Sonnenfeld gained his first work as a director from Paramount Pictures on "The Addams Family", a box-office success released in November 1991. Its sequel, "Addams Family Values" (1993), was not as successful at the box office, but he received critical acclaim for his fourth directorial outing, "Get Shorty" (1995). Produced by Jersey Films and based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, the film won a Golden Globe for John Travolta (Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical). The film was also entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. Following Tim Burton and the Coen brothers, Sonnenfeld's films would tell stories about unusual and unorthodox people who are into the unexpected and the strange. His films would often use his trademark filmmaking techniques such as his unusual camera angles, offbeat dialogue and, in certain films, strange behavior and weird creatures.