It’s 9:35 p.m. on a Thursday when I entered the theater; it was quiet and empty, not a single seat around me was occupied. “The Addams Family 2” would have a very sparse audience tonight for its final premier.

“The Addams Family 2” is an animated 2021 sequel, which releases on Oct. 1, that follows after its 2019 predecessor, “The Addams Family.” The film was again directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan and had a returning cast: Chloë Grace Moretz (Wednesday), Oscar Isaac (Gomez), Charlize Theron (Morticia), Nick Kroll (Gordon Craven). Luciano Spinelli, who played as the voice for Pugsley, didn’t return for the sequel; instead, Javon Walter takes on the role. The sudden change in the voice took a while to get used to, but Walter’s performance fit a lot better with the character; Pugsley sounded like a young boy rather than a teenager.

The film revolves around Wednesday Addams and her struggle to fit in with her supposed family. After news is brought forward that Wednesday might not even be “an Addams,” Gomez Addams -her father- decides to take the family on a road trip across the U.S. to create familial memories and bring Wednesday closer to them.

Now, like with most modern-day “kid’s movies,” there is a twist villain; however, it’s pretty obvious who the twist villain is once you get halfway through the film.

The characters are a lot more tolerable in this film than they were in the 2019 version. It seems like each character has been toned down a little so they wouldn’t be in your face for every second of the movie. Additionally, some characters that I disliked in the 2019 film were a lot more likable in the sequel.

There’s a drastic improvement in the story in the 2021 film compared to its 2019 predecessor; maybe it’s the fact that the film takes place in multiple areas so there are more possibilities for the characters to goof off. Or maybe it’s the fact that I had little expectations for the sequel after reviewing the first film three years ago. Overall, it was average.

That doesn’t mean that the movie’s story is the best, there are still a few problems that I had with the story itself; there was more potential for the Addams family. Having an average family trip movie was not really the best way to go.

Additionally, the ending for both “The Addams Family” and “The Addams Family 2” are very similar; it’s all about accepting yourself for being different or weird. It would’ve been nice to deviate from this plot point.

Altogether, “The Addams Family 2” was a tolerable kid’s movie that has improved a lot since its predecessor. I would recommend watching it to compare how different both films are story-wise. Plus, it’s pretty entertaining at times. Hopefully, more theaters will be filled to see the film rather than empty ones.