Written by: Kevin Berge
Genndy Tartakovsky may be one of the greatest animation directors in the world. His work with Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory, Clone Wars, and more defined American animation with a level of quality rarely matched. Until Hotel Transylvania though, his impact on theatrical animation was limited.
While clearly made for a different audience and time than his past work with more hands in the creation process, this trilogy's success has become directly connected to Tartakovsky's legacy. It feel wrong not to give them a chance even if they come off on the surface as fairly generic kid films.
Going in to my first experience with this franchise, I was not expecting much but was hopeful that this trilogy could be another great animation experience from one of my favorite directors.
While clearly made for a different audience and time than his past work with more hands in the creation process, this trilogy's success has become directly connected to Tartakovsky's legacy. It feel wrong not to give them a chance even if they come off on the surface as fairly generic kid films.
Going in to my first experience with this franchise, I was not expecting much but was hopeful that this trilogy could be another great animation experience from one of my favorite directors.
Everybody smiles all the time. Otherwise, they wouldn't be the good guys. (Image Courtesy of: rosalynmuses.blogspot.com)
***These reviews will contain spoilers for their respective films. If you have not seen any of them and wish to do so blind, do not read on. If you have not seen the latest in the franchise but plan to do so, avoid that review until you have taken the time to see it.***
Hotel Transylvania
The first Hotel Transylvania sets up his world pretty well right off the bat. This is a land where monsters truly exist; the great and mighty legends are truly living among human beings. They just like to remain separate, and they are far more docile and hospitable than one would expect.
In fact, in the modern age, their only focus is to have a place where they can live in peace. After the death of his wife, Dracula (Adam Sandler) has made monsters this place of safety, his hotel, run by him and his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez).
Despite the warnings and fears of her father, Mavis seeks to explore the world outside the castle, only for humanity to come to her doorstep in the form of Jonathan (Andy Samberg). For the most part, this is a romance where the only thing keeping Mavis and Jonathan apart is Dracula and his completely understandable dislike for humans.
What really is impressive about the movie is that it doesn't make any characters strongly one note. Dracula learns to open up fairly quickly and often protects Jonathan even if he does not want him near Mavis. The other monsters may fear humans as a whole, but they do not turn on Jonathan after the reveal that he is human.
While the romance itself is a bit simplistic as is the message of the movie, it all works well because it goes for a sweet honest focus rather than a flurry of comedic moments. The main problem with the film is simply that it doesn't really stand out.
Of the three, this is the least memorable but with the most cohesive story. Everyone grows over the course of the story, and the dynamic of monsters and humans is driven by compassion and understanding rather than irrational fear and hatred.
In fact, in the modern age, their only focus is to have a place where they can live in peace. After the death of his wife, Dracula (Adam Sandler) has made monsters this place of safety, his hotel, run by him and his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez).
Despite the warnings and fears of her father, Mavis seeks to explore the world outside the castle, only for humanity to come to her doorstep in the form of Jonathan (Andy Samberg). For the most part, this is a romance where the only thing keeping Mavis and Jonathan apart is Dracula and his completely understandable dislike for humans.
What really is impressive about the movie is that it doesn't make any characters strongly one note. Dracula learns to open up fairly quickly and often protects Jonathan even if he does not want him near Mavis. The other monsters may fear humans as a whole, but they do not turn on Jonathan after the reveal that he is human.
While the romance itself is a bit simplistic as is the message of the movie, it all works well because it goes for a sweet honest focus rather than a flurry of comedic moments. The main problem with the film is simply that it doesn't really stand out.
Of the three, this is the least memorable but with the most cohesive story. Everyone grows over the course of the story, and the dynamic of monsters and humans is driven by compassion and understanding rather than irrational fear and hatred.
Grade: C+
It's not Tartakovsky's classic animation style, but he still has the classic way too skinny protagonists. (Image Courtesy of: straightfromamovie.com)
Hotel Transylvania 2
Hotel Transylvania 2 is a more engaging experience than its predecessor. There's a lot more going on thanks to the introduction of Mavis and Jonathan's son Dennis. Now the questions of human vs. monster are focused on which side of the family the son will take after.
This is the most memorable film mainly because of its engaging action. Dracula repeatedly attempts to convince Dennis to embrace his vampire side in increasingly more dangerous ways while Mavis is distracted by the idea of leaving the hotel to let Dennis have a normal human life.
The film makes clear by the end that it doesn't matter if Dennis is human or vampire, but he had to be a vampire because it's cooler. The problem with this chapter in the franchise is that its third act is poorly set up, driven by bad storyboarding.
The ultimate threat is that Dracula's father Vlad (Mel Brooks) hates humans and will come to destroy Jonathan, his family, and a human Dennis. However, he does not appear on screen until the final act, and he quickly has a change of heart, protecting his great-grandson from the vampires he hangs around with.
While the first two acts are the strongest the series has ever been and the final act is a fun action set piece that includes some great moments with Dennis, the whole experience is lacking in the cohesion one would expect of a Tartakovsky production even if he didn't write the script (Robert Smigel and Adam Sandler did).
This is the most memorable film mainly because of its engaging action. Dracula repeatedly attempts to convince Dennis to embrace his vampire side in increasingly more dangerous ways while Mavis is distracted by the idea of leaving the hotel to let Dennis have a normal human life.
The film makes clear by the end that it doesn't matter if Dennis is human or vampire, but he had to be a vampire because it's cooler. The problem with this chapter in the franchise is that its third act is poorly set up, driven by bad storyboarding.
The ultimate threat is that Dracula's father Vlad (Mel Brooks) hates humans and will come to destroy Jonathan, his family, and a human Dennis. However, he does not appear on screen until the final act, and he quickly has a change of heart, protecting his great-grandson from the vampires he hangs around with.
While the first two acts are the strongest the series has ever been and the final act is a fun action set piece that includes some great moments with Dennis, the whole experience is lacking in the cohesion one would expect of a Tartakovsky production even if he didn't write the script (Robert Smigel and Adam Sandler did).
Grade: C+
It took until the third poster to have the invisible man front and center. He's actually crying in the corner in the first two posters. (Image Courtesy of: tunefind.com)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
It is remarkable how much animation has advanced in just a few years. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is so much more kinetic and vibrant than its predecessors. Just the opening scene alone is the most impressive the series has been, and it only gets more crazy with time.
Unfortunately, bigger, brighter, and more kinetic are not equivalent to better. This is by far the weakest story of the franchise which does not really seem to have a strong sense of what to do in its third outing. There's not a clear engaging theme here that is explored.
Instead, the movie often just relies on its comedic moments to pad out a story that does not have much going for it. Plus those jokes feel a bit unnecessarily raunchy beyond the fart jokes. To its credit, this is a fun film. It is memorable throughout and adds some new wrinkles to understanding Dracula, but ultimately it leaves too much behind.
The main threat here is Abraham Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan), an old monster hunter, using his great-granddaughter Ericka (Kathryn Hahn) to finally succeed in defeating great monsters including his nemesis Dracula by taking them on a cruise to Atlantis to be destroyed by a Kraken.
Not much here makes sense, and Dracula's romance with Ericka is even more flimsy than that of Maive and Jonathan. The storytelling is a mess, and it's a real shame because the franchise overall impressed up to this point. Here the point of the film seems to be that humans should accept that monsters aren't terrible.
However, humans have always accepted monsters in this franchise. The series has already explored the idea of vampires and humans together. Padding this retread story with generic jokes and great action is not enough to excuse an unnecessary new chapter in this franchise.
Unfortunately, bigger, brighter, and more kinetic are not equivalent to better. This is by far the weakest story of the franchise which does not really seem to have a strong sense of what to do in its third outing. There's not a clear engaging theme here that is explored.
Instead, the movie often just relies on its comedic moments to pad out a story that does not have much going for it. Plus those jokes feel a bit unnecessarily raunchy beyond the fart jokes. To its credit, this is a fun film. It is memorable throughout and adds some new wrinkles to understanding Dracula, but ultimately it leaves too much behind.
The main threat here is Abraham Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan), an old monster hunter, using his great-granddaughter Ericka (Kathryn Hahn) to finally succeed in defeating great monsters including his nemesis Dracula by taking them on a cruise to Atlantis to be destroyed by a Kraken.
Not much here makes sense, and Dracula's romance with Ericka is even more flimsy than that of Maive and Jonathan. The storytelling is a mess, and it's a real shame because the franchise overall impressed up to this point. Here the point of the film seems to be that humans should accept that monsters aren't terrible.
However, humans have always accepted monsters in this franchise. The series has already explored the idea of vampires and humans together. Padding this retread story with generic jokes and great action is not enough to excuse an unnecessary new chapter in this franchise.
Grade: D+
As a whole, Hotel Transylvania works. It clearly appeals to audience given the box office receipts, and the stories are nice enough to be good for children to experience. This is a series that knows its target audience and embraces it while generally avoiding dumbing down the story.
This is not the type of story I would have Tartakovsky working on given his mastery of visual animation as an art form, largely avoiding dialogue as a crutch, but it is good to see him finding success past the 2000s.
I do hope that this is the end of the Hotel Transylvania franchise though because the third shows the storytellers have run out of ways to engage the themes of humans and monsters finding common ground.
This is not the type of story I would have Tartakovsky working on given his mastery of visual animation as an art form, largely avoiding dialogue as a crutch, but it is good to see him finding success past the 2000s.
I do hope that this is the end of the Hotel Transylvania franchise though because the third shows the storytellers have run out of ways to engage the themes of humans and monsters finding common ground.
