How The Addams Family From Netflix's Wednesday Should Really Look
The Addams family is creepy, kooky, and altogether ooky — and now, they're coming to Netflix. Comedy-horror series "Wednesday," starring Jenna Ortega as the titular goth girl, is the latest in a long line of "Addams Family" adaptations, stretching back to the original 1938 New Yorker cartoons created by Charles Addams (per Smithsonian Magazine). Since those humble beginnings, the Addams' eerie antics have been turned into a 1960s TV sitcom, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, live-action feature films, and animated movies, among other productions.
This time, Tim Burton, director of some of the best spooky movies ever filmed, is taking a stab at reinventing the Addams' clan. "Wednesday" focuses on a teenage Wednesday Addams as she makes her way through the ghoulishly delightful Nevermore Academy. With this new adaptation bringing fiction's most gruesome family to the fore once again, there's never been a better time to revisit their origins — or compare the very first Addams family to this latest incarnation. From Morticia to Lurch, this is how the Addams family from Netflix's "Wednesday" should really look.
Morticia Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones)
Morticia, matriarch of the Addams family, may seem gloomy, but she's actually full of fierce love for her children, husband, and all things that go bump in the night. Several actors have taken on her black mantle, including Carolyn Jones, Anjelica Huston, and Daryl Hannah. "Wednesday" sees Catherine Zeta-Jones don Morticia's long, dark dress.
How does this newest thespian match up to the very first Morticia? In the original New Yorker cartoons, Morticia has long black hair that clings to her pale, skeletal face. She's meticulously made-up: Her eyebrows are precisely shaped, and she wears dark eyeshadow and lipstick. Her black dress is form-fitted to her slim frame, and features a plunging neckline and a floor-length skirt that flares outward at the end in an explosion of dark tendrils.
By and large, Zeta-Jones nails Wednesday's macabre mother. As in the original cartoons, Zeta-Jones's Morticia sets off her ghostly complexion with dark makeup, and wears a tight black dress with dramatic bell sleeves. Her hair is also long, black, and straight like Morticia's, although Zeta-Jones' long locks appear to be much more luscious than her cartoon counterpart's. All in all, it's an excellent likeness that can proudly stand beside the likes of Huston, Jones, and Hannah.
Gomez Addams (Luis Guzman)
Gomez Addams is a hopeless romantic with a childlike enthusiasm for pretty much everything he does. This attentive father and amorous husband has many hobbies, including fencing, juggling, and crashing his model trains. In the '60s sitcom and in Barry Sonnenfeld's live-action films, he can also be seen enjoying a fine cigar.
Visually, the original Gomez is a dramatic contrast to his reedy wife. Short, rounded, and frumpy, he wears his thin, dark hair slicked down and parted in the middle, and sports a pencil mustache. A broken front tooth adds even more offbeat charm to his endearingly brutish face. Addams' New Yorker cartoons often show Gomez wearing a pinstriped suit and tie, though he can sometimes be seen wearing a housecoat while relaxing at home.
In "Wednesday," Gomez is portrayed by Luis Guzman, who appears to take quite a bit of inspiration from the original source material. Like Addams' inaugural Gomez, Guzman's rendition wears a pinstriped suit and sports a shorter and more rotund figure. His dark hair is parted in the center and slicked down, though Guzman's hair is more thick and curly than that of the New Yorker's Gomez. Guzman's Gomez also sports a thin mustache, trimmed to sharp perfection. The Gomez featured on "Wednesday" has a nicer head of hair than the original Addams patriarch enjoys, but beyond that, he's a dead ringer.
Pugsley Addams (Isaac Ordonez)
Pugsley Addams, Wednesday's elder brother, is a lovable deviant who enjoys creating havoc, mayhem, and general distress. On occasion, he has been a source of worry for his poor parents, who have major reservations about their son joining the scouts and his attachment to an adorable puppy. But at the end of the day, he's still their little boy, and they couldn't be prouder of the horrified teachers' notes he brings home from school.
The original Pugsley has light-colored hair cropped close to his head. He's pale, short, and pudgy, and typically wears a horizontally striped t-shirt and dark shorts. His face is perpetually twisted into a mischievous expression, which occasionally darkens into outright malice. No matter where he is, Pugsley is always plotting something.
Pugsley is played by Isaac Ordonez on "Wednesday." One big difference sets this incarnation apart right off the bat: Netflix's "Wednesday" makes Pugsley into Wednesday's younger brother. Photos featured in Vanity Fair reveal Ordonez's Pugsley wears a long-sleeved striped sweater, as opposed to the striped t-shirt he's most closely associated with. His black shorts are also longer, and his shoes appear to be classic Doc Martens. Most notably, Ordonez's Pugsley sports thick, wavy black hair — a dramatic contrast to cartoon Pugsley's short, fair cut.
Lurch (George Burcea)
The Addams' loyal butler, Lurch is strong, mostly silent, and enormous. Though he's not related by blood, Lurch is still a valued member of the Addams family. He looks after the children's welfare, and sometimes joins in on their games. During his free time, he is a talented organ player. Visually, the original Lurch closely resembles Universal's classic take on Frankenstein's monster. He has a squarish head, topped with thin, short strands of dark hair that appear to be plastered to his skin. He wears a dark suit with a sagging bow tie and a white button-down shirt. Lurch's expression is often stoic, and his eyelids are droopy, giving him a slightly sleepy appearance.
The part of Lurch will be played by George Burcea on Netflix's "Wednesday." No footage or images of Burcea as Lurch have been released thus far, but Burcea is very active on Instagram. From what we can see, Burcea definitely has the height to match Lurch's imposing figure. He also has dark hair, brown eyes, and can be seen both bearded and clean-shaven. With a little imagination, we can easily see him pulling off the Addams' infamous butler — but we'll have to wait a bit longer until Netflix graces us with official images of his "Wednesday" transformation.
Thing
Thing, the handiest member of the Addams family, is somehow both endearingly helpful and totally off-putting. The 1990s "Addams Family" movies made Thing into the disembodied hand modern fans know and love, but the original cartoons imply Thing is a larger creature too awful to behold — only its human hand can be safely observed. Later incarnations, like the 1960s TV show, depict Thing as a pale white hand with no discerning marks, eternally popping out of various boxes and from behind curtains to assist members of the family with simple tasks.
The very brief glimpse of Thing offered in the "Wednesday" trailer is a striking one. No longer is Thing the clean, unscarred appendage we've come to know — rather, this iteration of Thing is covered in stitches. One of its fingers even appears to have been sewn back on after being previously amputated. Thing's fingernails and fingertips are also tinged with black, giving it a corpse-like quality. This version of Thing seems to have undergone quite an ordeal, leaving it a gruesome puzzle of flesh and twine. And yet, somehow, it's still kind of cute.
Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega)
Jenna Ortega, who stars as the eponymous goth icon in Netflix's "Wednesday," has a lot to live up to. Wednesday Addams is a solemn creature with a grim fascination with death. She enjoys playing games with her brother, Pugsley — most of which involve torture and the risk of dismemberment. In the original New Yorker cartoons, Wednesday has a long oval face and very pale skin. Her straight black hair is tied into two thin braids that rest over her shoulders. Her eyes are small, black, and pupil-less, and her expression is eternally somber. She wears a black dress with a white collar and white buttons down the front.
A few subtle differences separate Ortega's Wednesday from the original. Most prominently, this Wednesday is a lot older than most other incarnations: She's an outright teenager, enduring all the trials of adolescence at Nevermore Academy. She also incorporates bangs into her classic hairstyle. But for the most part, Ortega's Wednesday closely resembles Addams' original design. Her long black hair is tied into two braids, and she wears a black dress with a crisp white collar. Even when she dons different garments, she keeps to the tradition of wearing as much black as possible. Finally, she nails that most classic of Wednesday accessories: A pitilessly grim expression.