Here's what you need to know; after a century of sheltering his daughter in the walls of his Hotel, Dracula is losing his power to sate her desire to explore and to be free. But all his keeping her from seeing the world isn't going to stop the world from finding them as a lone human stumbles across the hotel. Mavis' birthday is going to test Dracula to his limits with the introduction of Jonathan, a human incursion that could destroy his hotel's reputation, but worse, tear his daughter from him forever.
It's Halloween, it's the season to be spooky and to eat candy and watch scary movies and be spooky, and just as last year, I'm celebrating the occasion with a collection of spooky scary movies, starting, as usual, with a family film; Hotel Transylvania, so let's get spooky.
Hotel Transylvania's opening moments could best be described as sweet, as we see the construction of the Hotel and Dracula caring for and playing with Mavis, and despite being voiced by Adam Sandler, he isn't infuriating, it's still Sandler, but Dracula still has a serviceable degree of charm. Far from the charming, sinister and cunning Dracula of classic movies, he's a control freak, we wants what's best for Mavis and for his Hotel, but goes so far as lying to her and his guests to keep them safe from what he believes threatens them, the evil, sadistic real monsters of the outside; the humans. This is his ark throughout the film, him learning to accept that the scary world isn't so scary and that he needs to let go of his fear and let Mavis find her own path in life, is it something you've heard before, yes it is, but it works, even in the inevitable moment where his world comes crashing down and he has to regain the trust of his friends to put it back together. Mavis is, therefore, exactly what you'd expect also, she's a lovestruck teenage girl with a desire to escape her oppressive parent and see the world, naturally she will get her heart broken because that's always where it goes, but again, it works. Jonathan is where it gets a bit more curious however, as he spitefully ignores Dracula's every command and ends up becoming the most popular person in the hotel, though his love of LMFAO dates the film a fair bit, but this is Sony, they're not exactly the masters of making films that age well. The most fun I had with the film's characters was actually the myriad of supporting characters; Frank, Wayne, Murray and Griffin, who all fill the role of men who are past their prime, Wayne is an emasculated wreck with fifty kids, Frank has a controlling wife, and Murray still acts like a dumb teenager to hold on to what fun there is left to have in life, like Dracula and Mavis, they're stereotypes, but they're also a lot of fun, Wayne in particular really makes me laugh in a lot of scenes with the morbidly hilarious circumstance of his life. Other supporting characters include the Hotel's security, who aren't in the film much, but are really funny when they are. Despite not being a mind blowing collection of heroes, the film doesn't waste any of their archetypal strengths, and it's not like the film ever became offensively bad, unlike another film we're looking at this Halloween.
The film stays archetypal in its story as well, complete with all the emotional beats you'd expect; the tragic backstory, the liar revealed, the heart-warming reconciliation, the most surprising thing in all honesty is that Quasimodo doesn't become any kind of central villain, being removed from the picture before the final act. One thing I actually do really like is how Dracula learns in the third act that humans have changed, I like the idea that these monsters of been hiding for centuries from the humans out of fear, but that humans have come to idolise and adore them, that's a neat little twist that reflects reality quite poetically. But on a previous point, that being the LMFAO, there are some odd music choices in the film, mainly that one and an ending song that is pure cringe, it's the most Adam Sandler that Sandler gets in his portrayal of Dracula in the film, and it is ridiculous. Using contemporary music in the film will, in the long run, age your film badly, but having your main character drop some bars in the final scene is about as cringe worthy as it gets, and a cherry on top of this film's bizarre music choices. So all in all, from a story and character angle, this film is serviceable but unremarkable, if the kind of story it tells of a Dad learning to let his kid grow up is something you like, it'll probably leave a stronger impact on you than it did me, though I did like Dracula and his band of merry monsters a fair bit. Where this film shines for me however is in the visual storytelling and the animation. The visual storytelling on offer in this film is at times brilliant, whether it's used for comedic effect or for an emotional moment, and some of the imagery here is really good. But the star of the show is the animation, which is nuts. My catalogue of computer animated films isn't exactly varied; I got Pixar, I got Disney, I got Dreamworks, and that's about it, and until this point the Sony Animations film I have the strongest emotions towards is The Emoji Movie, and I'm sure you can tell what emotions they are. But a film with this much energy is something I've never really seen before, the animation is so fast and energetic and fun, I can't really describe it because I'm not eloquent enough, but the animation is a visual madhouse and it adds a degree of character to this otherwise unremarkable film that I really like.
Bleh, Bleh Bleh
Hotel Transylvania is a fine film; it doesn't really do enough to stand out from the pack, and so feels very predictable and archetypal, but Sandler is surprisingly tolerable in the lead role, and his monster friends are a lot of fun. The film has some interesting music choices that are only going to get more interesting as the years pile on, but at least the film does have one timeless quality, it's animation, which is the first like it that I've seen in a computer animated film, and it ain't bad, it gives the film a flare that it otherwise wouldn't have had, and allows for some very good comedy and visual storytelling. It's a shorter review than normal but there really isn't much else to say, I enjoyed Hotel Transylvania and I would recommend it.
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