ANIMATION; 1hr 31min
VOICES BY: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg
Mein host: Dracula
Count Dracula (Sandler, in full-bodied Euro-voice) may be a legendary vampire-slash-bat and all that, but in the peppily animated Hotel Transylvania, widower “Drac” is also an overly doting dad (to Gomez’s feisty Mavis) and a reborn-to-it luxury hotelier. Conceived as a hidey-hole refuge from humans for fellow monsters — BFF Frankenstein (James) is one happy, stitched-up regular — the gothic fortress is also a sanctuary for the now-teenage Mavis. Which doesn’t work out so well for Drac when totally human, backpacking dude Jonathan (Samberg) blunders into the lobby on Mavis’s 118th birthday. The minute she sets eyes on him, sparks are set to fly. Heads will literally roll!
The humour is as sophisticated as a bagel with scream cheese. But what the featured creatures are missing polish-wise (i.e., a lot ), they compensate for with a hyperactive carry-on that spells catnip for rug rats. Not to mention a hammered-home PC message of open-minded acceptance. Between humans and monsters, granted. But hey, its big ol’ heart is in the right place.
