Three howls out of 5

Rating: 6/10 (23 October 2012)

(3D viewing) Frantic, kid-friendly, pleasantly oddball CGI-mishmash supervised by comedian/producer Adam Sandler can't quite be labeled as either steadily charming (the expensive voice cast--with the possible exception of Steve Buscemi portraying a flat-headed, rolling-eyed werewolf--appears to be trying too hard, mostly force-fit together by voice editing and constantly abrupt scene transitions) or profoundly unearthly (the monsters deal more in competitive magic and mesmerism than spoofing outright terror). But as Sandler's ingratiating, widowed, porcelain-skinned Dracula successfully weans his teenage daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) past puberty into her 118th birthday, the cruise-ship-type monster revelry at his Hotel Transylvania resort castle is invaded for the first time by a dreaded, freckle-faced backpacking American mortal, Jonathan (Andy Samberg), who manages to fascinate and charm Mavis into the threat of an actual monster/human romance. Film's middle--as Dracula 'trains' Jonathan into masquerading as a monster to deflect suspicion or anti-human bigotry from Hotel's labyrinth number of creature-guests while hopefully wearing down Mavis' earnest new attraction--isn't narratively smooth but does feature the requisite 'wild' chases, adolescent and familial longings, and character contortions & gesticulations expected of these computer animated films nowadays. Director & former 2D/Cartoon Network animator Genndy Tartakovsky doesn't reinvent the wheel here, and the almost infinitely detailed digital texture mapping on display is second to no one else's. One does have to wonder however if/why either Sandler or Tartakovsky agreed to keep the film's rubbery interpersonal relations, character massings/groupings used solely for punch lines, and juvenile societal identities set rather low even for contemporary animated features (perhaps to avoid the overly melodramatic lecturing some kids' features descend into, if indirectly.) The climax--where a remorseful, fruit-bat-looking Dracula chases down a home-bound, jet-planed Jonathan to bring him back to Mavis and everyone at the resort--provides enough final giggles/smiles to make HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA a genial, occasionally very-well-imaged animated comedy entertainment that--although it may not have gone far enough for real literature-based horror fans or animation critics--will probably be in serious rotation in your minivan DVD player or kid's playroom TV.