As a little bonus, I decided to wade in where I have no experience and am probably unwelcome. I'm going to give Hollywood some advice.
No, not the kind they really need, about dropping w0keness like a red-hot coal, but about a missed creative opportunity.
I always liked the Addams Family. I liked the comics when I saw them (which wasn't often) and I really liked the old TV series. I always thought they were much better than the Munsters (which seemed like it was trying too hard). The Netflix series Wednesday is also mildly amusing.
The movies from the '90s were OK, but not great. One thing I think they screwed up on was by portraying Thing as just a severed hand. The new Netflix series fell into the same lack of creativity by copying this vision of Thing. Too bad.
In the TV series Thing had some arm attached and didn't end at the wrist. So being a severed hand just didn't work for me. I get that it required Thing to move like a spider in order to get around, which I suppose is creepy for some people, but it didn't add anything to the character. In fact, it kind of took away some of Thing's potential-- I mean, everyone can visualize a simple severed hand. Even a severed hand crawling around with a mind of its own. That movie trope has been done to death.
So I drew how I would have designed the character instead, even including a couple of possible variations.
Enjoy:
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I've only seen the trailer for the Netflix "Wednesday" series, but I wasn't very impressed by it. Although I think the original TV show was better, I like the movies with Raul Julia, and, to be honest, I didn't give the movie's portrayal of Thing as a detached hand much thought before now. Their solution seemed reasonable, but now that I've seen your suggestion I have to agree that they dropped the ball. Making Thing a cross between an arm and a snake is brilliant!
ReplyDeleteWednesday was OK. Not great, but not terrible. I am impressed by the actress' portrayal.
DeleteI would love to see my portrayal of Thing as a snake/tentacle sort of thing with a hand for a head used in a show or movie some day. (They could pay me royalties! Haha!) And, instead of any sort of permanent appendages, I could picture it growing legs or suction cups if needed for a specific task, but reabsorbing them afterward.
Yeah, I probably think too much about unimportant things (or Things). Thing and Cousin It were always my favorites. (I also sort of imagine Cousin It as a hairball with no "body" underneath, maybe just a multitude of legs and a pair of arms.)