With the recent passing of Lisa Loring, who originated the role, and the newly debuted series on Netflix, I thought I’d ask who everyone thinks played Wednesday Addams the best. To keep things simple, choices are limited to portrayals of the character as a child in live-action television and movie productions. (If you want to make a case for any of the actresses who played the character on stage or in a cartoon, or who played an adult Wednesday, feel free to do so in the comments.)
I have a feeling I already know who’s going to top this poll, but my own vote goes to Nicole Fugère. In my opinion she looked the part better than any of the others, with the possible exception of Christina Ricci, for whom I might concede a tie. But she edges out Ricci by dint of having had a lot more time to grow into the character.
I grew up watching reruns of the original show, but Christina Ricci will always be ‘my’ Wednesday (and probably for a lot of others around my age). I know I’ve seen Addams Family Reunion but I don’t remember anything specific about Wednesday in that movie. At least not off the top of my head.
Jenna Ortega is a very close second. But I’m aware I’m heavily biased because her Wednesday is so similar to Christina’s.
I like those as well. But for me they fall into the Ricci/Ortega category and it wouldn’t surprise me if the current Wednesday (both the show and the character) took some cues from those videos.
I’m guessing this is going to be a mostly generational thing because they were so spaced out. I was 11 when the Addams Family movie (with Christina) came out and 13 when Addams Family Values was released. These movies were right up my alley and big part of pop culture at the time. I’m 42 now. My guess is that most people, say, 50+ will like Lisa Loring. Those of us under 50ish will probably pick Ricci or Ortega.
I’d be curious how many people under 20 or so, have seen Christina’s Wednesday or even watched an episode of the 1964 series.
I’d also be interested to see if people, that have never seen the original run, would pick Ortega or Ricci. I think they’d be pretty close.
While overall I absolutely agree with Joey_P, I’ll actually buck the trend and vote for Ortega, even though I absolutely agree that her version is strongly influenced by Ricci (and I’m in roughly the same age category +5).
But if I’m going to be 100% honest, it’s more about Ortega’s world than the character. The various existing Addams were absolutely fun in the ‘dark fish out of water’ but didn’t ever bother to deeply explain the whys and hows of that. The new series shows a hell of a lot more existing just below the surface of the normal, and that enriches the character for me.
So Ortega wins, in that she’s an interesting Wednesday standing out in a vibrant world, while Ricci is a crisp black and white character standing in a largely bland world of pastels.
But J_P is still correct in that I don’t think Ortega’s version would exist without Ricci, so it’s a conflicted vote.
Part of me being conflicted between Ortega and Ricci is that I think Ortega did such a good job in the role. That’s, at least in part, why I was curious about an Ortega/Ricci showdown voted on by people that don’t know Loring. It makes for more of an apples to apples comparison. Otherwise it’s hard to concentrate on which actor was better without it being conflated with ‘which version Wednesday did you like the most’.
I think you’d run into a similar problem comparing the various Gomezes. They were played so differently (especially when looking at the big leap from John Astin to Raul Julia), it’s hard not to compare the characters instead of the actors.
We can (comically) poke a bunch of holes in all the below-the-surface stuff.
I was almost 30 before there was more than one Wednesday on the list so Loring is my sentimental favorite. But looked at objectively, of the three I’m familiar with, only Ricci combines both skilled acting (which Loring lacked) and age appropriateness (which Ortega lacks).
Wednesday is traditionally a little girl. Making her a teen does make her a significantly different character in my book. A morbid little girl is creepy. A morbid teen is, well, a teen.
All the TV show cast members were the best in their roles. Not that others didn’t deliver admirable performances but it’s difficult for anyone to supercede the impressions made on me as a child. George Reeves was the best Superman, nobody but Clayton Moore could ever be the Lone Ranger, and all the Batmans suck. I have to admit none of them sucked as bad as Adam West, but none of them are any good either.
I think Ortega is the best Wednesday. She really took the role and made it her own. Christina Ricci’s Wednesday isn’t bad, but it doesn’t really stand out that much to me. Ricci is faithful to both the original TV show and the original comic, and her acting is better than Lisa Loring’s, though I don’t want to be too critical since Loring really was just a child. Nicole Fugere ranks lowest on my list.
I’m kinda torn on this one. Luis Guzman is by far the closest to the original comics. When I first saw the trailers I didn’t think I would like him in the role, but after watching the series I think he did a great job. John Astin is pretty far removed from the original comics version, but his personality and portrayal are much more interesting and (IMHO) somehow still manage to capture the essence of Gomez Addams from the comics. To me, Raul Julia seems like a poor imitation of John Astin’s Gomez. Overall, Astin is my favorite.
Carolyn Jones was by far the best Morticia. None of the others even come close. Angelica Huston and Catherine Zeta-Jones both look the part but for some reason they just don’t feel right to me.
Jackie Coogan was the best Fester, though I thought Fred Armisen’s version was pretty good too, much better than any of the intervening Festers. Apparently most people who were more familiar with Armisen before Wednesday have a much worse opinion of his Fester than I do.
And let’s face it, nobody does Lurch like Ted Cassidy.
Pugsley bothers me, mostly because I think they have completely lost the plot with who Pugsley is supposed to be. The original 1964 version was closest to the comics, and while it wasn’t a bad portrayal, nothing really stood out for me either. But since then they have turned Pugsley from a devious and mischievous child into an idiotic punching bag. Pugsley shouldn’t be getting shoved into lockers where he waits helplessly for Wednesday to rescue him. Pugsley should be the one designing and building miniature Guillotines so that Wednesday can use them to decapitate her dolls.
Anyway, that’s my list. I mostly favor the 1964 series except for Ortega.
Also, FWIW, I am in my late 50s and grew up watching the 1964 TV series in reruns.
In 1978, I thought Christopher Reeve looked weird as Superman. His voice was too high-pitched, and something about his nose was just wrong. I suspect there were Kirk Alyn fans who thought George Reeves was completely wrong for the role.
Lisa Loring. Anyone that could teach Lurch to dance is all right. I still love that show, it has an air of spontaneity, and the very best actors and writers. Carolyn Jones was born to play 'Tish, she was hot!
I saw Adam West on display w/ the Batcar at a car show in New Orleans. Life had slowed down for him, he even had a bat gut. But he still the man! I think he was supposed to be stilted and a bad actor.
There isn’t actually any question about who was the best Gomez, right?
