A sarcasm of dread surrounds the series merlina spin off on the daughter of Los Locos Addams, which opens this Wednesday 23 a Netflix, with a macabre direction by Tim Burton. It is based on the reinvention of Merlina that actress Christina Ricci had done in the films of Addams family (1991 and 1993), more than in the black and white type of the original series (1964 to 1966).
This new Merlina follows Tim Burton’s dark tone to talk about adolescence in the 21st century.
The negative comments to this fiction of eight episodesstarring American-Mexican Jenna Ortega (20 years old), they weren’t so much for their mix of genres (it is a detective series for teenagers, with comedic and supernatural touches), but because it goes far beyond the foundational the Addams family.
How do some (younger) critics say that this Merlina is no longer the same as before? Is there no nostalgia worse than longing for what has never been experienced? Wasn’t he afraid? the Addams family since the 1960s he has worked on the terrors and monsters of his time – with unforgettable gags – and these illustrious family monsters have survived in multiple adaptations, animations, musicals and video games. Every era has its Locos Addams.
With Burton’s imprint on every scene
The dark expert pulse by director Tim Burton nods to iconic teen detective Nancy Drew (little known in Argentina) and the aura of witchcraft and monsters of Sabrina’s hidden world (another Netflix hit), among other coordinates, to touch two dark themes of adolescence: the arduous sexual awakening and the search for one’s identity.
Aren’t those who call themselves “normal” and therefore attack others the real monsters? Diversity and multiple respect are Burtonian flags in Merlina by Jenna Ortega. He is called Wednesday, Her original name, from her mother Morticia’s favorite lullaby: “And one gloomy day Merlina Addams was born”.
Some will be fascinated by the calculated mix of styles in Merlina: she is sadistic and perverseYes, but with moral reasons to analyze. Others will belittle some corny dialogue from the series. But here she commands the cast: Jenna Ortega already had a long resume in and out of terror before starring in films scream 5 Y Study 666or in sharp x (all three this year).
He was also part of the controversial series you and the famous youth version of Joan the Virgin.
A dream team of actors
Joining Ortega are Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams; Louis Guzman like Homer Addams; Star of the Game of Thrones gwendoline christie such as Larissa Weems (she is the director of the “Nunca Más” Academy); Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin; Fred Armisen as Uncle Lucas and Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair: Merlina’s frustrated roommate.
Y hideous bad guys in full puberty.
Beyond what is already known Crazy AddamsWhat is the key conflict in Burton’s Merlina? The showrunner and screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar try to challenge this generation Z.
To Merlina They expel her from school after she almost kills those who bullied her with piranhas to his brother Pericles (Isaac Ordonez). To make matters worse, she feels misunderstood due to her dark, psychic powers.
There is no white popcorn in this school
Then they enroll her in the “Nunca Más” Academy (allusion to the word never againof the fearsome poem The crowof 1845, by Edgar Allan Poe), specializing in monsters, freaks and weirdos (other subjects heavily drawn from Tim Burton and even The X-Men). It’s just the school they went to her parents, Morticia and Homer.
There study the strange metaphorically and literally: students are aspiring werewolves, vampires, mermaids and gorgons, for fear of the “normis” outside. Merlina is a little exasperated by her roommate (roommate) Enid Sinclair, a werewolf who has trouble possessing her wish.
They will become rivals with the group led by the African American siren Bianca Barclay (Jon Sunday). So far, one Ugly duckling with magic and horrors seen many times. But there’s more.
At 6’2″, Gwendoline Christie is perfect as director Larissa Weems. In game of Thrones She played Brienne of Tarth, the noble swordswoman treated like a monster by almost everyone. In merlin It doesn’t have his moral depth: the headmistress buys cynical favors and falls short when a monster is suspected of killing a student in the nearby woods.
All of this will be the kick-back to a murder involving the Addams parents themselves, twenty-five years ago. Who should solve the case? Who is the unknown monster?
Merlina Addams will chase puzzles, clues and secrets throw dark light on the factsgrappling with possible love and reinforcing their Mexican family ancestry (the Addamses revere Day of the Dead), in this “Latin” twist on the characters cartoonist Charles Addams had created for the magazine New Yorker.
The ageless nostalgic They will say that this Merlina is not “canonical” as actress Carolyn Jones in the 1960s series. Others will proclaim that Christina Ricci’s Merlina was more powerful on a dramatic and humorous level (and that Ricci has a role in this Merlina).
There will even be those who will compare it – with joy or anger – to the young Victorian detective Enola Holmes from Millie Bobby Brown (also from Netflix).
Does this Merlina have a life of its own beyond the countless references? There is no denying this this new daughter of the Addams family has many clever componentssuch as his love of the cello and his literary and cinematic allusions, among other surprises.
And where is Fingers? Here, with the seams, the faceless character returns (played by the magician Victor Dorobantu) with thick stitches, like Merlina’s restless companion in her investigations. Y Uncle Lucas will cause certain smilesalthough others say it looks nothing like the Jackie Coogan original or the one from the 90s movies, which embodied Christopher Lloyd.
another advantage of merlin brand Netflix is on the lugubrious soundtrack of Danny Elfman, Tim Burton’s legendary collaborator. Already from these sonorous brushstrokes, and from the general line, This recreation of the dark teenager with mortuary skin and black pigtails deserves a shot..
If even so the series fails to sell and the mystery weakens, there will be more sarcasm and terror in the season that is sure to come. To snap your fingers, hum along and enjoy.
Source: Clarin
