Movie Review – Hotel Transylvania

Not without its kid-friendly moments, Hotel Transylvania sports a stale narrative, forgettable voice acting, and sub-par animation.
The story’s been told time and again. Over-protective parent shields child from a life beyond home. A stranger comes along and flips that plan upside down. It’s a clear enough story arc, but Translyvania did’t offer enough creativity to satisfy this movie-goer, not with the gamut of similar animated films available this year.
Adam Sandler lends his voice to Count Dracula, which basically equates to a cross between goat and Zohan. At this point, all of Sandler’s impressions sound the same to me. Kevin James might as well have been doing a Jeff Garlin impression while voicing Frankenstein, which frankly, might have been a cheaper casting decision. And then there’s Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez rounding out the headline cast, both delivering bland, unmemorable performances.
The animation of Transylvania is nothing to gaga over. Character texture is perhaps the most disappointing oversight. It’s no wonder Pixar is the industry leader, the attention to detail is leaps ahead of competing studios.
The downfalls don’t outweigh the fun to be had by the target audience. Transylvania is extremely kid friendly. My son enjoyed the fair amount of physical humor and fart jokes. Having the likes of Sandler and Samberg on-board shouldn’t dissuade movie-goers, their normal offensiveness is non-existent here. For parents, there are the usual inside jokes to keep you half-interested, but overall, you might start checking your watch about an hour in.
There are better animated films out there that warrant your attention. Hotel Transylvania doesn’t offer enough originality to earn a recommendation here. Skip it and hold out for our review of Tim Burton’s, Frankenweenie.

Get 20% off $25 in movie tickets when you use your Visa Signature card.