'Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation' review: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez's animation outing is worth a watch
It's a kiddie movie talking about the concept of love, hoping they will understand.
Movie: Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation
Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Jim Gaffigan, Kathryn Hahn, Joe Jonas, Chrissy Teigen, Mel Brooks, Chirs Parnell
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
Genre: Animation comedy
Duration: 1 hour 37 minutes
Story:
Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) is running his hotel business without any break or glitch. He has help from his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), her husband Johnny (Andy Samberg), and their son Dennis. Mavis realises that it's been a long time since they had a vacation as a family. So she plans a monster cruise holiday with her family and the friends that we have become familiar with in the past two movies.
These monsters intend to enjoy their time away from their scaring duties. But Dracula falls in love with the captain of the ship, Ericka (Kathryn Hahn). Ericka's ancestors are the Van Helsings, who have always been on the mission to wipe out these monsters from the face of the Earth. Ericka wants to live up to that legacy. Dracula, unaware of Ericka's family history, "zings" with her and tries to balance the jitters of the new relationship with his duties towards the family and friends. This game of cat and mouse and defeating the 'real' monsters is how the story ends.
Review:
Hotel Transylvania franchise has been a strong advocate of the one-true-love theory. In their language, you only zing once. The third part of the franchise is breaking away from it and gives the message of hope that there will be others you can 'zing' with. It's a time-killer animation comedy filled with cuddly, cartoony versions of all the monsters that scared the hell out of viewers in the classic black and white movies. That's not all. This time the folklore and legends of contemporary times like the Bermuda Triangle are mixed with the old tale of Atlantis.
The animation of these characters draws from cliched definition and twists it to bring out laughs. Did you know that Blob can have a baby and then make a pet for that baby out of his own body? Or did you ever imagine what Frankenstein's monster will look like with crab claws? Or did you know vampires run away from garlic not because they are afraid of dying but because it makes them toot?
The film a standard fare when it comes to animation. We are familiar with all the characters and Ericka, the new addition, is the feminine image of Dracula. A Countess for the Count.
When it comes to voicework, Adam Sandler makes the seamless transitions from the squeaky, high-pitched, humorous 'Transylvanian' accent to the monstrous thunder of the Dracula. Keegan-Michael Keys' singing Mummy is another charmer given you have singers like Selena Gomez, Joe Jonas, and Adam Samberg on the roster. The rest of the voice cast is like in any other Adam Sandler comedy. They tick the boxes and we take it.
It's a fun movie for kids that also has strength in brilliantly curated background music. From Bruno Mars' '24K Gold' to all-time classic 'Macarena,' the songs never fail to elevate the scenes. It's a love story wrapped in a run-of-the-mill mould. Worth your time.
Verdict:
A kiddie picture that has the potential of becoming your occasional Sunday night watch.
Rating: 3/5