Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   This week’s Femme Fatale Friday post is about Wednesday Addams.   I thought she was the perfect character to discuss for an October Femme Fatale Friday!   After all, who is more related to Spooky Season than Wednesday Addams?

The character of Wednesday Addams first came into being in the New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams.   Originally, none of the family had names, but each would receive names when the cartoon was picked up to be a live-action sitcom in the early 1960s.   Wednesday was given her name after a Victorian nursery rhyme, which has a line: “Wednesday’s child is full of woe.”    We see this used to perfection in the newest incarnation of Wednesday Addams, the Netflix series, with each episode having the word Woe in the title!

The 1964 iteration of Wednesday is mostly a normal little girl who just so happened to like spooky things.   She still loved playing with dolls; they just happened to have no heads and be named for famously beheaded queens.    Instead of rooting for the Princess in a story, she cried when learning the Prince had slayed a Dragon because she loved the Dragon!   This version of Wednesday was sweet and a very young girl who was the younger sister of Pugsly, as the birth order of the children changes depending on the version of the story.

Then, there were different versions in cartoon form, from guest appearances on Scooby-Doo to their own show about them.   These depictions of Wednesday were largely simply based on being a creepy young girl in a strange family, as she had been depicted previously.    But it was in the 1990s that Wednesday Addams became the iconic figure that we see her as today.   It all changed with the 1991 film and its sequel, simply titled The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values, respectively.   That is where Christina Ricci played Wednesday and took on the deadpan humor and dark sensibility that we know her for today!

Of course, there was actually a sequel to Addams Family Values, but the cast was completely changed, and the film was really not good at all.   Finally, in the 1990s, there was another live-action sitcom and another animated one.   The live-action one aptly being titled The New Addams Family.   None of these could hold a candle to the 1990s films, especially for those of us who grew up with them like myself!   But it is no surprise that the late 1990s sought to capitalize on the success of those two iconic films.

In recent years, there have been two Addams Family animated feature films.   In those, Wednesday is depicted with all of her deadpan humor of the Christina Ricci version, but with this Wednesday specifically being shown as a genius.   These films are fine for what they are, but not exactly as memorable as earlier iterations.

However, the version of Wednesday Addams that has become just as memorable as the 1990s one is in the Netflix series Wednesday!    Jenna Ortega’s turn as Wednesday is an older one, turning sixteen in the first season.   I adore her portrayal as it nicely builds upon the foundation laid by Christina Ricci.   In fact, the television show even cast Christina Ricci as a teacher in the series, which was a nice nod to lifelong Wednesday Addams fans.   I love how much this version has similarities to the 1990s iteration, as I can totally see the Ricci Wednesday growing into the Ortega Wednesday!   The series smartly chose to take a different route than the earlier iterations, focusing on Wednesday going to school at Nevermore Academy to hone her psychic abilities.   It is even better because there are also werewolves, gorgons, and sirens in attendance, leading to a very diverse set of characters!   Some standouts include Wednesday’s werewolf roommate and best friend, Enid, and the siren queen-bee, Bianca.   I am so delighted with the way this series built up Wednesday’s character and classic Addams Family lore while going in its own unique direction!

I hope you have enjoyed this short look at the evolution of Wednesday Addams.   What is your favorite iteration of her?   Do you plan to watch season two of the Netflix series?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the Ortega version of Wednesday from the iconic dance sequence.   I found the image on https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/wednesday-addams-costume-styling-ideas.

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: https://patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Further Watching

• The Addams Family (1964)
• The Addams Family (1991)
• The Addams Family Values (1993)
• The Addams Family (2019)
• The Addams Family 2 (2021)
• Wednesday (2022)