Wednesday Kicks Off Series With Scary Pool Piranhas

The new Netflix series Wednesday, based on the beloved Addams Family franchise, has been receiving a lot of buzz since its release. A pool scene featuring piranhas dropped into a swimming pool has folks talking. The supernatural comedy horror series, stars Jenna Ortega as the titular character. Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as Morticia and Luis Guzmán plays Gomez Addams.

For those unfamiliar with the Addams Family, the franchise originally began as a series of single-panel cartoons by Charles Addams, which were published in The New Yorker in the 1930s. The Addams Family later gained widespread popularity with the release of the 1964 television series, which starred John Astin and Carolyn Jones. The series was known for its macabre humor and offbeat characters and ran for two seasons on ABC.

In the years following the original TV series, the Addams Family has been adapted into numerous films, including the 1991 blockbuster film starring Anjelica Huston as Morticia and Raul Julia as Gomez, as well as a sequel and two animated films. The new Netflix series Wednesday is a continuation of the original series.

One of the standout moments in the new series features a scene in a famous swimming pool. After Pugsley (played by Isaac Ordonez) is harassed by school bullies, Wednesday opens the series by exacting her revenge as the boys practice water polo. In this scene, she releases two bags full of piranhas. While the scene is certainly over-the-top and absurd, it is also a great example of the dark humor that the Addams Family is known for.

Scary Pool Scene Too Over The Top For Some

While we’re big fans of seeing pools in the movies and on television, this scene will reignite any irrational childhood fears you’ve ever had. Despite the fact that the act was in keeping with the Addams family’s style, some people believe the scene was too much, especially given that the show is aimed at a broad teen audience.

Feedback From Redditors:

I’d be ok with it being played for laughs or as a gratifying comeuppance for a bully if this whole thing wasn’t so one-sided. We know this wouldn’t fly if the genders were reversed, even more if the one getting revenge was a male character against a female one. I can think of very few productions where a male character brutalizes a female one as revenge for something she did,” Redditor Deadlocked02 said.

“This isn’t funny. The crime of castration is too serious to laugh about,” Redditor F-um reiterated.

“The Addams family movie involves the kids getting ready to electrocute Fester as “play”, and they give no indication that he’d survive it. They [have] always involved out-of-place extreme violence,” Reddit user BitsAndBobs304 said.

Did They Really Release Piranha Into a Swimming Pool?

You don’t have to fact-check this one on Snopes. The answer is obviously no. The entire scene was CGI and we know this for a few different reasons.

First and foremost, piranhas are highly predatory fish that are known for their sharp teeth and powerful jaws, which they use to tear apart their prey. While they are not typically aggressive towards humans, they can be dangerous if they feel threatened or provoked. Therefore, asking any of the actors to swim with piranhas, would be totally out.

In addition to the inherent danger of swimming with piranhas, there are also a number of logistical challenges that would need to be overcome in order to create such a scene in real life. For example, piranhas are native to the Amazon River basin in South America. Even if it were possible to obtain and transport piranhas to the filming location, it would be difficult to keep them contained in a swimming pool and maintain proper water quality and temperature for their survival.

Furthermore, the scene on Wednesday depicts a large number of piranhas in a relatively small pool, which would not be possible in real life due to the space and water quality requirements of the fish. In reality, a pool of this size would not be able to support a sufficient population of piranhas to create the scene as depicted in the show.

Interesting: What if You Fell Into a Pool of Piranha

Where Was The Pool Scene Filmed?

It may come as a surprise to some, but the swimming pool scene with the piranhas was actually filmed in Bucharest, Romania. The pool, Bazinul de Înot Dinamo at Universitatea Politehnica, was used as a stand-in for the fictional Nancy Reagan High School in the series.

Bazinul de Înot Dinamo, also known as the Dinamo Swimming Pool, is a popular filming location in Bucharest, Romania that has been featured in a number of notable productions. In addition to being the location of the swimming pool scene in the hit Netflix series Wednesday, Bazinul de Înot Dinamo has also been used as a filming location for the popular British spy thriller series Killing Eve.

Overall, the new Netflix series Wednesday is definitely a darker addition to the Addams Family franchise, but will surely be a hit with fans of the original series and films. The swimming pool scene with the piranhas is just one example of the bizarre and outrageous moments that have made the series popular. With that said, it still may be too violent for some younger teen viewers to watch without parental guidance, (Wednesday is rated 14+).

Photo Credits: Netflix