He isn't the loud one. While Wednesday Addams was out there delivering deadpan monologues that launched a thousand Hot Topic T-shirts, Pugsley was mostly just... there. Usually being electrocuted. Or buried. Or fed to a shark.
Jimmy Workman’s performance as Addams Family Values Pugsley is often overlooked because he plays the "straight man" to Christina Ricci’s iconic nihilism. But if you look closer at the 1993 sequel, Pugsley represents something way more grounded than his sister. He’s the physical manifestation of the family's chaos. He is the one who actually bears the brunt of the "values" the title refers to.
Honestly, he’s the heart of the movie.
The Dynamics of Addams Family Values Pugsley
In the first film, Pugsley was basically a prop for Wednesday's experiments. In Addams Family Values, the stakes get weirdly personal. The arrival of Pubert—the mustachioed infant—shatters Pugsley’s world.
It’s a classic sibling displacement arc. Except, instead of just crying about it, Pugsley tries to throw the baby off the roof. Multiple times.
There’s a specific nuance to how Workman plays these scenes. He isn't malicious in the way a slasher villain is; he’s doing it because it’s the family tradition. It’s what you do. The movie uses Pugsley to show that Addams "love" is inextricably linked to physical peril. When he’s sent away to Camp Chippewa, we see the real Pugsley. Without the safety net of his gothic mansion, he’s just a kid in a striped shirt who looks deeply confused by "The Brady Bunch."
The Camp Chippewa Torture
Gary Granger and Becky Martin-Granger are the real villains of this story. Let’s be real. Sending Addams Family Values Pugsley to a sunshine-filled summer camp is the equivalent of sending a fish to live in a desert.
The "Harmony Hut" scenes are genuinely traumatic if you think about them for more than two seconds. Pugsley is forced to watch Disney movies. He’s forced to smile. While Wednesday resists with a terrifying, frozen grin that haunts dreams to this day, Pugsley seems more susceptible to the brainwashing.
He’s the vulnerable one.
There’s a moment where he’s dressed as a turkey for the Thanksgiving play. He’s standing there, singing about being eaten, and you realize Pugsley is the ultimate team player. He will do the most embarrassing, degrading things if it means he’s part of the group. He’s the Addams who most desperately wants to belong, even if he only belongs in a family of macabre weirdos.
Jimmy Workman’s Accidental Casting
The story of how Jimmy Workman became Addams Family Values Pugsley is one of those Hollywood flukes that shouldn't have worked. He wasn't even supposed to audition. He was just waiting for his sister, Shanelle Workman, to finish her own reading.
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The casting directors saw him sitting there and realized he had the exact "look."
That "look" is key. Pugsley needs to look like a normal, suburban kid who just happens to be okay with being set on fire. If he looked too "goth," the joke wouldn't work. The humor comes from the juxtaposition of his round, innocent face and the fact that he’s holding a meat cleaver. Workman brought a certain softness to the role that Ken Weatherwax (the original Pugsley from the 60s show) didn't have as much.
In the 1993 film, Pugsley feels like a kid who is just happy to be included in Wednesday’s schemes. He’s the loyal lieutenant.
Why the Sequel Pugsley is Better
Most people agree the sequel is superior to the 1991 original. The writing is sharper, the satire is meaner, and Pugsley gets more to do. In the first film, he’s a bit of a background character. In Values, he has a clear emotional journey.
He goes from:
- Attempted fratricide.
- Emotional exile.
- Psychological torture at camp.
- Triumphant, fiery revenge.
When he finally gets to play the turkey who revolts against the pilgrims, it’s a massive payoff. He isn't just a victim of Wednesday’s whims anymore. He’s an active participant in the destruction of the status quo.
The "Values" in Pugsley’s World
The title Addams Family Values was a direct shot at the "family values" political rhetoric of the early 90s. Dan Quayle and the "Moral Majority" were pushing a very specific image of the American family.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld and screenwriter Paul Rudnick used Pugsley to deconstruct that.
Pugsley is "well-adjusted" by Addams standards. He’s healthy, he’s active, and he loves his parents. He just happens to enjoy playing with explosives. The film argues that the Addams family is actually more functional than the "normal" families at Camp Chippewa.
Pugsley and Wednesday are never lied to. They are never patronized. Morticia and Gomez treat them with a level of respect and autonomy that is unheard of in traditional parenting. When Pugsley wants to help his uncle Fester escape the clutches of Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack), he isn't told "children should be seen and not heard." He’s given the tools to help.
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He’s an empowered kid. A weird, dangerous, empowered kid.
Pugsley vs. The Modern Iterations
If you look at the recent Wednesday series on Netflix, Pugsley (played by Isaac Ordonez) is portrayed much more as a victim. He’s bullied at school. He needs Wednesday to protect him.
But the Addams Family Values Pugsley didn't need protection. He was the threat.
That shift is interesting. In the 90s, Pugsley was a co-conspirator. In the 2020s, he’s a catalyst for Wednesday’s character growth. There’s something lost in that transition. The 1993 version of the character was more anarchist. He wasn't sad about being an Addams; he was proud of it. He didn't cry in lockers. He helped his sister tie people to stakes.
Technical Craft: The Costuming of a Chaos Agent
The striped shirt is non-negotiable.
Costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge kept Pugsley in a rotation of horizontal stripes that made him look perpetually like a 1950s comic strip character. This was intentional. It grounds him in a sense of nostalgia that clashes with the dark themes of the film.
Everything about his physical presence is designed to be unassuming. He’s slightly stout, he has messy hair, and he moves with a sort of unhurried curiosity.
This makes the gags work. When he’s standing on the gallows, the visual of a "normal" looking kid in a striped shirt about to be hanged is the peak of the film’s dark humor. If he looked like a monster, it wouldn't be funny. It would just be a horror movie.
The Cultural Legacy of the Striped Shirt
Pugsley Addams has become a shorthand for the "weird brother."
But the 1993 version specifically gave us a template for how to play a sidekick without being a doormat. Jimmy Workman’s timing is actually pretty incredible. He knows exactly when to give a blank stare and when to show a glimmer of excitement at the prospect of a disaster.
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He’s the one who carries the torch—literally—for the family’s traditions.
While Wednesday is the brain, Pugsley is the hands. He builds the guillotines. He sets the fuses. He’s the engineer of the family’s destruction.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Rewatchers
If you’re going back to watch Addams Family Values anytime soon, pay attention to Pugsley in the background of scenes where he doesn't have lines.
- Watch his reactions to Gomez and Morticia’s PDA. He’s the only one who looks genuinely bored by it, whereas Wednesday looks slightly repulsed.
- Notice the props. He is almost always holding something dangerous, yet he handles it with the casualness of a kid holding a juice box.
- The Thanksgiving Play. Look at his face during the "Eat Me" song. He’s actually trying to do a good job. He’s a theater kid at heart.
The movie works because the kids are treated as people, not just accessories. Pugsley’s struggle with the new baby is a real emotional arc. His imprisonment at camp is a real trial. And his eventual return to the family fold is a real victory.
A Lesson in Character Subtlety
We live in an era of "big" acting. Everything is a meme. Everything is an over-the-top reaction.
What Jimmy Workman did as Addams Family Values Pugsley was the opposite. It was a masterclass in being unremarkable in a world of monsters. He didn't try to out-act Raul Julia or Anjelica Huston. He just existed.
And in that existence, he became the most believable part of the Addams world. He’s the proof that you don't have to be the loudest person in the room to be essential to the story. You just have to be willing to hold the match while someone else pours the gasoline.
The next time someone brings up the Addams family, don't just talk about the snaps or Wednesday's braids.
Remember the kid in the striped shirt.
He’s the one who actually makes the family work. He’s the one who reminds us that being "normal" is the biggest trap of all, and that there’s no greater joy than being exactly who you are—even if who you are is a kid who enjoys a light execution now and then.
How to appreciate the character on your next rewatch:
- Focus on the physical comedy: Notice how Pugsley uses his body to convey boredom or excitement without saying a word.
- Compare the camp scenes: Contrast Pugsley’s "trying to fit in" energy with Wednesday’s "burn it all down" energy. It shows two different ways of handling trauma.
- Check the credits: Look at the sheer number of stunt people involved in Pugsley's scenes. It’s a testament to how much physical action the character actually handles.
Pugsley isn't just a sidekick; he's the foundation of the Addams' chaotic domestic bliss. Without him, Wednesday would have no one to experiment on, and the family would be far less interesting. He is the quiet engine of the Addams Family legacy.