Apparently at some point in our house I had shown the trailer of the 2019 Addams Family movie, which is either a remake of the live action movies or an extension of the original live action show (I don't know which) to my son, we'd watched it and I thought it was OK, nothing special, but as his cinematic tastes broaden and he develops bonds with some of these folks on screen, a new fresh helping doesn't hurt, so Addams Family 2 graced our doorstep.

Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon, Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic direct the film that Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Ben Queen and Susanna Fogel developed a screenplay for. Gomez (Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year guy) and Morticia (Charlize Theron, Gringo) see their kids Wednesday (Chloe Moretz, Kick-Ass) and Pugsley (Javon Walton, Euphoria) drifting away from them, so they decide to get the family, along with , together to bond on a road trip, along with Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll, Sausage Party), Thing and Lurch (Conrad Vernon, Shrek 2).

The bulk of the film contains a lot of the usual laughs from a macabre family thrown into everyday situations that you would expect, some are funny and some are not, but one can't continue a movie franchise without providing some potential new conflict to a character or two; in this case, a scientist names Cyrus Strange (Bill Hader, Barry believes he is Wednesday's real father and can prove it, even if his lawyer (Wallace Shawn, Toy Story needs to provide a word of encouragement with a veil of legal threats. Most animated films these days are duty bound to include Hader or Shawn in the vocal ensemble, to kudos to Addams Family 2 for ticking off both boxes I guess?

I don't remember much of the first film, but I was surprised in how the second tends to lean on its heart and the optimism of the family members. Sure, one may have an octopus arm through a portion of the film, but he's helped by some of the other Addams, just as the family helps Wednesday through her identity crisis with Gomez and Cyrus. I'd have to dust off my knowledge of the first film and the content before it to see if it was that obvious before, but the Addams' faith in family does keep it from an infamous fate.

By no means is Addams Family 2 a memorable film; it probably won't wow you and if you've seen even a little Addams before this, you'll know most of what will happen here whether you know it or not. But the faith of the Addams' matriarch and patriarch win out (and are helped along by Theron and Isaac to fine effect) that it feels like a different Addams Family than you may remember from your youth. At least you don't have to deal with that MC Hammer song this time!

Even in 1.85:1 widescreen Paramount gives a superb look to Addams Family 2, which textures in sand, grass and wood being notable and discernible, color reproduction being deep and natural without oversaturation, and shadow delineation being excellent with a fantastic contrast represented. Universal makes the film look clear and sharp beyond your expectations and the presentation is sterling.

DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 which for the film was fine; a beach sequence showed about as much as the film could offer, with low end for some creatures and effective channel panning for raindrops and waves. Dialogue sounded fine and the music was as broad as the soundstage had, but this will not be a soundtrack that wows a grown-up.

There's a standard definition disc and redeemable digital code, but there are three extras per se; "We're Altogether Addams" (8:51) features thoughts on the characters by the actors who voice them, "Courage to be Kooky" (2:41) touts the virtue of being yourself even if people think you may be weird, and "Road Trip Checklist" (4:04) provides some suggestions on what to pack if you're an Addams.

As winter morphs into spring and you're looking for things to do with and for your kids, I think you could probably get away with letting them sit in front of this for 90 minutes, with the older the better for obvious reasons. Technically, the disc looks great and the extras could have used some work. But for what it is, Addams Family 2 is worthy of the time investment.