The Addams Family (1992 Animated Series) - Format

Format

Geared towards children, much of the family's macabre nature was toned down; although, Uncle Fester retained his love of explosives and light bulbs. In order for the series to fit with other Saturday morning cartoons, plot lines were geared around the family living in the bright, cheerful town of Happydale Heights and facing some kind of threat from a series of recurring villains or individuals who either wanted to force the Addams' from their home or capture one of them (usually Uncle Fester) for nefarious purposes.

The first episode to air involved a plot against Uncle Fester by his "arch nemesis," a faceless gangster; the episode was aired out of production order, however, and relied on the viewer's having seen previous episodes for context, thus leaving the audience in the dark as to why Uncle Fester had an arch nemesis. Later episodes would introduce the series' most common recurring villains, an underwear obsessed family, the Normanmeyers that lived next door to the Addams and despised them for their lifestyle being an affront to typical suburban living (with the exception of their son N.J.). Episodes dealing with the Normanmeyers usually involved Norman and Normina, trying to rid Happydale Heights of the Addams Family or spying on the Addams; N.J. is friends with Wednesday and Pugsley, inevitably leading to intrafamilial conflict. At the end of several episodes, when the conflict was resolved, Gomez usually suggested a family dance. The first suggestion for the dance was usually thrown out because of some weird requirement. Uncle Fester is usually the one to point out the reason the first suggestion should not be accepted albeit sometimes Gomez and Uncle Fester found themselves in a role reversal (with Uncle Fester making the suggestion and Gomez pointing out the reason not to follow it). The second suggestion was accepted and there was usually a requirement for that dance too.

New artistic models of the characters were used for this series, though still having a passing resemblance to the original comics. Lurch, for instance, has blue skin in the animated series. The Addams Family Theme, re-recorded with a basso profondo lead vocal, was reused as the theme for the series.