Hotel Transylvania (2012) User Reviews

Count me among those who thought the movie was surprisingly good

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 27 October 2012]

After reading reviews that either disliked or were indifferent to Hotel Transylvania and being dubious because Adam Sandler(who has been in a lot of really bad movies recently) was in the lead role, I was unsure of whether to see the film. But my love for animation and the appetising trailer over-rode my doubts and I saw it anyway. And you know what, while The Pirates and ParaNorman were better animated movies from this year in my opinion I found Hotel Transylvania much better than expected. More could have been done with the relationship between Jonathan and Mavis, it is a romantic angle that has been used many times before and as well as feeling somewhat under-baked very little new was done with it. While a vast majority of the film is fast-paced with no real dull spots, some parts of the film did feel rushed. On the other point of view, the animation is excellent, the backgrounds are both beautiful and Gothic and that is the same with the colours. The characters are well-modelled. The soundtrack is catchy and upbeat, though some of the songs could have been more than just snippets. The writing is zany and often witty with a surprising amount of heart also.

The story is predictable, but not dull. It has a number of great moments, the genre references are not as inspired as they were in ParaNorman but they are fun to spot, and I loved a lot of the slapstick-in-style gags. Especially the zombie Beethoven, the scream cheese Hors-D'Oeuvres, the shrunken heads do not disturb tags and the digs at Twilight(much more fulfilling than any of the movies combined). But it does have a lot of heart. Is the over-protective father idea clichéd? Of course. But I did find it genuinely touching instead of overly-exaggerated as I have seen described. Dracula's past is also shown in a darkly emotional way. The characters are not the most memorable I have ever seen, but they do have their likability, my favourite here was Dracula. And the voice acting was surprisingly great, to me from a non-fan who has liked him in some movies(Punch Drunk Love, Reign Over Me, Spanglish and Happy Gilmore) and hated him in others(Jack and Jill, Going Overboard, Zookeeper and Mr Deeds) Adam Sandler gives one of his better performances of late in the role of Dracula, he is actually funny as well as emotive in alternative to irritating. Selena Gomez is endearing as daughter Mavis and Adam Samberg brings some heroism to Jonathan. Kevin James, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, Fran Drescher and especially Steve Buscemi give solid support. In conclusion, surprisingly good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Classic characters lovingly re-imagined with rubbery animation.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 6/10 · 20 March 2018]

The standard themes of familial acceptance, 'leaving the nest' and putting the needs of others above those of your own are told surprisingly well through suitably rubbery animation, ostensibly ham-fisted voice-work and lovably re-crafted classic characters. 'Hotel Transylvania (2012)' is generally generic but consistently pretty fun, and at times actually funny, to the point where I don't mind the fact I've essentially seen it all before. It's clearly Adam Sandler's best work for quite a bit. 6/10

Solid Family Entertainment

[drew_atreides · 7/10 · 8 October 2012]

..took my family to see this one today, 6 year old son, 3 year old daughter..

Both of them really enjoyed the experience, though to be honest i think my daughter connected with the movie more because of the plight of Dracula's young daughter being the focal point of the story. That really surprised me!

Any horror fan with kids will get a real kick out of this one. And even non-horror fans should find the story cute. Sandler and company really pull it together for this one, after their last couple of films were less then stellar.

Definitely a pleasant surprise, and good fun for the whole family.

Very enjoyable experience

[nightbiker-1 · 10/10 · 28 September 2012]

I gave this a complete 10 because both the wife and I (as well as the other movie-goers -going by their reactions) thoroughly enjoyed it from the beginning to the very end.

Was it predictable? Of course. Its an animation geared towards children (what would you expect?) -but like most of the animation movies of today, there were quite a few 'hidden humor' spots as well which would be completely missed by the younger audience (not unexpected since it is the adults, after all, who are forking over the bread and it doesn't hurt to keep THEM entertained as well). The movie is fairly fast-paced and the animation well done. I'm usually a little apprehensive when I've harbored good expectations from a movie based on clips/previews, but in this case I felt it truly delivered. This one will be added to our library when it (eventually) hits the shelves. Too many people look for a great amount of depth and unpredictability in animation movies -but THAT is a bit unrealistic (no pun intended) -think about it: These things USED to be called CARTOON MOVIES for a reason. They weren't intended to fit that kind of expectation. They ARE intended to be fun -and this movie is just that: FUN.

Let the child in you enjoy this adventure

[jancr57 · 8/10 · 28 September 2012]

Cute movie. Has a couple of great messages -- especially one about prejudices. There are some adult jokes, some childish jokes, lots of laugh out loud moments but most importantly the following messages: Hatred against those we don't know is wrong; Let yourself get to know a person before deciding whether they are good or not; and go along for the ride and let yourself enjoy life.

I also love the fact that this is a Dad raising his child situation. There are really few movies that show a Dad can step up and do the right thing for their children if given the chance.

While I didn't particularly care for the fart joke or some of the childish parts the kids in the theater laughed and laughed.

Well done!

One of the best (funniest) animations I've seen in years!

[eshghefilm · 9/10 · 29 September 2012]

I went to see Hotel Transylvania last night in a small group of adults aged 24-30 and I LMAO as did the others. The theater was packed with little children who mostly laughed at not really funny parts and adults who laughed when the children were quite silent. The story is about Count Dracule trying to raise his only child safe and sound away from terrifying humans and invites all the monsters to his hotel to relax and celebrate his very young daughter's 118th birthday which is accompanied by a surprise visitor!

This is a really funny movie with a simple predictable story line and tons of characters that you will love. My favorites were the zombies who were the hotel staff and it took them forever to finish a task. I recommend this movie to anyone who like monsters ( so afraid of a little boy licking ice-cream)and want to have a good laugh and take a break from Disney.

It looked like a winner

[Mr-Fusion · 5/10 · 29 September 2015]

It was the recent ad campaign for the sequel that brought "Hotel Transylvania" to my attention (much to the delight of my five-year-old), but the movie never really gets above "eh". It has the usual stale kids' movie humor of recent years, complete with de rigeur auto-tuned musical numbers. For this level of spastic comedy, I was hoping for more laughs, and it's a fairly blah selection of voice talent for the cast. Mostly, it's short on laughs and feels long at just 90 minutes. On the bright side, there's an upward-surge when they finally venture outside the hotel walls (finally giving Buscemi some much-needed spotlight).

My kid liked it, so the movie's got that going for it. But for entertainment that offers multi-generational appeal, I'll have to look elsewhere.

5/10

Sucking the blood out of animated movies?

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 9 May 2013]

Not really. But not giving it new life either! Now that we have cleared the puns (you may come up with some of your own, if you like), let's get to the meat of things ... Alright almost cleared. But while I do have fun writing the review, I wish I had more fun watching the actual movie. Now I know this is meant to appeal to children (though there are a few scenes, that are borderline to say the least, if shown to the little ones), but that doesn't mean it has to be stupid. Pixar set a high standard of course, but other studios have followed and there have been quite a few entertaining fun animated movies.

While this isn't DOA (or undead to stay with the theme), it clearly lacks heart. This pun was not planned, but it is in tune with the jokes of the movie. Most seem not planned and just ridiculous. Does that mean you won't have fun watching this? No, you might even have more fun with this than I had with ParaNorman (a far superior movie, though not perfect either). As the rating shows on IMDb, many loved the movie and I hope you do too. I'm just telling you to not raise the stake here ...

Monsters Going Wild

[billygoat1071 · 8/10 · 12 October 2012]

Hotel Transylvania has a simple concept: classic campy monsters staying in a hotel where humans are not allowed because they think we're evil. It doesn't sound too fresh but it looks fun. Behind this concept is a father-daughter-relationship that seems to follow the footsteps of other great recent animated films. The result is, it's not getting there yet but it's still as delightful as it's suppose to be. It's one of those films that it's so crazy, you'll instantly like it. Most of the gags are clever and ridiculous. Overall, it's an endless fun entertainment.

Though, the film sometimes feels like a mediocre animated kids film. Generic family film elements are there but they are used in a different way. There is often slapstick and toilet humor but the gags are best when it's outrageously absurd. Every set pieces are swift, quirky, and exciting. The voices of the characters sound silly at glance but the actors made them pretty likable.

When the craziness slows down, there's a sweet bit of Dracula's relationship between Mavis and Jonathan, and some brooding. The drama is a little effective. It's not as strong as most recent animated films. It's more focused at being fun and hilarious. It's great when it stays to the roots of a cartoon like showing peculiar looking characters acting like lunatics. The best laughs are when the monsters are expressing their misanthropy in a ludicrously paranoid way, and when they're just making fun of each other. Mainstream pop culture song numbers kind of tone things down, but the song number at the end didn't affect the breathtaking and emotional climax.

Hotel Transylvania is good enough for the whole family even though it's raucous. Fans of the animation genre would enjoy this a lot more. Since it's directed by a cartoon expert, it contains a lot of absurd and exciting scenes that is similar to his shows. Although, some might expect something more since many animated films these days are deeper and powerful, leaving the old habits behind. Hotel Transylvania still has the heart but it's just not as compelling as the others. If you're in for the joys then this will give you a good time. My rating may be too high, but this my thing. I always enjoy this kind of animation.

I Loved this Animation

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 20 January 2013]

In 1895, Dracula builds a resort in Transylvania, hidden from the humans, to raise his beloved daughter Mavis in a safe environment. In the present days, the place is the Hotel Transylvania, where monsters bring their families to spend vacation far from the frightening humans.

Dracula invites his friends – Frankenstein and his wife Eunice; Wayne and Wanda, the werewolves; Griffin, the invisible man; Murray, the mummy; the Bigfoot, among others – to celebrate the 118th birthday of Mavis. When the party is ready to start, the 21-year-old Jonathan is walking through the forest and stumbles at the hotel. Dracula sees Jonathan and disguises him as a monster to hide Jonathan from his guests. But Mavis also sees Jonathan and Dracula forces him to pose of a monster. Soon Mavis believes that Jonathan is the "zing" of her life despite the advices of her father about the humans.

"Hotel Transylvania" is a delightful animation and a wonderful family entertaining for adults and children. The plot has a great message against prejudice and racism and the funny story made me laugh a lot with the gags. Dracula and his friends are certainly among the loveliest monsters of the cinema with "The Munsters" and "The Adams Family". My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Hotel Transilvânia" ("Hotel Transylvania")

Far exceeded my expectations!

[cal-acadia · 8/10 · 19 October 2012]

I went into this movie really with no expectations. I had only seen a few fragments of commercials and got nothing at all interesting from them. So, WOW, was I surprised and impressed when I saw it!! The movie was a creative story, quick moving action, funny, heartwarming, visually interesting and sometimes surprising - this film had a lot of great things going on, and I found myself really engaged and far more interested in the characters than I would have guessed. Sure, there were a few "as if" moments, but for the most part I found it to be fun, funny, and a film I heartily recommend! Kudos to the writers, voice actors and animators.... With a youngster in my home, I'm sure we'll be seeing this again soon.

Funny and moving.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 4 November 2018]

It's one of those guilty films I've watched with the kids, but secretly enjoyed as much, if not more then they did. The animation is fantastic, the voice overs terrific, but it's the humour that still stands out, it is so wonderfully funny. It has a nice message too, one hopefully kids can see and accept. Count Dracula has never ever been so cool. Classic Halloween choice. 9/10

Adorable Family Film

[anastasiyaxox · 8/10 · 8 October 2012]

The, I think, is a movie that is fun for the whole family. Youngsters will like the characters, the older children will enjoy the jokes and plot, and the adults will likely enjoy the movie as well, being able to catch on to the more "adult" funny references and a story about a father-daughter relationship that can be appreciated.

The movie is fairly fast paced, but most cartoons are, especially ones that are just 91 minutes long. If you're planning to take your 3 year old to appreciate the plot, connect with the characters, and understand the meaning of family and love... that's not happening... it is a children's movie but it's not Sesame Street.

My husband and I took our 2 1/2 year old because it seemed like a cute movie to watch. It was. Our son sat through the entire movie and danced with the music, etc. We enjoyed it as well.

Was it EXTRAORDINARY? No. Was it a good, fun family film? Yes.

I would recommend it. If you're unsure about paying for a ticket at the theater, you can always wait for the DVD to come out.

And I Thought The Monster Squad was Childish

[Cineanalyst · 4/10 · 10 July 2018]

I'm sure plenty of children and families adore "Hotel Transylvania," but not every animated kiddie movie is without intelligence, so I'm not going to cut it any slack. Another animated monster kids movie, Pixar's "Monster's, Inc." (2001), for instance, is kind of clever in its use of doors to multiple universes. And, although not animated, "The Monster Squad" (1987) manages to pay homage to classic monster movies and remain charming despite some childish humor. "Hotel Transylvania" features many of the same monsters as that film and more, including Dracula and his daughter, Frankenstein and his bride, werewolves, mummies, an invisible man, a gillman and Quasimodo, but they've basically nothing to do with their sources in novels or prior movies. They're more akin to the monster cereals, such as Count Chocula and Frenken Berry--mere caricatures, overly sweet and not very good for you.

In "Hotel Transylvania," Dracula has clipped the wings, so to speak, of his bat daughter, but he must learn to allow her to fly the coop. He also runs a hotel for monsters. The Dracula of "Nocturna" (1979) did the same thing, the film also had plenty of music like this one (except it was disco), and Dracula's daughter fell in love with a human. The similarities stop there, though, since "Nocturna" also had gratuitous nudity and an old Dracula complaining about how his reproductive organs don't work as well anymore (although, here, the Invisible Man defends the size of his in one pool-side gag). "Hotel Transylvania," on the other hand, has Count-less butt jokes, including a fart that's let on fire. I'm not sure which is worse, but I know fire is bad.

There's a joke at the expense of the "Twilight" series, where Dracula sardonically remarks, "This is how we're represented." Right back at you, Count Chocula; "Hotel Transylvania" isn't fang-tastic, either. Nor had I ever heard Dracula say "blah blah blah," and I've seen well over 50 Dracula movies since reading Bram Stoker's novel. Perhaps, the worst caricature of all, though, is Quasimodo as the hotel chef. Why is he a chef? Because he's French, I guess. That's racist. Anyways, the movie wraps up like a bad rom-com but replaces the father for the girl or boy chasing down the other for a grand romantic gesture. It's kind of like "The Wedding Singer" (1998) and with the same actor.

Another quibble I have with this movie is that when they list off Dracula's vulnerabilities--sunlight, garlic, stakes to the heart--they don't mention crosses. I get that they threw out all of the sex and violence from Dracula--even though that was most of Stoker's book--it's a kid's movie, after all. But the religion? I think that was a shrewd commercial move to avoid offending any audience, except for maybe cranky old Dracula buffs like me. But, they've made millions of dollars off this franchise and, as of this writing, about to release the third movie installment, so they know what they're doing. I don't have to like it, though.

(Mirror Note: No mirror shots in this Dracula movie, either.)

Some jokes are forced, but an overall enjoyable film!

[joe-is-sexy · 7/10 · 3 November 2012]

Hotel Transylvania stars: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James and David Spade. It goes for approximately 90 minutes. It fails to deliver GREAT 3D moments although some could be classified as 'GOOD'.

The first half of the movie is what is called 'Jokes Are Failing' Syndrome. Although they do crack in a couple of good laughs in the first half, majority don't live up to expectations that animations nowadays do. Too many slapstick moments and unnecessary forced jokes... NOTE TO FILM-MAKERS: If jokes are forced... Don't even bother with the joke!

The movie has heart though, which kind of makes for it's first half. The second half however is fun, cool, funny and surprisingly a bit thrilling! It does have it's fun moments... I will admit. Although some of the 3D doesn't work I still found it to be a good animation... Is it the best animation of the year? NO WAY! But is it great as an animation? No, not really it is what I call 'A good animation if you just let your mind do nothing!' A B from me.

Great animated movie with all the classic movie monsters...

[paul_haakonsen · 8/10 · 8 January 2013]

"Hotel Transylvania" really surprised me in a good way. I was a little bit concerned about taking all the classic movie monsters and put them together in an animated movie. But this really turned out to be a great experience.

The animation is really great and the characters are so unique and memorable, and they have just the right amount of Tim Burton-touch to them without being too much copies of his usual style of art. There is a lot of great details to the characters and they all really have their own personalities and characteristics. But not only the characters were amazingly detailed, the scenery, settings and surroundings were also nicely fleshed out and brought to life on the screen.

As for the story, well then director Genndy Tartakovsky managed to put a great story together and execute it nicely on the screen. You are instantly sucked in and drawn deep into the storyline and bond with many of the characters.

The story itself is about Count Dracula who is running a hotel in the middle of a dark, scary and haunted forest; a hotel for monsters only. However, a human appears on the threshold of the monster hotel one day. And as if a human visitor wasn't enough for the count to deal with, then his daughter was also coming of age and was showing an alarming interest in the world outside the hotel; the world of the living.

"Hotel Transylvania" has a pretty impressive list of people on the cast list, and they are doing really good jobs with the voice acting. Personally, I really enjoyed Steve Buscemi (as Wayne), Kevin James (as Frankenstein) and Fran Drescher (as Eunice). But the rest of the cast were also doing great jobs.

"Hotel Transylvania" is a nice animated movie that is enjoyable for both youngsters and us older people as well. I enjoyed it because it had a funny story, was stuffed with great animation and it had that semi-goth feel to it and dealt with all the movie monsters that I grew up with and loved then and love today as well.

Good idea, but not executed very well

[bazmitch23 · 2/10 · 22 March 2013]

My friend and I wanted to go see this for Halloween. We liked the idea of a hotel for monsters. We both hated it. The characters moved in very OTT way and it was distracting. Every shot was a close up on someone's face, I just wanted to push them away from the camera. The jokes weren't funny, it has the typical Adam Sandler toilet jokes that just make me groan. Jonathon was REALLY annoying. He was this films' Jar Jar. But worst of all we have the "Liar Revealed" cliché. Dracula pretends this human is a monster, they keep the lie up, at the end everyone finds out, they banish the human but then they realize they liked human so they want him back before he gets home.

We've seen this MILLIONS OF TIMES!

However, there were a few things I liked about it; the flying tables scene was very creative. It was like a Terry Gilliam scene, Steve Bucemi's wolfman was funny and there were a few good gags. The animation was nice and Mavis was cute in a very goth way.

I hated it, but I'll give it a 4 for at least trying.

A very un-unique animation which is still surprisingly good in its own way

[illbebackreviews · 6/10 · 22 February 2013]

When 'Hotel Transylvania' first came out, I had absolutely no intention of seeing it for two reasons: Adam Sandler and vampires. I thought a comedy about Dracula would be boring. This movie isn't that bad but at the same time isn't that funny In this movie, we have Count Dracula who has organized a building called Hotel Transylvania to keep his fellow monsters safe from the evil humans. Now, doesn't that sound familiar? From a Pixar movie? MONSTERS INC! One day, a human accidentally ventures into the monster world...Hmm...Still familiar and meets Dracula's daughter, Mavis voiced by Selena Gomez and falls in love...Still remind me of the Sully and Boo relationship as well as segments of Twilight.

I'll start off by saying that voice acting is brilliant. Adam Sandler really was great as Count Dracula, Adam Samberg was great as Johnny and Kevin James was a great Frankenstein. Selena Gomez also did a great job. The story however isn't anything special by any means. Too much of the story is from Monsters Inc but there are parts of Twilight in this movie which I love as a lot of it is indirectly mocking that god-awful series. The characters are funny but by no means any memorable. The dialogue is actually the movie's greatest strength. It really is hilarious in so many ways. There are so many one liners and Johnny's line "Wow man! Your Dracula impression is way over the top!" is simply hilarious as is the woman with the annoying voice saying to the monster in the kitchen "Your voice is annoying" If it weren't for the dialogue, this movie could so easily be horrible. The visual animations in the movie are stunning with each scene being carefully visualised and is truly a treat for the eye.

The film's main problem is its very close resemblance to Monsters Inc which makes the movie nothing unique. However, the mocking of Twilight is handled very well, the animations are superb, the characters and voice acting are done well and is well directed but a bit rushed at certain points during the film. The film could also have been a good ten minutes shorter and we wouldn't have missed anything funny or special. Overall, a good animation movie which isn't unique but funny

Meltingpot of celebrity monsters meets human Amurican

[perica-43151 · 5/10 · 8 December 2020]

The movie, mostly for kids, is quite lame. But it redeems itself a bit in the second half where roles are somewhat reversed. However, it does not have much to offer, except maybe for little kids. Still, it is not the worst cartoon there is.

Obnoxious dude-isms

[chaos-rampant · 15 January 2013]

I don't know if Sandler helped sink this by mere association or what. The humor is broad. The message against prejudice is as heavyhanded as in Brave, but simply blurted out to us. The computer animation is typical, nothing to see—both horror-themed stop motion films of this year trump it with ease. The horror sketchbook feel is much better captured in Frankenweenie, by a filmmaker who actually loves the stuff. ParaNorman has the fancy characters and dazzle for the kids, but offers us a richer, more visual experience on the same subject.

By contrast to those other films that show creators immersed in at least some aspect of their work, this gives the feel of a mass-marketed product—never more obvious than in the songs performed, ranging from punk rock to club music.

The logic here is something for everyone.

Quite Funny

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 25 April 2016]

Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count's teen-aged daughter.

As far as plots go, this one is pretty simple and not all that deep or clever. The characters are also not that deep. Often, this will take away from a film (or completely ruin it, like it did for "The Good Dinosaur"). But this was also a very funny movie, and that more than made up for it.

I confess that I was hesitant about it being a film coming out of the "Adam Sandler camp". It seems Sandler has more misses than hits these days, but this was clearly a hit. Funny for both adults and children, great use of characters to drive the humor home. I wasn't super-crazy about Andy Samberg's character (who sounded like Steve Zahn), but it wasn't a deal-breaker.

It's good but nothing too memorable

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 8 August 2013]

Dracula (Adam Sandler) opens a hotel for only monsters serving as an oasis away from the humans. His daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) has grown up in the hotel for 118 years not knowing any humans other than the unreal scary stories told by her father. She is still itching to go out and explore the human world. One day, human backpacker Jonathan (Andy Samberg) stumbles onto the hotel throwing Dracula's world upside down.

It's good to see people other than Pixar doing good animation. This one has a good story to serve as a solid base. The monsters have real humanity. The ending is somewhat undramatic. The singalong number at the end flattens any climax it had. It's unlikely they created any breakthrought characters that could lead to a sequel but it's still a good movie.

Good Monsters

[Michael_Elliott · 2 February 2013]

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

*** (out of 4)

Nice animated film about Dracula growing protective of his new daughter so he creates Hotel Transylvania in hopes that she will always stay there and never enter the "real world" with humans. This location would also be the perfect getaway for other monsters but on her 118th birthday, the daughter decides she wants to experience a new type of life and she gets her chance when a teenage boy sneaks into the hotel. It seems like most people went into this movie not expecting much but it really turned out to be pretty good and especially if you're a fan of monster movies. I think kids are really going to enjoy everything going on but there's also a lot of stuff for adults including some terrific winks to previous monster movies like BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE INVISIBLE MAN. What I liked most about this film were all the monsters because there's so much imagination going on inside the hotel. I thought the big guys like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the mummy and the various werewolves were all very fun but even the smaller characters were a blast. Just check out the brain that gets stepped on by the teenager. Another plus is that the vocal work is extremely good with Adam Sandler leading the way as Dracula but we also get nice work from Fran Drescher, Kevin James, Selena Gomex, Andy Samberg, Steve Buscemi and David Spade. The animation is top-notch throughout as the entire look of the sets are very good. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA has a few flaws along the way but for the most part it's entertaining and well worth watching.

Great voice acting and visual effects save this otherwise average animated adventure

[LoneWolfAndCub · 5/10 · 1 October 2012]

Although I am only 21 I feel I am too old when watching these new children's animated films. What looked like a fun, entertaining movie ended up being disjointed, manic and sentimental. It's like all the kids these days have ADD and can't concentrate on a well-told story so the filmmakers feel the need to have almost no pause in the action and just go from scene to scene with no breather, inserting pop-culture references everywhere. Even my eight year old cousin who I took to see this said the movie felt "like it went faster than other movies."

The voice cast is excellent, with Adam Sandler, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Andy Samberg and Kevin James lending their talents. Visually the film is quite stunning, with vibrant colours and hideous monsters sure to scare the kiddies. In terms of the 3D I wasn't really impressed but I haven't been impressed with any 3D movie as I find it adds next to nothing to the experience but hey, the children seem to love it and it brings in more money so I'm sure it's here to stay.

So why does this animated kids' film fail to come together? Bursts of manic pacing steamroll over most of the wit in the story, and by the end the whole movie is bogged down by parental mush about trusting one's kid to make her own discoveries. It really is a shame that this was just average, but hey, you could do worse these days.

2½/5

A fun animation set in a hotel for monsters who fear humans

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 8 July 2019]

This film opens in 1895 as Dracula is planning to open a luxury hotel where monsters can stay free from the fear that human mobs will burn then, stake them or otherwise harm them... it also means his baby daughter, Mavis, will never have to see a dreaded human. The action then moves forward to the present day and Dracula is about to throw a hundred and eighteenth birthday party for Mavis. She is keen to see more of the world but Dracula has plans to make her change her mind. Then things go wrong... just as the guests arrive a human turns up. He is Jonathan Loughran, a twenty one year old backpacker. Dracula quickly disguises him as a monster so other guests won't think the hotel is unsafe... that is the least of his worries though; Mavis likes him!

There were elements of this film I really liked; the central characters; particularly Dracula, Mavis and Johnathan are a lot of fun. Similarly I liked the child-friendly portrayal of classic horror characters; Dracula, Frankenstein (actually the monster not the scientist), the Mummy and the Werewolf... along with their families. There were plenty of laughs to be had; even if some were a little crude for my tastes. The animation was very impressive even when watched on a small television although it is clear that many shots were designed to make use of 3D in the cinema version. The character designs are good and the voice cast do a fine job bringing them to life. Overall I'd say this is a fun film for fans of computer generated animation... it's not up with Disney/Pixar but it passed the time nicely.