PLOT: After losing his wife to a vicious human mob, Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) starts HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, a refuge for holidaying monsters. On his daughter Mavis' (Selena Gomez) 118th birthday, Dracula invites his pals Frankenstein (Kevin James), The Wolfman (Steve Buscemi), Murray the Mummy (CeeLo Green), and Griffith the invisible man (David Spade) to come party- but when a human backpacker Jonathan (Andy Samberg) arrives, and sparks fly between him and Mavis, Drac's hotel is put in jeopardy.
REVIEW: There's no mistaking that HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA is strictly kiddie fare. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (THE CLONE WARS, SAMURAI JACK), this is an inoffensive piece of fluff that's obviously geared towards the same crowd that made DESPICABLE ME, and THE LORAX hits. And on that level, I'm sure kids will eat this up, as the TIFF Kids screening I was at went over like a house on fire.
Of course, this is very clean, G-rated fare, and other than lots (and I do mean lots) of animated farts, don't expect much of his gross-out humour. Rather, it borders on the saccharine as he plays the over-protective parent to his modern daughter, appealingly voiced by Selena Gomez. Andy Samberg, as the backpacking teen Jonathan, goes all-out to get laughs, and he's fine, but more than a bit annoying throughout, and I'm not sure if his appeal withstands the transition to animation.
It's kinda tough for me to give HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA a fair review, as I'm so obviously not the target demographic for this film. I'm certain the kids will like it, but other than a few funny gags- and the creature design, their parents will be hard pressed to differentiate it from any of the other CG-animated toons out there. But- the fact remains that it's still head and shoulders above anything Sandler's done since FUNNY PEOPLE, which again, just proves how bad his movies have gotten. This is the best Sandler movie in years, but that's faint praise.
Mr. Exclusive's Rating:
Also Worth Watch
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Not bad//
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