The Addams Family readership and did not want it associated with characters who could be seen on television by just anybody. After Shawn's 1987 retirement, the characters were welcomed back to "The New Yorker". The Addams Family's first animated appearance was on the third episode of Hanna-Barbera's "The New Scooby-Doo Movies", "Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family" (a.k.a. "Wednesday is Missing"), which first aired on CBS Saturday morning, September 23, 1972. Four of the original cast (John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, and Ted Cassidy) returned for the special, which involved the Addamses in a mystery with the Scooby-Doo gang. The Addams Family characters
The Addams Family "Addams Family Reunion" to return) as Wednesday, John DeSantis as Lurch, Betty Phillips as Grandmama and Steven Fox as Thing. In the 1990s, Orion Pictures (which by then had inherited the rights to the series) developed a film version, "The Addams Family" (released on November 22, 1991). Due to the studio's financial troubles at the time, Orion sold the US rights to the film to Paramount Pictures. Upon the last film's success, a sequel followed: "Addams Family Values" (released on November 19, 1993, with worldwide distribution by Paramount). Loosened content restrictions allowed the films to use far more grotesque humor