A monster of animated fun

Rating: 7/10 (20 October 2018)

Hotel Transylvania, if anything, is a surprisingly fun family film that works on many different levels. Sure, it's not the greatest thing to ever come out of monster cinema, but if you're a monster fan yourself and if you have kids, it's one heck of a fun ride.
What's the story? When monsters want to get away from it all, they go to Count Dracula's Hotel Transylvania, a lavish resort where they can be themselves without humans around to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula invites creatures like the Invisible Man, the Mummy and others to celebrate the 118th birthday of his daughter, Mavis. However, an unforeseen complication unfolds when an ordinary human unwittingly crashes the party and falls in love with Mavis.
First, let's talk about Adam Sandler's performance as Dracula. I think he does a great job at the character, and if you hate Adam Sandler's work, don't worry! Dracula doesn't even SOUND like Sandler in this film! He also suits the Dracula character very well with a more comedic-style vampire voice going with the more cartoonish personality of the character. Sure, it's not Nosferatu or Interview with the Vampire level-good style of Dracula, but at the same time, I don't really think that's the intention. Selena Gomez does okay as Mavis, but I feel like the performance could be a bit better. The animation, while zany and out of control, still looks nice, especially with the effects, the backgrounds, and the designs of the monsters. Maybe the character animation isn't the best, but at least it does fit the cartoonish nature of the film. The story seems like a combination of Tangled and Monsters, Inc., but at least the concept of Dracula running a hotel for monsters does sound quite interesting to say the least. Maybe it would've worked better if it was an animated series (even if the Hotel Transylvania show sucks), but I'm fine with what it has to offer.
In conclusion, Hotel Transylvania is hilarious, cute, energetic, and a lot of fun. It has nice animation, good performances, and an interesting concept, even if the quality of the writing is very poor. Ignore the bad stuff and feel good about the good stuff. If you're a Dracula fan- scratch that, if you're a monster fan- you're gonna LOVE Hotel Transylvania. It's an enjoyable film I think the whole family should watch.