The Reimagining of Wednesday Addams

The Reimagining of Wednesday Addams

"Little did I know I'd be stepping into a nightmare full of mystery, mayhem, and murder." -Wednesday Addams

Tim Burton’s spin-off of the notorious Addams Family’s unique “...cultural icon…”, Wednesday Addams, has conquered social media with her morbid, deadpan sarcasm, updated wardrobe, intellectual perception, underestimated apathy, and Sherlock habitude shown in Wednesday (Dahl).

         This Netflix series was released on November 23 during our Thanksgiving break. Perfect timing to binge-watch this record-breaking  TV show, right? Wednesday “...had 341.2 million hours of viewing the first week of its release…” and beat “...Stranger Things 4’s 335 million hours…” (Todisco). Not only this, but Wednesday has been showered with attention on other platforms. 

It isn’t surprising though. The directors were faced with the struggle of creating a teenage version of Wednesday. The original Wednesday was an innocent-looking girl whose looks balanced the morbid humor and sarcastic comments to be more acceptable for viewers. So, in the reimagining of Wednesday, the directors included dramatic character development as the series continued. Wednesday expressed small amounts of emotion compared to her younger self. 

Another aspect that the directors tackled was adapting Wednesday’s character to a mystery and romance. The directors had to work around the idea that Wednesday was emotionless, yet could still fall in love and experience regular teenage emotion. Adding a few gruesome murders for an invested, inquisitive mind perfectly balanced Wednesday’s emotions and actions.

Obviously, the reimagining of a character decades old has to appeal to more current trends, right? The improved wardrobe especially allured teenage viewers to be more interested, which increased the amount of viewing. From her oversized black sweatshirt, new kicks, school uniform, and mystical dress, there was no possible way to rate her best outfits. Thus, I interviewed a few people to create a proper list for the end of this review. Do you agree with it?  

1. The Raven Dress

“I like the poofy shoulders, the length, the shape, and the belt pulls it all together.” -Anonymous

Coming in first is Wednesday’s new iconic dress that she wore to the Raven and performed her extravagant, unique, mimicked millions of times, out-of-the-box dance to Goo Goo Muck by The Cramps. Did you know that Jenna Ortega (Wednesday)  choreographed it herself?

2. Oversized Sweatshirt

In second place is Wednesday’s fashionable oversized sweatshirt and platform shoes. Of course- who wouldn’t want to make themselves taller so that they can look down on their foes?

3. The Original

“The graphic is very bold and the vintage look of the dress contrasts with her modern school uniform.” -Anonymous

Wednesday’s original outfit came in third. This dress in particular exhibits the difference between the old Wednesday and the new. 

4. Catsuit

“I think it was Rockin’” -Anonymous

Wednesday’s Poe Cup costume, the catsuit, had become many people’s favorite costume…including Jenna Ortega’s! 

5. Nevermores’s School Uniform

Nevermore’s school uniform is surprisingly in fifth place. The uniform resembles Wednesday’s sharp cold attitude and makes her stand out throughout the entire series considering the other student’s uniforms are blue or purple. It makes sense though,  considering that if Wednesday wore color she would “...break out into hives and the flesh [would] peel off  [her] bones.” -Wednesday Addams

Works Cited

Dahl, Danielle. “Wednesday Addams Quotes That Are Wicked and Woeful.” Everyday Power, 20 Oct. 2022, everydaypower.com/wednesday-addams-quotes/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2023.

‌

Todisco, Eric. “‘Wednesday’ on Netflix: Season 2 News & More Updates.” Hollywood Life, Hollywood Life, 6 Jan. 2023, hollywoodlife.com/feature/wednesday-netflix-4615832/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2023.

‌

“‘Wednesday’ Review: The Strange Girl Is on the Case.” The New York Times, 2023, www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/arts/television/wednesday-review.html. Accessed 29 Jan. 2023.

‌