The "Groovie Ghoulies" On Speed – You Don't Just Watch "Hotel Transylvania", You Ride It!

Rating: 10/10 (14 June 2014)

In case you weren't a Saturday-morning cartoon show freak during the '70s, the "Groovie Ghoulies" was a Hal Sutherland/Filmation animated production featuring nice, family friendly versions of Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, and the Wolfman (Drac, Frankie, and Wolfie respectively) plus a few other legendary monsters. The cartoons spotlighted their wacky, episodic adventures in a castle called Horrible Hall and also in the "real" world – or at least the world of Archie, Veronica, Betty, Reggie, and Jughead. They also did "Laugh-In" jokes and skits.
Hotel Transylvania" (hereafter "H-Trans") borrows a fair amount of that 60ish, freestyle "Groovie Ghoulies" vibe (plus the vibes of movies like "The Croods", "Monsters vs. Aliens", and even the Harry Potter series, and of course TV series like "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters"). But that's good, because "H-Trans" uses its borrowings skillfully to spin out a wildly enjoyable, supersonic story about an extended nuclear monster family.
The main theme revolves around widower Count Dracula's (Adam Sandler ) frantic efforts to safeguard his only child, surprisingly fetching and independent-willed vampire daughter named Mavis (Selena Gomez) from the ignorant terrors of the human world. Having reached the age of monster maturity (118, or 18 in human years), Mavis is eager to explore the mysterious world beyond the creepy, eerie walls of Dracula's castle. However, Dracula goes to extravagant lengths, even fabricating a Balkan village populated by the undead pretending to be hostile humans, to keep Mavis safe at home. Beyond that, Dracula has renovated his castle to be a hotel/retreat/refuge for all sorts of kooky, "domesticated" monsters, from good-natured husband Frank (Kevin James) and his nagging wife Eunice (Fran Drescher), to harried wolfman Wayne (Steve Buscemi) and his pregnant wife Wanda (Molly Shannon) and their unruly canine brood, to the narcissistic, bespectacled Invisible Man (David Spade), to obese but hip and swaggering mummy Murray (CeeLo Green), plus practically every other monster in creation.
To keep the meddling humans out, Dracula has converted the hotel/castle into a seemingly impenetrable, booby-trapped fortress. Nevertheless, a back-packing surfer dude type named Jonathan (Andy Samburg) stumbles into the castle and is somewhat terrified by but far more curious about the place and its odd denizens. Aghast, Dracula tries EVERYTHING he can to either hide the human Jonathan from his suspicious guests, especially Mavis, or to disguise him as Frank's "right-hand" cousin "Johnnystein", who is also a "party planner". Of course, this fails and Jonathan and Mavis meet and find a "zing" of love and affection exists between them, so much so that in a calm, sweet break from the action, they climb to the hotel roof and Jonathan shows Mavis her first sunrise from beneath the shade of a chimney, since of course vampires and sunlight are not friends.
Eventually even the obstinate Count and his guests realize that Jonathan is a pretty decent, trustworthy fellow, especially for a human, and knows how to liven up a bunch of cool, party-hearty but somewhat out-of-touch, antiquated monsters. Dracula even confesses to Jonathan in an emotional sequence how a bunch of torch-and-pitchfork villagers killed his wife and embittered him against humanity. Jonathan and Mavis get closer and even kiss (which bugs Dracula so much his face turns red and his fangs grow, which always cracked me up) and may even start on a path of wedded independence.
But chef Quasimodo (Jon Lovitz), instead of his expected gentle personality, reveals a nasty but funny desire to serve Jonathan for dinner. Naturally, this drives Jonathan away from the castle. Formerly biased and cautious Dracula (and company) must now brave the outside human world AND daylight to intercept Jonathan's airplane flight from Transylvania and convince him to return. Can he do it, and reunite him with Mavis? As I said, "H-Trans" is a supersonic, roller-coaster delight of a "monster" movie that will almost give you a whiplash. Despite the pace, however, the movie is a clever, respectful homage AND parody of famous monsters (even the "Twilight" vampires) which also obtains its laughs from common domestic themes such as parent-child interactions, the search for autonomy and freedom, the need to let someone you love go and find his/her destiny, and the unexpected power of forgiveness. "H-Trans" also displays its humor through sharp dialogue and one-liners, slapstick pratfalls, and juvenile humor. In other words, just about anyone, from ADD patients to reasonably sophisticated cinema lovers, can find something to like about "H-Trans".
These characters, monster and human, lead interesting lives, and deserve a sequel!