Wednesday Fans Didn't Know Who Christina Ricci Was And It's Blowing Their Mind

Younger viewers had no idea she played Wednesday in the 1990 Addams Family movies...

By Adam Clery /

Netflix

Fans of the latest Netflix hit Wednesday are only just realising that Christina Ricci, who plays Ms. Thornhill, previously starred as the titular character in the Adamms Family movies released in the 1990s.

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While undoubtedly a generational issue (the first movie in the series, also starring Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, and Christopher Lloyd, is now over 30 years old), the sudden realisation spreading over social media since the show's release has blown the minds of a lot of viewers. While leaving others feeling incredibly old.

However, Ricci herself has already spoken about how impressed she has been with how Jenna Ortega has stepped into role and made it her own. "Jenna is incredible" she told Empire Magazine, "I saw some of the wardrobe photos before I went so I knew, and I was like, it's such a great modern take on Wednesday. It's so true tonally to the heart and soul, but it's then incredibly modern and it's great."

Praise for the show's success has fallen largely at the door of Ortega who, taking up the mantle from Ricci, has brought her own distinctive interpretation to the role of Wednesday Adamms. A legacy that she, unlike a lot of the audience, was all too aware of going into production. "I felt like I was genuinely having a panic attack when I was told [that Ricci was also part of the cast]," she revealed in the same interview. "The first time we did a scene together and she had to see me done up the way she was done up 30 years ago, it was nerve-racking."

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Despite the comparison between the two performances - and those between the show and Ricci's era of movies - the show's producers and director Tim Burton have been at pains to stress this a brand-new iteration of the franchise. While it would have been easy to tread the same boards, their goal from the start has been to go in completely different directions to both the 90s movies and 60s TV show.

Wednesday is available to stream on Netflix now

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