The interesting thing about the Addams Family movies from the 1990s is that they both largely center on Fester, a character who had starred in his own video game – the maddeningly frustrating Fester’s Quest, of course – just a couple years before the first film. Fresh off the Back to the Future trilogy, Christopher Lloyd stepped into the shoes of Fester for the live action movies, the first of which almost didn’t feature the actual Fester at all.
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, 1991’s The Addams Family centers on a Fester imposter who attempts to steal the family’s riches, and for much of the film we’re led to believe that Lloyd’s “Fester” is actually this imposter character. Gomez Addams’ real brother, we’re told, has gone missing. At the end of the movie, however, we learn that Lloyd is actually the one true Fester.
As Wikipedia explains, “The movie ends with a coda, taking place seven months later at Halloween. The family states that Gordon was really Fester all along, and that the previously made-up story about Fester being found in the tuna nets after being lost in the Bermuda Triangle is true. They further state that Fester had suffered from amnesia this entire time, and only recovered his memories after being struck by lightning.”
As it turns out, this coda was originally not attached to the film, with the movie instead ending with the Addams Family adopting Gordon – who is indeed not actually Fester – as one of their own. In other words, the real Fester never makes an appearance in the movie, a bold decision that the cast did not approve of. And that’s when young Christina Ricci stepped in.
The Hollywood Reporter just published a behind-the-scenes retrospective on the 1990s production, and it’s within that piece that director Sonnenfeld recalls Ricci’s heroic act.
Sonnenfeld explains, “Whenever the cast had a problem they would go to Christina Ricci because she was the most articulate and intellectually gifted of any castmember.”
“The cast all gathered in a circle and told all the reasons to Christina why they thought it was a bad idea. She went on for 10 minutes, explaining why it had to be the real Fester,” he continues. “I said, ‘Give us a minute.’ Scott, Rudnick and I went into a corner. I said, ‘I think she’s kind of right.’ And Rudnick and Rudin agreed.
“I asked Chris [Lloyd], ‘Do you care if he is the real Fester or fake Fester?’ He said, ‘Meh. I don’t care.’ So we rewrote the ending based on the cast disagreement.”
For the film’s 30th anniversary, The Addams Family will be released on 4K Ultra HD this month, newly remastered and restored under the supervision of director Barry Sonnenfeld.
The Addams Family will be presented in both the original theatrical version and a never-before-seen “More Mamushka!” version, which expands the memorable dance number.
The Digital 4K Ultra HD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc, and Blu-ray releases also include a brand-new featurette looking back at the making of the film that includes behind-the-scenes footage and a new interview with Sonnenfeld, as well as an introduction to the restored cut by Sonnenfeld and an archival featurette.
