Giggster logo
Addams Family Values movie cover Movie Locations Guide

Where was Addams Family Values filmed?

1993

City Locations

Sequoia National Forest, California

Location Types

American/Forest/Camp

Location Styles

Rural/Woodland

About Addams Family Values

This 1993 cult classic and seriously spooky sequel has long been a favorite among families of all ages. Centered around the dysfunctional and non-traditional Addams family, who have a penchant for the macabre, we see what happens when the parents, Morticia (Anjelica Huston) and Gomez (Raul Julia), welcome a new baby into the family, named Pubert.

It’s safe to say that the two children, Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), don’t take too kindly to the new arrival, and their murderous intent starts to make itself known. To combat this, Morticia hires a nanny named Debbie (Joan Cusack).

However, Debbie is not what she seems. In reality, she’s a serial killer who marries rich men and kills them for their inheritance. Her next victim? The unsuspecting Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd). As the pair get closer, Wednesday starts to suspect Debbie, who convinces Morticia and Gomez that both kids would be happier at a Summer Camp.

Once they arrive at Camp Chippewa, it’s apparent that the Addams siblings do not belong in this disturbingly cheery, All-American style Summer Camp. They’re quickly singled out alongside fellow misfit, Joel (David Krumholtz), forced to participate in camp activities, and are punished by being forced to watch Disney movies. Truly terrifying.

Meanwhile, Debbie marries Fester and tries to kill him quite a few times actually, without any success. The fractured family is causing Pubert to turn rosy and blonde - a heinous and worrying thing for an Addams’. It causes Gomez to fall ill and the whole family is in peril.

Will they come together and survive? Will Wednesday be forced to perform in a Thanksgiving pageant? Will Debbie actually kill Fester? Watch Addams Family Values and find out!

Addams Family Values Locations

To create the many specific locations used throughout the movie, the Addams Family Values production team used three different sound stages all across Los Angeles. The team working on it had previously worked on notoriously tricky Bond movies and said this movie was even bigger to work on. This meant that the team could have multiple sets built and in use at one time, which is ideal for the bespoke nature of many of the Addams Family interiors.

Although they did combine two mansions in Pasadena and Palos Verde to form the Addams family mansion, they did need to boost what was already there with the sound stages. Morticia and Gomez have very particular tastes and needs!

Aside from the sound stages, much of the movie was shot around Los Angeles and up in the Sequoia National Forest. This formed the base for all the Camp Chippewa scenes, and the Addams Family Values location team actually combined two separate but established summer camps to form the full Chippewa vision. The result was the quintessential summer camp - something that juxtaposes everything that we know the Addams Family stands for - and it works beautifully!

So, what to find out where certain scenes were filmed and how you can visit them? Well, read on to find out more!

Morticia goes into labor scene in Addams Family Values

Linda Vista Seniors Complex

At the start of the film, we see the two parents, Morticia and Gomez, rushing into the hospital, about to have little baby Pubert. If you didn’t realize that this was a different kind of family before, you sure will when you hear the following calm exchange:

Gomez: “Are you in unbearable pain? My darling, is it torture?”

Morticia, feeling blissed out: “Oh yes”.

We should mention that no pain meds feature anywhere in this scene, so it is absolutely absurd and hilarious. It just shows how dark and twisted Morticia and Gomez are - in the best possible way, of course!

This scene was shot at the Linda Vista Hospital in the Pico Gardens area of Los Angeles. Now an apartment complex for seniors, you can’t really visit it unless you know someone there, but you can stroll by the building and see where Morticia and Gomez’s little bundle of joy first came into being.

The Linda Vista Seniors complex is just off the highway, so you can easily drive, but if you don’t have wheels, the number 251 and number 18 buses stop a few blocks away, so just hop off there and wander around.

Meet Pubert scene in Addams Family Values

Palos Verdes Peninsula

Once Morticia and Pubert have both been discharged from hospital, it’s time for them to meet the entire dysfunctional family. As they gather around the cradle, all the adults start to coo. Saying how charming his little mustache is - yep that’s right, a baby with a mustache.

Gomez: “He has my father’s eyes”

Morticia: “Gomez take them out of his mouth”

Definitely not the normal response to that kind of comment!

The interior of the Addams family house is a combination of two different mansions in Pasadena and Palos Verdes Peninsula, California. In order to get all the different and spooky elements of the building right, the location team had no choice but to amalgamate the different buildings.

While it’s not known where exactly on the peninsula the mansion is, the whole area is filled with beautiful houses, natural preserves and coastal views, just up the coast from Long Beach. There are plenty of bus routes out to this part of the world, or you can grab your family and drive on down for a day trip. The choice is yours!

Thanksgiving play scene in Addams Family Values

Across the Lake at Camp Tulequoia, Sequoia Lake, Sequoia National Forest

In possibly one of the most iconic scenes in the entire movie, we see the Camp Chippewa counselors and the snobby little Amanda (Mercedes McNab) get their comeuppance. During a Thanksgiving Pageant that everyone has been forced to participate in, Wednesday has the role of Pocahontas.

She stays on script - an awful, awful script - until the very end where she turns with this iconic speech:

“You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the roadsides. You will play golf and enjoy hot hors d’oeuvres. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will have stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said do not trust the pilgrims. For all these reasons I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground”

She follows through and the Native American-playing kids attack the pilgrims and set the whole camp ablaze. How’s that for rewriting history!

This part of the Camp Chippewa set was filmed across the lake at Camp Tulequoia, Sequoia Lake, Sequoia National Forest, California. It’s still a running summer camp as far as we can tell, but you can also journey down for picnics and fishing with friends or family if you’re in the area.

As it’s out in the middle of the national park, you’re going to need to drive there, so pack up the car and make a day or weekend out of it!

Lifesaving scene in Addams Family Values

Camp Tulequoia, Sequoia Lake, Sequoia National Forest

We see the opposition between Amanda and Wednesday intensify when the camp decides to run lifesaving courses. Being paired up to demonstrate, one of the girls has to be a drowning victim and the other has to save them. It’s a pretty straightforward deal. Immediately Amanda, who wants to be an actress, says, “I’m going to be the victim!”, to which Wednesday snarkily replies “All your life”.

As it turns out Wednesday can’t swim and couldn't swim all along, leaving Amanda thrashing around in the water for some time!

This scene and most of the scenes at Camp Chippewa were shot at Camp Sequoia, Sequoia Lake, Sequoia National Forest, California. This is a YMCA-run camp that’s still going strong. You can visit or sign up for a longer stay, just check when full summer camps are in session as visitation is going to be limited.

Once again, you’re going to have to drive to this Addams Family Values filming location as it’s out in the middle of the wilderness.

Honeymoon scene in Addams Family Values

CBS Studio Center in Studio City

Once Debbie and Fester tie the knot, Debbie’s true colors start to show even more. On their honeymoon in Hawaii, Fester is chilling in the bubble bath, having a lovely time, while Debbie starts playing romantic music on the boombox.

Debbie: “Would you die for me?”

Fester: “Yes”

Debbie: “Promise?”

She then proceeds to dump the boombox in the bath, electrifying Fester, but somehow, not killing him, much to Debbie’s disappointment.

For a lot of the interior scenes, including this one, the Addams Family Values production team used three different studios to bring the film to life, including CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Northwest of Los Angeles.

So named for the sheer amount of studios that call this place home, it’s the ideal spot if you need to build a lot of sets and want them all pretty close to each other. You can drive here, but the 218 bus also stops just around the corner for ease.

Airport scene in Addams Family Values

Long Beach Airport

After arriving back from Hawaii, sadly still with a very much alive body, Debbie has some thinking to do. Once she lands back home, she speaks to the funeral director she’d presumptuously organized.

Driver: “Mrs. Addams, your hearse maam. Where’s the body?”

Debbie: “He’s right there”

Quickly she has to think of another plan to kill Fester and get his inheritance - quickly! There was only so much she could take of his weirdness after all.

The airport used in this scene was Long Beach Airport which can be found at 4101 E. Donald Douglas Drive, Long Beach, California. Not too far from the Palos Verde Peninsula, you can easily hit up two Addams Family Values filming locations in one day.

Alternatively, start your trip the right way and actually fly into Long Beach airport like Fester and Debbie do in the film. There are plenty of airlines and routes going into this airport and it’s way less hectic than LAX.

If you’re already in California, there is a ton of parking out at the airport and plenty of buses that stop nearby, making it a super convenient filming location to visit.

Conclusion

So, if you’re looking for a kooky, funny, and slightly murderous family film to watch, there is no better movie than Addams Family Values to scratch that spooky itch. Save it for October times to get you in the Halloween mood, or get cozy on the couch and have a relaxing and nostalgic rewatch.

With so many amazing one-liners, a stacked cast, and a loveable band of misfits to root for, you’ll be hooked from the moment you press play. There’s a good reason that king of spooky Tim Burton is directing a Wednesday spin-off show for Netflix - these are great characters that stand the test of time, and, despite their murderous intents, many of us can identify with to some degree. So, get yourself some popcorn, get in an all-black outfit and settle in for some spooky fun.