10 Actor Replacements That Actually Improved Movies

This is a piece of recasting subtle enough that more casual fans of the Addams Family movies might not even notice. In Barry Sonnenfeld's original 1991 film, Grandmama Addams was played by the late Judith Malina in a relatively small supporting role.

For 1993's sequel Addams Family Values, however, Sonnenfeld replaced Malina with Oscar nominee Carol Kane.

Beyond the fact that Kane was given far more memorable dialogue to work with, Kane's more expressive, over-the-top rendition of Grandmama simply left Malina's more subdued version in the dust.

Sonnenfeld has never stated publicly why he decided to recast the part, though given that Kane is a whole 26 years younger than Malina it's entirely possible he wanted an actor who could more easily bring a lively physicality and vibrancy to the part.

If you've ever seen the sequel, Kane's incredible line reading of the incantation "Luxor, nexor, burst, and burn!" - said to serial killer Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack) - is surely seared into your brain. That's surely proof enough that the recast was a smart call.