The many adaptations of The Addams Family movies and adaptations.
One reason Wednesday’s age varies is that most TV shows and movies depicting The Addams Family's classic characters focus on Wednesday’s sadistic interest in torture and death — a comedy gold-mine with any age of fictional little girl. The daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams, Wednesday inherited her parents’ fascination with the macabre, and is notable for her dark and deadpan sardonic wit. No matter what age Wednesday Addams is, The Addams Family almost exclusively depicts her wearing a black dress and white collar with dark braided pigtails. The latest The Addams Family project is Tim Burton’s 2022 Netflix TV series Wednesday. Starring scream queen Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, the live-action show follows her time as a student at the supernatural Nevermore Academy, where she learns to hone her psychic powers to solve a supernatural mystery that affected her family 25 years ago. Wednesday Addams age in Wednesday is markedly older, so here's the age of Wednesday Addams in every version of The Addams Family.
How Old Was Wednesday In 1991's The Addams Family
Wednesday Addams was portrayed by Christina Ricci in 1991’s The Addams Family movie, at which time the actress was 10-11 years old. While 1991’s The Addams Family movie doesn’t explicitly reference the Wednesday Addams age, the screenplay confirms that the character is 10 years old. Since The Addams Family spans over the course of nearly a year (Christmas to Halloween), Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams is supposed to be about 11 years old by the time the movie ends.
How Old Was Wednesday In Addams Family Values
The 1993 baby Pubert Addams, the Wednesday Addams age is around 13-14 years old in the final scene of the sequel.
How Old Was Wednesday In The Addams Family Animated Movies
The 2019 animated movie The Addams Family also sees Wednesday Addams as the older sister of Pugsley. In this comic-accurate film, Wednesday is revealed to be in middle school, and is hinted to also be about 12 or 13 years old. While Wednesday is supposed to be a pre-teen in junior high during the first animated The Addams Family 2, in 2021. Despite being released two years later, Wednesday Addams still seems to be the same age in the sequel when she presents her project at the middle school science fair.
How Old Is Wednesday Addams In The Netflix Show
The title character is portrayed as a high school-aged teen in Tim Burton’s Wednesday. While Jenna Ortega was approximately 19 years old when filming Wednesday, the character is reportedly around 16 years old when the series begins. Wednesday is once again depicted as the older sibling of the Addams family in Tim Burton’s show, but her brother Pugsley’s exact age isn’t clear. If The Addams Family TV show has a long life on Netflix, Wednesday could finally see the character as an adult in a major adaptation.
Aging Up Wednesday For The Netflix Show Was A Good Move
Moving aside most of the Addams family to focus solely on Wednesday's journey was a bold creative decision — and it paid off. Wednesday's first season has been a huge success, with Jenna Ortega's performance as the eponymous character being a particular highlight. While the latest Addams family TV show could've gone the Harry Potter route by starting out the character as a first year at Nevermore Academy being around her original age in other properties, studios decided to start her out around 16 years old.
This was ultimately necessary for the story, which is filled with dramatic tension. Such tension couldn't be fully explored if she were younger, and the series would risk going into a Hardy Boys mystery territory. Wednesday season 1 had a compelling story that couldn't have been told if she were younger. It was full of adult drama themes, and if she was meant to be the main character of the tale she would need to be older. Therefore, it's better that the Wednesday Addams age was changed to be around 16 for the new The Addams Family TV show rather than her previous age of 11 or 12.
