This year saw the release of a trio of horror-themed
animation films: ParaNorman, Frankenweenie, and Hotel Transylvania. Produced by Sony, Hotel Transylvania is the weakest of the bunch, but it was the most
financially successful. Its strong box office run could certainly be attributed
to the glossy computer animation whereas the other films were done stop-motion.
While all three pictures dealt with themes of tolerance and death, Hotel Transylvania does so with a much
gentler hand and doesn’t go to the darker places that Frankenweenie and ParaNorman
did.
At the end of the 19th century, Count Dracula
(Adam Sandler) opens a luxurious hotel deep within the woods of Transylvania to
serve as a sanctuary for his fellow monsters. More importantly, he sees it as a
safe haven to raise his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) following the burning of
his castle and the death of his wife at the hands of an angry mob. Over a
hundred years later, Mavis is about to turn 118 and the Count is planning a
gala birthday bash with all his best friends: Frankenstein (Kevin James), the
Invisible Man (David Spade), The Mummy (Cee-Lo Green), and the Wayne the
Wolf-Man (Steve Buscemi).
An American backpacker named Jonathan (Andy Samberg)
inadvertently uncovers the secret location of Hotel Transylvania forcing
Dracula to disguise him as a long-lost cousin of Frankenstein. However,
Jonathan sparks a romance with Mavis as well as fueling her desires to finally
leave the confines of her home.
Expectations were low for Hotel Transylvania considering Sandler has fallen further into
self-parody as he slowly becomes the fictionalized version of himself in Funny People. Thoughts of That's My Boy floated in the air with
the reuniting of Sandler and Andy Samberg. A script written by Peter Baynham (Borat) and TV Funhouse's Robert Smigel brings the distasteful fart jokes you'd
come to expect from the Happy Madison camp. Somehow Hotel Transylvania manages to come together thanks to the direction
of Genndy Tartakovsky of Dexter's Lab
and Samurai Jack fame. Tartakovsky
adopts the manic pacing of a Tex Avery cartoon and brings such energy to the
picture you forget how flat a lot of the humor is. Steve Buscemi is a highlight
as a sad sack werewolf worn down by his rambunctious litter of pups.
Hotel Transylvania may
be too schmaltzy and saccharine for adults. The groan inducing song and dance
number (complete with auto-tune) at the conclusion of the film will test your
tolerance for cheese. However, the brightly colored animation and high energy
are sure to entertain younger audiences.
Rating: ** (*****)
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