Light joyful fun, Hotel Transylvania is a shockingly good time for all

Rating: 8/10 (7 February 2013)

From the outside, Hotel Transylvania may look like a clichéd and typical aim-at-the-kids-mooch-off-the-adults animated film with pop music, celebrities, cute characters, and plenty of childish humor. It may look like a film that doesn't strive for the heights of Pixar and instead aims for the likes of Dreamworks' lesser efforts. And from a film buff's perspective, it may look like an animated movie with known production hell that was tossed at September to just collect some cash and lessen the losses.
But, Hotel Transylvania actually delivers. Surprisingly, and in many departments. It did not just succeed in pleasing the kids, but it actually entertains the adults with quick zany Tex Avery humor with very minimal downtime. Similar to the original Madagascar flick that remains DreamWorks' most consistently entertaining franchise, this movie rapidly fires jokes high, low, and direct to catch the kids, teenagers, and adults off-guard. They took the classic father/growing daughter concept and gave it a clever monster twist that allows for plenty of creativity.
And if there is a man that can handle potential creativity, it's the incredibly underrated director Genndy Tartakovsky. Tartakovsky was behind such cartoon gems like Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, the original Clone Wars, and of course, Samurai Jack. He knows how to time jokes, how to time emotion, and knows when his product might be overstaying its welcome. This movie clocks in at a mere 91 minutes, so the movie never feels like its dragging. The script went through so many changes, but they hired the right guy to help mold it into a good backdrop to all the visual humor that dominates the source of all the laughter you'll experience.
As previously stated, the overbearing father conflict is supported by an original concept so it never feels like previously charted waters. But let's also hand it to the voice cast for not hamming up the script. Adam Sandler isn't exactly the most prolific actor for doing accents, but with his Sandler touch and knowledge of when to cut back on his material makes for a surprisingly good performance. Partnering up once again is Adam Samberg, and those two work off each other quite well in an Abbot and Costello manner. Rounding out the fun cast is Devid Space, Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, Jon Lovitz, Selena Gomez, and the hilarious Luenell in a limited role.
Bottom Line: Hotel Transylvania isn't deep and doesn't carry any cinematic weight, but is indeed a very enjoyable film with plenty of surprises, humor, and even a good bit of heart. It's perfect for kids with the fun cast of characters and silly jokes while it's perfect for adults because it is short, clean-cut, and also has some great adult humor to boot. Tartakovsky took a doomed project and injected plenty of life to it with his brand of humor and his ability to pack plenty of rich content into a limited about of time. Don't let the look or reputation of the studio fool you, this movie packs a light delightful punch.