters' Eastern European and Spanish backgrounds, along with some American country folk for their new setting. The Dannas played a variety of specialty instruments, primarily the Eastern European ones, themselves in the recording, though their contributions aren't really the highlight of the overall work. They also employed the same, historic Fox Wurlitzer organ heard in The House With a Clock in its Walls and owned by that score's composer, Nathan Barr, and it's often joined by humorously belching, low saxophones and theremin effects. A full orchestra lends depth to the scenes of monster mayhem and associated mystery, though don't expect sustained satisfaction of any one sequence given that no cue even reaches the two-minute mark in length. The most important thing to realize about this music for The Addams Family is that it only barely strives for the same waltz-based elegance that Marc Shaiman's music for the 1990's live-action films achieved beautifully for the same concept. Aside from some faint tango references, nothing from Shaiman's alluring music survives here. As a result, you get a haphazard, slapstick-riddled score with stylistic changes in every cue, some of which written by a few others in totally different genres for humorous effect.

The gypsy characteristics of the Dannas for The Addams Family extend to all of its themes at some point, including the original Vic Mizzy television theme for the concept, which the composers apply here much more than Shaiman ever did. It gets whirlwind treatment in "Welcome to the Addams Family" with a lovely fiddle solo before the organ lets rip with it in "Make Yourself at Home" (the best performance) and "Give My Creatures Life!" A folksy version awaits the melody in "An Addams Family Reunion." Some of these only use the theme's catchy opening bass riffs and snapping fingers, but the Dannas really excel when they apply the whole theme. They supplement this idea with three themes of their own and one supporting motif. The first major theme is arguably the main one for the picture, introduced ominously right off the bat in "It's Creepy, It's Kooky" and taking on a fluffy personality in "What a Lovely Morning" and "Scented Embalming Fluid." A heroic rendition of this idea in "Wednesday Crashes the Party" is followed by a lovely piano solo for the melody in "My Little Raven" and an upbeat followup in "Give Us a Chance to Make It Right." The theme's redemption late in "Pugsley Coronation" leads to a robust conclusion in "Get Out!" that comes closest to the famous Shaiman tango material. More impressive is the monster theme from the Dannas, heard first on brass at 0:57 into "An Army of Freaks" and reprised in similarly muscular fashion at 0:40 into "A Town Overrun" and 0:05 into "Addamses Not Wanted Here." It also stews late in "Margaux Inflames the Townsfolk," kicks it up a gear in "Give My Creatures Life!," and provides suspense or frantic action in "Mommy's Crafting Room," late in "Margaux Attacks," and in "If They're Freaks, Then So Are All of You." A melancholy theme for the Addams' daughter, Wednesday, is highlighted in "Wednesday's Wish" and "Wednesday and Parker." The town itself receives a rather obnoxious folk motif in "The Addams Visit Assimilation" and "Assimilation Junior High." Put together, these themes create a more cohesive whole than expected, but the work still suffers from an extraordinary whiplash effect in its shifting parody modes. You could assemble ten minutes or so of really good music here, including most of the organ and brass passages along with the gorgeous vocals of "Tea and Seance" and tender heart of "My Little Raven." Expect to hear a lot of early Danny Elfman in this work. The gypsy and folk instrumentation is mildly obnoxious, and although the album does include the Mizzy song adaptation heard over the end credits, it is missing other notable songs heard on screen. It's a solid souvenir from this film, but seek out Shaiman's music from the live-action entries for a better concept listening experience.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 44:59

• 1. Welcome to the Addams Family (1:19) • 2. It's Creepy, It's Kooky (0:58) • 3. Unhappy Darling? (1:16) • 4. I Now Pronounce You Monsters (1:39) • 5. Lurch on the Loose (0:38) • 6. Make Yourself at Home (0:35) • 7. What a Lovely Morning (1:58) • 8. Wednesday's Wish (0:59) • 9. Let the Games Begin (1:24) • 10. Uncle Fester Arrives (1:36) • 11. What is Beyond the Gate? (0:45) • 12. Margaux's Here to Help (0:26) • 13. Assimilation! (0:39) • 14. Balloon (0:31) • 15. Opposite of Sad (1:21) • 16. The Addams Visit Assimilation (0:23) • 17. Wednesday and Parker (1:45) • 18. An Army of Freaks (1:10) • 19. Scented Embalming Fluid (1:10) • 20. Assimilation Junior High (0:24) • 21. Margaux Inflames the Townsfolk (1:10)

• 22. Give My Creatures Life! (1:58) • 23. Gramma Brings Gifts (1:27) • 24. Wednesday's Room (0:57) • 25. Tea and Seance (1:16) • 26. Pugsley Has Two Left Feet (0:49) • 27. Wednesday Leaves Home (1:50) • 28. Mommy's Crafting Room (1:30) • 29. A Town Overrun (1:01) • 30. An Addams Family Reunion (0:52) • 31. Addamses Not Welcome Here (1:16) • 32. The Hour is Upon Us (0:55) • 33. Mazurka Fail! (1:03) • 34. Wednesday Crashes the Party (0:59) • 35. Margaux Attacks (1:07) • 36. If They're Freaks, Then So Are All of You (1:08) • 37. My Little Raven (1:10) • 38. Give Us a Chance to Make It Right (1:04) • 39. Pugsley's Coronation (1:05) • 40. Get Out! (0:35) • 41. Addams Family Theme* (0:52)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information about the score or film.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Addams Family are Copyright © 2019, Lakeshore Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/27/20 (and not updated significantly since).