In 1938, cartoonist Charles Addams debuted “The Addam’s Family” for The New Yorker. These comics included husband and wife Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, Gomez’s brother Fester, Morticia’s mother Grandmama, their butler Lurch and Pugsley’s pet octopus Aristotle. The comic grew in popularity over the next few decades and soon enough characters such as Thing, Cousin It and Morticia’s pet lion Kitty Kat were introduced. By 1964, the family made their onscreen debut with “The Addams Family” television show. The show starred John Astin as Gomez and Carolyn Jones as Morticia. “The Addams Family” show was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons, later inspiring the 1977 television movie “Halloween with the New Addams Family.”
There was a hiatus in Addams Family content for several decades, but ultimately the franchise was revived in the 1990s with two feature films— 1991’s “The Addams Family” and 1993’s “Addams Family Values.” These films brought in a new group of actors to play the iconic characters, with Anjelica Huston portraying Morticia, Raul Julia portraying Gomez, Christina Ricci portraying Wednesday and Christopher Lloyd portraying Uncle Fester. These films were not only wildly successful among fans, but were also nominated for Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
Although there have been many iterations of “The Addams Family” over the years, as a child of the 1990’s, the 1991 and 1993 feature films are close to my heart. Not only were the portrayals of these characters absolutely iconic, but both of these films have some of the most memorable lines in all of film history. Take a look at 45 of our favorite quotes from “The Addams Family” and “Addams Family Values” in the gallery below, then let us know your favorite line from these films in the comments section on social media.
