Cartoonist Charles Addams created The Addams Family back in 1938, initially as a series of single-panel comics that appeared in The New Yorker magazine. Subsequently, the family have appeared on television, in films, video games and as various other merchandising opportunities. They consist of Gomez, his wife Morticia and their children Wednesday and Pugsley, plus a butler, Lurch, and various other extended family members. Their USP (1) is that they are attracted to the morbid and creepifying (2), apparently unaware that 'normal' people find such things disturbing.
Some people will know them - vaguely - from the 1960s TV series, although I can't remember the last time I saw it, and it's very easy to get them confused with The Munsters, a rather more comedic show which ran at almost exactly the same time (both began in 1964). For anyone under the age of 40, it's more likely that you first saw them in a couple of films from the 90s, The Addams Family ('91) and its sequel Addams Family Values ('93). Most recently, and of more interest to us as it relates to the Lego set under the microscope today, is the Netflix series, Wednesday, which premiered in 2022. It was a success, both with the critics and the great unwashed, leading to at least one more series, which is, as we speak, in production.
'Wednesday' is an eight-episode series, starring Jenna Ortega as the title character, which revolves around her attending Nevermore Academy (her parents' Alma Mater), a school for 'outcasts', where the pupils include vampires, werewolves, sirens and a variety of other... unconventional students. The relationship between the school and the nearby town of Jericho, which is populated by so-called 'Normies' who view the school and its inhabitants with anything from suspicion to outright hatred, underpins the storyline.
So it's not surprising that a (smallish) Wednesday theme appeared, back in October of 2024. It would be easy to say that TLG saw the success of the series and decided "We'll have some of that." but given that development timelines are not inconsiderable when it comes to creating new sets, let alone an entire theme, it is possible that they actually started work before the show was a proven hit. If they did start after they saw the ratings boom, then designing a number of sets and getting them into production in a little over 12 months is to be applauded.
In either case, whether it was a rush job, or whether it was a roll of the dice that turned out to be lucky, it would explain why we've only ended up with three sets - the Wednesday figurine that I will soon get round to looking at, Wednesday and Enid's (4) Dorm room and a pair of Brickheadz (Wednesday and Enid again). I'd be surprised if the theme didn't grow, particularly when Season 2 drops 'sometime in 2025'.
Me, I absolutely loved the show. Ortega absolutely steals it as the titular Wednesday, and with Tim Burton's fingers all over it, an excellent ensemble cast, a great soundtrack and a mystery that - a few moments excepted - holds up all the way through to the finale, it was a deserved hit. Indeed it became one of Netflix's greatest ratings winners. So enough of that. What about the set?
Set no 76780, Wednesday Addams Figure is not, on the face of it, the sort of set that I'd normally go for. Star Wars, Technic and Architecture are more my thing, but I'd got a bit of a Lego itch that needed scratching, and I'd just rewatched the series. I found myself in a Lego Store picking up the classic 1960s Batmobile and while I was there, well what do you know - Wednesday made it into the basket.
For the fact fans, we're looking at a set that costs £44.99 and has 702 pieces, giving a price per piece of 6.4p which is extraordinarily good in an age where 10p/piece is the baseline for 'reasonable'. The set consists of the figure of Wednesday, standing on a small 'Nevermore' diorama, and she can be built as either wearing her school uniform, or the none-more-gothic dress that she wears to the school dance, which was one of the iconic moments of the show and launched a million TikToks.
The base of the diorama has two drawers which can - theoretically - hold the spare parts for the outfit that you're not displaying but sadly they're not actually big enough to hold the dress pieces, so into the ziplock bag they go.
The build kicks off with a couple of accessories, Wednesday's resolutely old-school typewriter, complete with a sheet of 'WA' headed notepaper (sadly a sticker rather than a printed tile), the crystal ball given to her by her Mother, and Nero's (5) gravestone. Sitting on the typewriter is 'Thing', the disembodied hand which steals scenes in the show, right, left and centre!
These are set aside while the main platform is built, consisting of a couple of wonky gateposts - strange, given that the posts in the programme are perfectly upright, but I guess it adds character - topped off by a Nevermore Academy sign. This all sits upon the aforementioned base containing the not-very-useful drawers, and then much greebling is added, consisting mostly of black flowers, vines, leaves, candles and so forth. The bluey-grey / black colour scheme feels like it gives the correct 'vibe' as I believe young people are wont to say these day.
Then on to the young lady herself.
The 'school uniform' iteration is a considerably simpler build, consisting, as it does, of large, blocky pieces for the blazer and skirt (though the decoration is still via stickers rather than printed pieces. Getting the 'stripy' sticker on to the curved skirt element requires a steady hand). Fortunately the face element is printed which is just as well - as the focal point, get that wrong and the set is, if not ruined, then certainly spoiled. The figure is completed with jointed arms, a chunky set of boots and brick-built head and hair which does a great job of rendering Ortega's distinctive style.
To create the alternative version requires almost total deconstruction of the first build - indeed I doubt whether you'd need to buy (6) many pieces in order to have both figurines constructed at the same time. The torso is quite small and sits on a Parabolic Ring element (6018805) which allows eight sections of skirt to be hung down. As the dress has no sleeves, the arms are made from different, flesh-toned elements. The printed face element is different too. Indeed I think only the head / hair and boots are carry overs from the first build - maybe two dozen pieces in all?
Overall, I really like it, despite the fact that I wouldn't normally go for a 'figurine' style build, which I think has to be down to the appeal of the programme as much as the set itself. It's easy to display, being only 15cm x 10cm, and packs in plenty of detail. I'd be surprised if there weren't more sets added to the theme in due course.
If you haven't seen the programme, then this is unlikely to have any interest for you, if you have though, and you enjoyed it, then this comes highly recommended.
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(1) Unique Selling Point. Once you've worked for a large corporation, three-letter acronyms (TLAs) are in your blood.
(2) If this phrase does not spark instant recognition, then I urge you to watch "Firefly" as a matter of urgency, given that it is utterly brilliant. Either go to either Disney+ (if you have access) where you can stream it, or your nearest quality DVD/BluRay retailer and purchase a copy. You will not regret it. It's basically Cowboys in space, and it's one of the most quotable series' ever created. Go. Do it now.
(3) These things are ugly. Why do people buy them?
(4) Enid is Wednesday's roommate and comes from a long line of werewolves. She has brightly coloured hair, an incredibly positive outlook on life - which grates with our anti-heroine - and is absolutely adorable.
(5) Nero was a pet scorpion, which we see killed by bullies in a flashback.
(6) Or Lego to have supplied them...
