VFX artists compare Wednesday’s version of Thing to Thing in The Addams Family movies, explaining how Wednesday improves upon the films’ techniques.
VFX artists explain how Wednesday improved upon The Addams Family movies’ methods for bringing Thing to life. Wednesday premiered on Netflix on November 23, 2022, and quickly became one of the streamer’s most popular series. The show marked the first live-action Addams Family adaptation in over two decades and captivated audiences with its more modern take on the kooky family. Wednesday focuses primarily on Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) and her adventures at Nevermore Academy. However, the family’s loyal Thing chooses to stay with her, and the severed hand proves to be one of the prominent characters in the show.
On Corridor Crew, a group of VFX artists broke down Wednesday‘s Thing in comparison to earlier depictions of the hand. The group explained that both the 1991 movie and Wednesday actually use the same technique – a man with green screen sleeves provides an actual hand for the projects to work with. Each used a prosthesis to provide the illusion of the hand ending in a stump. However, Wednesday‘s stump was a little more sophisticated, and the show made Things’ movements very realistic while also avoiding capturing the arm’s shadow in the shot. Check out the video below:
How Wednesday Carries On The Addams Family Legacy
The fact that Wednesday utilized the same technique to recreate Thing as The Addams Family did is just one of many ways in which the show hearkens back to its history. After all, The Addams Family has been around for nearly a century, existing for decades as a comic before being translated to the big and small screens. Hence, there was a lot of history for Wednesday to pay tribute to. One way in which it pays tribute to its legacy is in the number of Addams Family Easter eggs and references Wednesday holds.
Some of the references are more obvious than others, such as a secret code in Wednesday being two finger snaps that match the iconic theme created by the 1964 Addams Family TV series or Tyler (Hunter Doohan) saying Lurch’s (Ted Cassidy) famous “You rang?” line. Other references were a little harder to detect, such as Ortega incorporating Lisa Loring’s Wednesday shuffle into her dance scene or background photos depicting Morticia’s (Carolyn Jones) wicker chair or the memorable Cousin Itt.
However, in addition to Easter eggs and similar visual effect techniques, Wednesday also carries on the Addams Family legacy by encompassing the major themes that have always surrounded the family. One of these major themes is that being different isn’t scary. Even though the Addams are always depicted as strange and kooky, they’re a very close-knit and loving family who care about doing what’s right. In Wednesday, Wednesday always goes against the status quo and especially against expectations for young women. However, her friends can accept her regardless of her differences and make an effort to understand her. Having Wednesday celebrate and normalize the Addams Family’s differences is one of the best ways it compares to earlier iterations.
Source: Corridor Crew
