Hotel Cloudylandia 3: Traversmania

*Hotel Cloudylandia 3: Traversmania* (or also known as *Hotel Cloudylandia 3*) is an 2021 Russian Marcanese-American computer animated fantasy comedy film directed by Derek Drymon & Jennifer Lewis Hayes and produced by Todd Durham, from a screenplay by Gennedy Tartakovsky. The third (and possibly final) installment of the *Hotel Cloudylandia* franchise, the film would have Denny & his friends go to Traversmania in order to turn their world back to normal. The returning cast is joined by newcomers Brian Hull (who would replace James Woods as The Great Magician), Walt Dohrn, Jordan Peele, Jim Gaffigan, Fran Drescher, and Mel Brooks. *Hotel Cloudylandia 3: Traversmania* got a limited theatrical release on July 9, 2021 and later streamed on Anaya+ October 1, 2021. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics and was deemed as inferior to the previous two films despite it being a box office hit and the highest-grossing Marcanese animated film of 2021.

## Plot

The Magic Gang is back yet again for more cartoony magic in this spookingly fun action-packed threequel: your favorite fantasy friends from the Sky Castle are having a really great time surprising bored audiences with their signature magic and having a fantastic tour around the world. Later, they wait patiently and hesitantly for little baby angel Nathan's third birthday along with their special guests being Mag's long-lost grandparents, and as Denny throws the Sky Castle to its windows with his crazy DJ party, The Great Magician decides it's time to leave. However, when Mag signs a very bad deal with his longtime arch-nemesis, famed fantasy creature killer Ethan The Great, chaos ensures as Denny gets transformed to a monster while his other friends become humans, and worst of all their world got taken over by Ethan. In order to change things back to normal, the Magic Gang must find some cure and head their way to Traversmania, Ethan's huge ghost & goblin empire; while Mag (now stripped of his powers after turning himself to human) and Monster Denny take a daring barrel race at Niagara Falls and later a ridiculous cross-country trip through South America.

## Good Qualities

1. Very interesting story about the Magic Gang having to return themselves and their world back to normal all in less than 24 hours, despite the somewhat poor execution.
2. The animation is a huge upgrade from the two previous films, with the movements being more expressive and some brighter/darker colors to fit the overall tone of the film.
3. A very fantastic yet catchy soundtrack from Mark Mothersbaugh, with the "Monster Mash/How Do You Like That" remix from Blackpink and the Traversmania Heavy Metal/Rap song standing out the most.
4. Some funny moments throughout the film, such as when the Magic Gang transform themselves to humans, when Abraham Von & Monster Denny compete with Gorzo's goblins at the Niagara Falls barrel race & their cruise across South America.
5. The new characters are decent additions: Clad & Marie are good-natured & caring grandparents, Patt is very amusing & cute as Matt's new friend, Scarecrow is very funny as the film's new comic relief, and Ethan The Great is very intimidating yet cool as the film's new villain (also considering him to be an vast improvement over Napoleon from the previous film).
6. Just like the previous films, the voice acting is still great as always.
7. The recreation scenes with Abraham Von having battle with Ethan The Great are well-made.
8. A few emotional moments were somewhat effective, like when Abraham Von gives Nathan his childhood teddy bear and when Abraham Von meets his grandparents for the first time.
9. Marco's cameo appearances as Traversmania's guide and the S.S Traversmania captain are quite nice.

## Bad Qualities

1. Despite having a good story, the film's execution is rather convoluted like that of *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Rise Of Marco,* although the latter film executed it decently.
2. Several mediocre attempts at humor, as the film focuses too much on toilet humor. There's also some cringe-worthy & rather disturbing moments for a family film, such as the scene where Abraham Von talks with skeletons at Ethan's dining room.
3. The film feels *way too* rushed with inconsistent pacing and an overly exaggerated tone, putting aside the film's emotional moments in favor of the story.
4. Lots of outdated pop culture references that feel out of place for a *Hotel Cloudylandia* film, such as dabbing, Fortnite, and flossing.
5. The film almost completely rehashes elements from *the two previous films*: in both the original and this film, we have Denny being mistreated for being different from the fantasy creatures only for them to accept him later on, and also the fact that there's self-granting genies in both movies. In both the second film and this one, the Magic Gang face some monstrous being with music in both finales.
6. Some of the characters have been flanderized to the point where they get more annoying than funny, such as Abraham Von once again (many could argue that here he's even more of a total jerk than in the second film, since he at first wanted to get rid of his friends) & Monster Denny.
7. It somehow contradicts the lore of the franchise: in the previous films, Abraham Von and his friends accept Denny for who he is and avoid discrimination against humans, since they wanted to become friends with them. Here, in the third film, it's like if they never learned anything about discrimination being wrong and instead constantly mistreat Denny for being a human, and that forces them to ignore all humans.

## Reception

### Critical reception

*Hotel Cloudylandia 3: Traversmania* was met with mixed reviews from critics although it got deemed as inferior to the first two films; whom praised its animation, writing, voice acting, soundtrack, and new characters but criticized its humor, lack of emotional depth, dated pop culture references, and exaggerated tone. On Rotten Tomatoes, 58% of 117 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Fans of the franchise are better off skipping *Traversmania,* but its sharp writing & catchy soundtrack might get everyone back at the gothic-inspired Sky Castle" According to the review aggregator Metacritic, which sampled 23 reviews and calculated a weighted average of 41 out of 100, *Hotel Cloudylandia 3: Traversmania* received "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by both its predecessors.

### Box office

*Hotel Cloudylandia 3: Traversmania* grossed a worldwide total of $389 million at the box office despite it having a limited theatrical release, outgrossing *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Rise Of Marco* as the highest-grossing Marcanese animated film of 2021.