In Home Viewings Hotel Transylvania

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Synopsis: After the tragic death of his wife at the hands of the horrible humans, Dracula (Adam Sandler) undertakes the task of protecting his daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), from a similar fate. To do so, he builds a world class resort/castle that is beyond detection of humans where he and Mavis welcome only their monstrous friends like wolfman Wayne (Steve Buscemi), Frankenstein (Kevin James), and mummy Murray (CeeLo Green). Dracula’s plans to protect Mavis go awry, however, when her 118th birthday is crashed by an unsuspecting human named Jonathan (Andy Samberg). Jonathan’s arrival brings forth in Mavis a desire to see the world and Dracula is forced to choose whether or not her safety is more important than her freedom of choice.

What I Liked: Overall, Hotel Transylvania is a decent enough family film. The artwork is solid, the plot line is sufficient, and the characters are enjoyable. Sandler brought his regular cast of buddies to the movie and they all serve their characters admirably and adult viewers could have a good time playing “Whose Voice is That” bingo as the movie progresses. Director Genndy Tartakovsky and his crew did a good job of bringing the classic Universal monsters to life in a non-threatening, market appropriate manner and keeping the plot from becoming too complex. There’s a fun energy to Hotel Transylvania that should please younger viewers and won’t make adult companions hate themselves.

What I Didn’t Like: The terms that come to mind when pondering the merits of Hotel Transylvania are as follows: “Acceptable.” “Not bad.” And, “Harmless.” That is to say, it’s very middle-of-the-row and average in just about every way. There’s nothing for an adult to love or really, REALLY enjoy about it and while it isn’t a painful experience, it’s also not one that I’m apt to sit through again. It has fun moments but I wouldn’t say it is funny and there isn’t just a whole lot for adult viewers to latch onto. While it’s unfair to hold any animated film to the standard of Pixar, even the majority of the DreamWorks features bring with them some adult-oriented humor that older viewers can latch onto. Hotel Transylvania does not and as such, I imagine if my future hypothetical child wanted to watch it multiple times, it would grow old rather quickly.

Hotel Transylvania Director: Genndy Tartakovsky Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez Rated: PG (mildly scary images, probably a couple of adult-themed jokes that I’m forgetting) Recommended For: Kids, ages 6 and up