Mondo monster fun!

Rating: 8/10 (30 September 2012)

Somewhere within haunted woods lays the secret entrance leading under a foggy graveyard and over a lone stone bridge to Hotel Transylvania, perched on its secluded rocky island in the shadows of central Romania's Carpathian Mountains. Human-free since 1898, Dracula's (voiced by Adam Sandler) castle-like vacation destination offers sanctuary to monsters of all kinds seeking refuge and relaxation from the daily grind of damnation. A tireless staff of zombie redcaps, witchy maids and gargoyle waiters lurch at the ready to serve all guests. The hotel is also home to Dracula's daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), whose upcoming 118th birthday means finally discovering the unknown world beyond her overprotective father's creature comfort inn - until lost young American backpacker Jonathan (Andy Samberg) wanders into the lobby.
Wow. What an incredibly entertaining animated feature. Heavily softened and loosely modernized, the primary supporting characters Dracula, Frankenstein (Kevin James), Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade), Wayne the Werewolf (Steve Buscemi), and Murray the Mummy (CeeLo Green) are delightfully based on some of the most famous Universal Studios monsters to ever haunt the silver screen. It's great seeing them lovingly depicted here for a younger and young-at-heart crowd of moviegoers. If you're so inclined, doing a quick search through Wikipedia brings up a wealth of history regarding each of these legendary creatures of the night, including which famed films were based on stage plays, literary treasures and ancient lore.
And, before the ghoul patrol purists start foaming at the ears, yes Wayne isn't really a werewolf. We know he's more an anthropomorphised wolf night and day. Yes, Frankenstein has always ever been the name of the doctor not the monster in the true classics. Relax, it's a fun kids movie. Just roll with it, and enjoy the glib aside at the Twilight movies near the end.
Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel's screenplay crackles with boundless energy and clever laughs throughout this 91-minute screening. It's sheer genius that these monsters are actually just as terrified of humans, fearful that we're getting fatter to overpower them and do nasty things such as cut open their heads to fill with candy. Hilarious. The story arc shift from it being about Dracula and his wonderfully motley hotel guest to it being about sheltered Mavis seeing the wider world through Jonathan's gregarious eyes is memorably rich and compelling. Also, keep an eye out for Wayne's daughter Winnie (voiced by Sandler's daughter Sadie), who uproariously steals her one scene opposite the big boys. Top marks also go to Ron Lukas and Noelle Triaureau for their outstanding art direction here. Hotel Transylvania is visually amazing.
Amazing still, the official website is absolutely well worth checking out. Before clicking enter at its splash page, checking out the What guests have to say link takes you to a wonderfully imaginative listing on TripAdvisor. Notable highlights of the site itself are the paper toys of Mavis and Murray and the colouring pages of all the main characters available in the free downloads section. You'll also find slightly addictive games including Dracula's Maze, Wayne's Wolf Pup Wrangle, Suitcase Sort, and a What Monster Are You quiz. I easily lost a couple hours, uh, stringently investigating their play worthiness... okay, I was goofing off movie site gaming. Facebook users can also login to play The Hotel Transylvania Game app that lets you build your own hotel for monsters, and the site features a link to the free Hotel Transylvania Dash game on iTunes. Awesome: welcometohotelt dot com
Definitely do yourself a huge favour and check out Hotel Transylvania on the big screen for its brilliant humour aimed at the entire family, and be sure to check out all the free extra goodies on the truly impressive official website while it's still up. Reviewed 09/12, (c) Stephen Bourne
Hotel Transylvania is rated PG by the Ontario Film Review Board for scenes containing some grotesque images in a fantasy, comedic or historic context, limited use of slurs, crude content, scenes that may cause a child brief anxiety, or fear, embracing and kissing, and restrained portrayals of non-graphic violence, and is rated G by la Regie du Cinema in Quebec.