Hotel Transylvania (2012) voices Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James directed by Genndy Tartakovsky Movie Review

Hotel Transylvania (2012)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Hotel Transylvania (2012) voices Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez

A Haunted Hotel

Following the death of his wife Dracula vowed that no harm would ever come to their daughter Mavis and dedicated his life to raising her in his Hotel Transylvania, a guest house for freaks and spooks surrounded by haunted woods and graveyards to keep humans out. But after 118 years Mavis is desperate to see the big outside world whilst Dracula is all even more protective of her. But things take a surprising turn when Dracula holds a birthday party for Mavis as in amongst all the freaks is an unwelcome guest in the form of Jonathan a human back packer. This makes life a nightmare for Dracula especially when Jonathan and Mavis become close.

"Hotel Transylvania" is a curious movie as are many movies which try to turn horror into kid friendly fun as it is a combo which is a minefield. For the most "Hotel Transylvania" gets it right with plenty of visual gags from comical monsters with bulging eyes to a wise talking decapitated head. But every now and then there is a line of dialogue or visual gag which whilst entertaining for grown ups is probably a little too dark for a movie which has received a "U" certificate.

Anyway beyond that little problem well "Hotel Transylvania" is a mix of gags as Dracula not only has to deal with the Jonathan and Mavis situation but also making sure that Jonathan doesn't blab to the outside world as to what is going on whilst also hiding the fact he is human from all his hotel guests. It leads to plenty of cartoon slapstick which will be entertaining for young audiences but not too amazing for adults who find themselves watching. In fact whilst "Hotel Transylvania" is nicely animated and nicely voiced it isn't that memorable and certainly doesn't feature characters which scream out classic.

What this all boils down to is that "Hotel Transylvania" is just another animation which occasionally wanders on the wrong side of being a horror comedy for kids but for the most is full of the visual humour which children will enjoy. Unfortunately it doesn't have a great deal for grown ups which makes it pretty forgettable.


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