Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is the fourth instalment in the Hotel Transylvania series and picks up a couple of years from the last, with Dracula considering retirement and giving the title of Hotelkeeper to his young daughter. However, in fear that Jonathan, Mavis' husband, will change the hotel beyond recognition Dracula lies to his son-in-law explaining that only monsters can inherit the property. Jonathan thus seeks out Van Helsing to inquire if something could be done to make him less human. Almost four years removed from the previous entry, how does Transformania stack up among its predecessors?
Fairly well actually, although there was a lot to be worried about heading in. Considering how dismal the third film was, longtime director of the series, Genndy Tartakovsky stepping down to just write and with the departure of Kevin James and in particular Adam Sandler, I would be lying if I said that the cards were not stacked in Transformania's favour. I am happy to report though that this latest follow-up is a worthy successor and everything Summer Vacation should have been. Although the film doesn't take place in Transylvania the entire time, it doesn't feel like a total deviation as it has in the past. While basic and incredibly predictable, the story is fun and offers something new for the characters, even if the character foils are becoming rather monotonous at this point - how many times do we have to see Dracula disapproving of Johnny, at this point, there should have been more character growth. Nonetheless, Tranformania is still an entertaining watch if you're willing to turn your brain off for a bit, it's a film that I'm sure kids will love and includes enough charm and a few chuckles for the adults. It's certainly not a perfect family film, as I mentioned the story is quite clichè, but I still had a good time.
A large part of that enjoyment is thanks to the beautiful animation, once again Hotel Transylvania looks marvellous and really leans into that overly animated style the series has been come to be known for. A lot of the textures and backgrounds looked really nice in this and everything was so smooth. Another standout for me and something that has been steadily improving as the films have gone on is the voice acting. I felt everyone delivered a solid performance, however, the loss of Adam Sandler I feel did hurt the film. Despite it not being noticeable if taken on face value, paying close attention to Brian Hull's interpretation of Dracula just felt like an impression of Adam Sandler voicing that character. I was never completely sold on the new voice actor however they are large shoes to fill. Andy Samberg was great and so was Selena Gomez, even David Spade wasn't too bad in the film, it's probably their performance in the series to date.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is not a complex film by any means, but can sure be a lot of fun. It's a fitting conclusion to the decade-long series, with room to expand if the filmmakers/studio pursue another instalment. It's a movie that does live up to whats came before, even if the first two aren't anything extraordinary. I do recommend the film, especially those with a young family as I'm sure it would be an entertaining watch for all, and for that reason, I am giving Hotel Transylvania: Transformania a 6/10.
Fairly well actually, although there was a lot to be worried about heading in. Considering how dismal the third film was, longtime director of the series, Genndy Tartakovsky stepping down to just write and with the departure of Kevin James and in particular Adam Sandler, I would be lying if I said that the cards were not stacked in Transformania's favour. I am happy to report though that this latest follow-up is a worthy successor and everything Summer Vacation should have been. Although the film doesn't take place in Transylvania the entire time, it doesn't feel like a total deviation as it has in the past. While basic and incredibly predictable, the story is fun and offers something new for the characters, even if the character foils are becoming rather monotonous at this point - how many times do we have to see Dracula disapproving of Johnny, at this point, there should have been more character growth. Nonetheless, Tranformania is still an entertaining watch if you're willing to turn your brain off for a bit, it's a film that I'm sure kids will love and includes enough charm and a few chuckles for the adults. It's certainly not a perfect family film, as I mentioned the story is quite clichè, but I still had a good time.
A large part of that enjoyment is thanks to the beautiful animation, once again Hotel Transylvania looks marvellous and really leans into that overly animated style the series has been come to be known for. A lot of the textures and backgrounds looked really nice in this and everything was so smooth. Another standout for me and something that has been steadily improving as the films have gone on is the voice acting. I felt everyone delivered a solid performance, however, the loss of Adam Sandler I feel did hurt the film. Despite it not being noticeable if taken on face value, paying close attention to Brian Hull's interpretation of Dracula just felt like an impression of Adam Sandler voicing that character. I was never completely sold on the new voice actor however they are large shoes to fill. Andy Samberg was great and so was Selena Gomez, even David Spade wasn't too bad in the film, it's probably their performance in the series to date.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is not a complex film by any means, but can sure be a lot of fun. It's a fitting conclusion to the decade-long series, with room to expand if the filmmakers/studio pursue another instalment. It's a movie that does live up to whats came before, even if the first two aren't anything extraordinary. I do recommend the film, especially those with a young family as I'm sure it would be an entertaining watch for all, and for that reason, I am giving Hotel Transylvania: Transformania a 6/10.