Something that still lives in my head rent free, especially since "Wednesday" reignited some nostalgia, is the scene in "Addams Family Values" where Wednesday (Christina Ricci) leads outcasted campers in a revolt, as shown in the video above.
What really makes the scene memorable is Wednesday's speech about all the injustices inflicted on Native Americans by colonists, which she uses as an excuse to attack Amanda's (Mercedes McNab) Pilgrim troupe and the camp's counselors (Peter MacNicol and Christine Baranski).
Despite some obvious stereotyping, the scene interweaves some clever commentary with Wednesday's macabre sense of humor, which makes it one of the best and most memorable parts of the movie. It's also one of my favorite early acting performances from Ricci.
Despite this part of the movie taking place at a summer camp, the Thanksgiving play and the November release of "Addams Family Values" have made the movie a Thanksgiving staple on par with "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" in my family.
And the theme of poking fun at Pilgrims only continues in "Wednesday."
In the third episode of "Wednesday," titled "Friend or Woe," Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) is forced to participate in local celebrations of Jericho's Pilgrim founder Joseph Crackstone, which includes scenes of her dressed as a Pilgrim in the town's Pilgrim World tourist attraction.
Wednesday spends most of her time shirking her duties and investigating Crackstone's connection to the mystery she's been trying to solve. But at one point, she maliciously complies by serving fudge while informing German tourists of how utterly inauthentic the experience is.
This felt like a solid callback to the speech in "Addams Family Values," and it served as one of several comedic moments in the episode.
Plus, there are a number of other moments poking fun at Pilgrims or highlighting the impact of colonization throughout the series due to Crackstone's connection to the overall mystery in the show.
There are even a couple of scenes that feature Wednesday fighting bullies who work at Pilgrim World.
Both versions of the character offer moments of macabre comedy that fit right in with the Thanksgiving holiday.
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