Add a gallon of mystery and angst to her already scary, wacky, and altogether ooky personality, and you have Wednesday Addams. Some people and other people have peculiar families. However, Wednesday Addams is undoubtedly the most relatable (and most adored) Addams, particularly when compared to her eccentric but adoring parents Morticia and Gomez, her silly brother Pugsley, and her scathing cousin Itt.
No one seems to grow weary of the caustic, quick-witted young girl whose fascination with the macabre is theatrical enough to freak anyone out across decades of numerous TV series, films, and comics. There is likely a lot that “Addams Family” fans don’t know about Wednesday’s mysterious past, which is to be expected for a character with as much uncertainty and intrigue as Wednesday.
Did you know, for instance, that she began her career before she even made an appearance on television? Which classic animated series did the terrible Addams Family crossover with? And what is the status of that bothersome lawsuit? There are several secrets within The Addams Family, but we’re more intrigued by the Addams with the two recognisable braids and the scowl. Here is all the information on Wednesday Addams’ pet spiders that you didn’t realise you needed to know.
Wednesday wasn’t born on the screen
Even though most people believe that “The Addams Family” from the 1960s was where Wednesday Addams first appeared on screen, this is not true. She debuted in a comic strip written by, you guessed it, American cartoonist Charles Addams, just like many well-known characters. Although Charles used the pen name “Chas Addams” to sign his cartoons, his terrible tales first appeared in the New Yorker in 1938. It’s a unique strategy to use your last name as the basis for your characters while using a different first name. However, Charles (or Chas) Addams was a strange man. We’ll probably never know whether he just felt Chas sounded more attractive.
Of course, Addams also produced art that wasn’t depressing and horrifying, but, like Edgar Allan Poe, this is what most people seem to associate him with. The fact that he gave his creepiest personas his own names didn’t help. According to NPR, it didn’t help that his idea of fun was to tell his buddies that he went to mad asylums for amusement and volunteered to drive them home, only to look for routes that past numerous cemeteries. But hey, entertainment in the 1930s was scarce. Allow the man a break.
What’s in a name?
Even though Wednesday Addams was around long before she made an appearance on television, she had no name as she and the rest of her family rambled through their comic strip. (Perhaps because she finally had a name in the 1960s sitcom, she became more upbeat.) According to a letter to the editor published in the New Yorker, Addams got the idea for Wednesday’s name from Joan Blake, a desolate mother involved in a custody battle.
Blake quoted the passage from an old nursery rhyme, “Wednesday — Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” when Addams expressed his worry about not having a name for the comic strip daughter as he entered a TV show agreement. According to the adorable rhyme, a child’s personality can be predicted based on the day of the week they are born. Of course, Wednesday would also work for Monday, since it is said that “Monday’s child is fair of face.” However, Monday Addams doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Even though Wednesday has a morbid tendency, she is still quite “kind and generous,” therefore it makes sense that her middle name in the sitcom is Friday.
Even without considering her name’s intended meaning, the term “Wednesday” itself carries some rather strong meanings. According to the Guardian, Wednesday was known as “dies Mercurii,” which translates to “The day of Mercury,” back when the Romans were first considering developing a weekly calendar. Who then is Mercury? just the trickster god (among other things). Apropos, huh?
Adult Wednesday Addams
If you thought little Wednesday Addams is a mood, she has nothing on comedian Melissa Hunter’s “Adult Wednesday Addams” miniseries. In “Addams Family Values,” Wednesday first gave us a taste of her progressive social ideas when she yelled during a Thanksgiving performance that celebrated the “peace” that the pilgrims had with the Native Americans.
With her ultra-feminist interpretation of grownup Wednesday, Hunter carried the social critique ten steps farther as she attempted to balance her sombre yet woke temperament with the superficiality she encountered in LA. The thirteen episodes of the show weren’t quite enough to cover everything, including ruthlessly taking revenge on a few cat-callers and proving an entitled “It girl” wrong. Sadly, the Daily Dot reports that the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation didn’t share the millions of viewers’ enthusiasm for the show and filed a lawsuit against the young comic and her low-budget passion project.
There were speculations that the foundation took action because of an upcoming MGM animated film when a copyright cease-and-desist ordered Hunter to take the series offline in 2015. The fact that the movie took so long to make may have been the reason why the foundation deprived us of a smart, dry, and awake Wednesday Addams. Fortunately, there will always be seven seasons of April Ludgate played by Aubrey Plaza on “Parks and Recreation.” In many ways, the two characters resemble twins. Can someone actually make the Wednesday Madames and April Smudgefate escapades happen? No infringement of the copyright there.
Channeling your inner Wednesday isn’t easy
Even though Jenna Ortega is already a “Scream” queen, performing Wednesday was difficult. The fact that Wednesday is a youngster is usually what makes her interesting and status quo-defying. Most people assume that when little girls are under the age of ten, they will be docile, frilly, and mainly nice and innocent. The fact that this caricature still exists despite increasing numbers of obstacles in recent years is precisely what makes Wednesday a fascinating character.
So how did Ortega and the “Wednesday” writers avoid turning an older Wednesday into a stereotypically snarky teen? That was reportedly one of the hardest aspects of taking on the position, according to a talk Ortega had with EW. “She has never been seen in her adolescent years. You know, hearing about this eight-year-fixation old’s with blood, guts, and murder is humorous, cute, and even adorable “She spoke up. It almost seems difficult to keep from sounding like every other teenage girl as she gets older when she has that terrible attitude or makes those stinging remarks.
It’s challenging to make a long-running series about a cynical and unflappable figure, but Tim Burton is an expert. “That has been really fantastic, just being such a fan of his work before, but also getting to know him and understanding he’s the most detail-oriented director I’ll ever work with,” Ortega said to EW in appreciation of Burton’s attention to detail.
Christina Ricci still feels connected to Wednesday
The majority of child actors have taken every measure at their disposal to separate themselves from their most famous roles, but Christina Ricci has different plans. The “Addams Family” movies “have obviously had the largest impact on my work and life,” she said in an interview with the AV Club. Ricci is not only completely aware (and grateful) of the part that launched her career, but she also still has feelings of affinity for her sinister alter ego. “I feel extremely intimately tied to [Wednesday],” she remarked.
Since Ricci has escaped the tragic fate of many child stars, it’s unlikely that the character had a significant impact on who she is as a person. Perhaps Wednesday’s tenacity and fortitude helped Ricci make the transition from a child celebrity to a successful adult actress. It’s like a chicken-or-egg argument: Did I impact her as a character, or did she as a character inspire my personality? she asked the AV Club.
Ricci added a sobering observation as a follow-up: “Childhood memories have a tendency to become hazy. I basically don’t remember who I was or how I felt before I became an actress.” She and Wednesday are thus, for better or worse, inextricably linked.
From smiles to devilish grins
The 1960s sitcom “Addams Family” struggled with how to portray a six-year-old as terrifying without going the overtly demonic path. Lisa Loring was certainly capable of a daring glower when she was younger, but it typically elicited a “awww” rather than a “aghhh.”
her darkest lines, such as “lovely knife Can I use it to play autopsy? “even when she carries around her severed doll that is reminiscent of a headless Marie Antoinette, the adorable braided child’s words don’t come off as ominous. As a whole, Wednesday is a friendly and helpful member of the Loring family, especially when it comes to simple tasks like getting the mail from the family’s sentient decapitated hand named Thing. Just typical child behaviour, right?
The ’90s films starring Christina Ricci returned her back to her darker persona and aged her up a little from the six-year-old she was at the beginning of the programme, whereas the ’60s series significantly downplayed her angsty nature from the comics. She and Pugsley have since alternated between playing the older sibling in a number of projects that included the fictional Addams family.
Jenna Ortega gets the Christina Ricci seal of approval
Christina Ricci isn’t concerned with the younger star’s performance, despite Ortega pointing out some of the difficulties she encountered in adopting the role and keeping Wednesday interesting. It turns out that “Addams Family Values” (and the few parodies that followed) won’t be Ricci’s final appearance in this surreal setting. Because of her “Wednesday” role, Ricci has a front-row seat to Ortega’s performance, and the actress, in Ricci’s opinion, is living up to the expectations. In an interview with Variety, Ricci praised Tim Burton and Gwendolyn Christie for their work on the production and called Ortega’s performance on Wednesday “amazing.”
Ricci remarked, “It’s such a beautiful modern take on Wednesday. I saw some of the clothing shots before I got [to set], so I knew [what she looked like in character]. It is so faithful to the original’s tone while also being really contemporary and fantastic. If Ricci likes Ortega’s interpretation of the role, fans now have Ricci’s full support. Wednesday is a generation’s favourite onscreen Wednesday.
Onscreen smooches
Kissing scenes that occur too soon for young performers are one of the most contentious issues surrounding child stars. The idea of kids kissing will always spark a lively debate, whether it appears in recent movies and TV series or those from decades before. Where should the boundary be set? When Ricci was just 13 years old, future “Numb3rs” actor David Krumholtz, who was only two years older, gave her her first on-screen kiss. The latter actor’s first on-screen kiss occurred in the “Addams Family Values” sequence as well.
In a 1993 interview, Bobbie Wygant questioned Ricci about whether or not the kiss had garnered “a big to-do.” Because, when you think about it, there’s so much of it, you know, in movies and everything, and it’s just a movie, she dismissed it, saying, “No, there was no real big issue about it.” Given that she is more mature than most adults these days, hearing her talk is an amazing experience. In addition, she said Wygant is “a wonderful guy.”
But in a way, it’s regrettable that Ricci had to mature so quickly and in the spotlight. For the 20th anniversary of the movie, Krumholtz revealed to Buzzfeed that Ricci was not pleased with her scene partner’s peach fuzz, despite the fact that she may have assured Wygant it was no great issue. That made me feel incredibly self-conscious, he said. Ah, clumsy teen drama (in front of a camera, no less).
On Wednesdays we wear ashes
We all have those days when we want to channel our inner, angsty Wednesday Addams, let’s face it. Fortunately, MGM published a YouTube video titled “Wednesday’s Late-Nite Makeup Tutorial” for people who wanted to perfect her pale skin. For those whose actual eye shadow isn’t nearly dark enough, the video is ideal. You won’t look as like you haven’t slept in years, so don’t worry.
The 2019 animated feature “The Addams Family” was promoted in the commercial. Wednesday walks viewers through her collection of makeup, including “Coverghoul’s Depressed Powder,” “Dry N Somber lip chalk,” and the extremely exclusive ashes of her ancestors, as voice-acted by the movie’s very own Chloe Grace Moretz. (Does anyone have an urn that isn’t being used that is laying around? requesting a friend.)
She wasn’t the only Addams character to receive animated YouTube love; MGM also created a video on “How To Make Wednesday’s Halloween Lemonade.” Even some Morticia, Gomez, and Grandma instructions were available to provide a little additional horror to your Halloween (or just any random Wednesday afternoon).
Ricci channels her inner Ryder
Christina Ricci had just finished collaborating with Winona Ryder on the movie “Mermaids” when she went in for her Wednesday audition. But despite this, Ryder had such a profound impact on Ricci that she permanently altered the path of the young actress’s career. In a 1991 appearance on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Ricci discussed the significance of Ryder in helping her earn the Wednesday position. When she walked up for her audition, her mother advised her to “kind of think of Winona Ryder in “Beetlejuice” […] because they’re sort of similar,” she told the hosts. If you watch the two films back-to-back, Lydia and Wednesday seem to have a lot in common.
There was a tendency for more alternative, dark, and slightly twisted women on the big screen during the peak of punk and grunge in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Ryder was one of the most recognisable leading actresses playing these characters. She contributed to the creation of a new category of female heroines with her work on “Beetlejuice” and “Heathers,” and young actresses like Ricci took note. It’s fortunate that she did because if she hadn’t tapped into her inner Winona Ryder, someone else might have portrayed Wednesday Addams and the movies wouldn’t have been the same.
Scooby Dooby Addams
Everyone, including super sleuth dog Scooby-Doo, wants a piece of Wednesday Addams’ shame. Wednesday makes an appearance in the episode “Wednesday is Missing” of the TV show “The New Scooby-Doo Movies,” which has a puzzling title. The third episode of the animated “Addams Family” series from 1973—not to be mistaken with the animated programme of the same name from the 1990s—serves as the series’ covert pilot.
The Scooby gang is duped into acting as housekeepers (and babysitters) for the errant Addams children after The Mystery Machine disappears when Morticia and Gomez Addams are searching for some “us” time. Wednesday deviates from her typical look by donning a pink version of her collared dress. Under the grins and the pink, she still has an ooky streak since she’s fast to develop a “voodoo booboo” while sticking needles in a voodoo doll. Even her parents, who forlornly observe that she is developing into a “lovely, cheery young lady,” are dissatisfied with her upbeat demeanour. the horrifying.
Wednesday was given a voice by Cindy Henderson, who continued in the ensuing, brief animated series. The majority of the actors from the Scooby-Doo episode didn’t return for the standalone series. But in the crossover episode, John Astin played the live-action Gomez from the 1970s. Though he bypassed a recurring part in the 1970s animation, he later joined the 1990s series. Just too many productions with the title “The Addams Family” exist, which only adds to their chaotic presence.
The Addams Family meets spontaneous show tunes
If Wednesday’s representations in movies, television shows, cartoons, and comic books weren’t enough, the only daughter of the Addams family made her Broadway debut in 2010, following a brief run in Chicago the year before. In the “Addams Family” musical’s world debut in Chicago, Krysta Rodriguez portrayed a mature Wednesday Addams and kept the part after the show’s original Broadway changeover. Rodriguez may not have even received a nomination for the Tony Awards, but she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Breakthrough Performance.
It’s difficult to see Wednesday without her signature braids. But during the Adam Lippa musical, she underwent a startling makeover, giving up her girly haircut for a more mature appearance. Fans, however, were unable to welcome her revised look due to its connotations. The story revolves around an 18-year-old named Wednesday who, to to her family’s dismay, wears a bright yellow dress at one point to impress her “Normal” fiancé, Lucas. This storyline adheres to the archaic Unique Girl Changes For A Boy cliché.
To bring back the darkest aspects of his sister, Pugsley mistakenly roofies Lucas’ mom with a potion intended for Wednesday. Naturally, he receives kudos for this endeavour because it has a happy ending, but it’s not the finest lesson to convey and definitely differs from Wednesday’s progressive outlook in “Addams Family Values.” Although the Broadway production ended in 2011, the show continued to tour until 2017.
Tim Burton’s Addams Family hump decades
The long wait for a Tim Burton-directed “Addams Family” project began in the 1990s. The macabre director is typically thought to have directed at least one of the “Addams Family” movies that have appeared on screen in recent years, but no dice. Film Stories claims that Burton even declined the chance to helm the 1991 movie of the same name; Barry Sonnenfeld ultimately received the job instead. Even the 2019 animated movie, which was directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon, has a Burton-like feel to it.
In a live-action Netflix series simply titled “Wednesday,” Burton is finally providing his pitiful knowledge to the evil family since it turns out that the third (or fifth) time really is the charm. Naturally, Wednesday Addams, everyone’s favourite angst queen, is the series’ main focus. The Addams’ daughter will, however, be considerably older than in her prior on-screen roles.
Early reports state that Wednesday’s plot involves her attempting to solve a paranormal case from her parents’ background, giving off a little “Nancy Drew” vibe. She attends Nevermore Academy in a nod to Edgar Allan Poe. “Yes, please,” said the octopus.
