A monster-sized movie about, what else, MONSTERS!

Rating: 7/10 (21 April 2014)

Hotel Transylvania is a very zany combination of classic horror-movie monsters, ancient paranoia combined with modern terminology, fast-paced comedy, and even a strange teenage romance between two "teenagers" (one is really 118). So where to begin...
The biggest positive is that Adam Sandler finally found a role befitting his voice. He voices Dracula, the iconic vampire of old, who in this movie is a very controlling yet caring father of Mavis (portrayed by Selena Gomez), and is also the creator and manager of Hotel Transylvania, a safe haven for monsters where they can relax and take a vacation. Here we see other iconic monsters such as Frankenstein (and his wife), The Wolfman (with his wife and kids), The Mummy, the Flyman, Quasimodo, and even the Invisible Man. Each of these monsters voices fit so well with their roles, such as Frankenstein played by Kevin James, "Wayne" the Wolfman by Steve Buscemi, Ceelo Green as "Murray" the Mummy, and even Chris Parnell as the Flyman. Oh, I could go on about the monsters, they're all cleverly portrayed, even if some of them are a bit stereotypical (Fran Drescher as "Eunice", or Bride of Frankenstein, while it is hilarious, does get on your nerves the more you hear it...). Even Selena Gomez does a very decent job as being Mavis, this "teenage" vampire who (not a big shocker) wants to see the world, yet her father, once again being controlling, scares her to come back to her father's loving arms in the sanctuary of his Hotel.
Then enter Jonathan...
Jonathan, as played by Andy Samberg, seems more like a typical teenage idiot who is too dumb to be afraid until it is too late; in fact, that's how he got to the castle in the first place! He arrives at the castle after a few townspeople tell him not to go, and his reaction is to simply take a picture with his phone? Who reacts like that when someone tells you your life is in danger? To continue, he later realizes that he has to blend in as a fellow monster, claiming to be a relative of Frankenstein, and has to show Mavis, and eventually Dracula, what they have been missing all their lives...a modern twist to their classical hotel.
Jonathan to me seems to be the bigger blemish to an otherwise great film; his character seems to be nothing but the clueless idiot who just stumbles upon the Hotel, yet the other monsters take him seriously enough to consider his opinions? It eventually turns out to be a liar- revealed story where he's revealed NOT TO BE A MONSTER. And so he actually owns up to his lie and decides to head home. Dracula chases after him with his wild band of monsters in tow, and that's when even more humans show up in town at the local festival celebrating these classic monsters. These people seem to fall not too far from the Johnny Tree, as they simply accept them and want to help Dracula reach Jonathan and his plane (which leads to a Twilight Parody that had me laughing out of my seat). Finally, Jonathan and Mavis end up on a beach in Hawaii enjoying a different sort of vacation than Hotel Transylvania.
So where are the positives? Again, the casting. A lot of these roles are very well portrayed, even Jonathan. Along with that the humor is great, there are plenty of things that will make both kids and adults laugh. The character development is sensitive too, if not a bit predictable (again the liar-revealed story, but with a twist where there's TWO liars this time). And finally, I have to say the animation is near flawless. Sony Picture Studios did a fantastic job animating this, especially the monsters, they look great! And of course Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of notable Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, and Symbiotic Titan) is just a gigantic asset to the film.
The negatives? It's mostly a fault on the humans, as most if not all of them (especially the "protagonist" Jonathan) just don't add much other than to be the thing to hate, directly or indirectly. Thankfully, the only human you see for the majority of the film is just one human in contrast to loads of monsters. Also, the concept of the "zing" between Jonathan and Mavis needed a desperate rename (especially since Adam Sandler raps about it, which is something that broke my ears). It's touched on a lot in the film (such as "You only zing once in your life"), yet couldn't they just call it a connection and get it over with? Do they really have to tone it down for little kids who can't even comprehend past 2 syllables? And finally, it may just be me, but I felt the pacing was very rushed in the whole film, especially when it came to Dracula. I understand that he's a control freak, and that he has to be quick on his feet in case something happens in his hotel, so it almost works for him. But in one scene where he's flying down hallways to catch up to Jonathan (who gets kidnapped for about the 3rd time, big surprise), he nearly runs through her daughter as if he were a train. I could hardly keep up with him! But again, it was something that was bothering me and I felt that it was way too quick.
Altogether, this movie was a smart, well thought-out product that proves that once you know where you're meant to be, flaunt it! I felt this was one of Adam Sandler's better roles, and it just feels that he loved every moment of it. It's worth the watch, especially around Halloween time, pick it up when you get the chance!