Hotel Transylvania 2

With Disney and Pixar reigning over animation genre, it's hard for other studios to compete against their emotionally engaging tales. Hotel Transylvania 2, while not particularly incredible, is unexpectedly funny and enjoyable. The large cast of fumbling monstrosities and the nocturnal vampire household deliver enough charming wit for a few simple warm laughs.

Story follows Drac and friends as they welcome the newest member of the half-man half-vampire family. The boy is clearly a cuddly bait for empathy, in fact many of its adorable gimmicks are built to relate to casual audience. This admittedly might feel cheesy at times since the movie opens up with overly comical tone.

However, once it hits the midway point, it warms up pretty well. The odd union between man and vamp is strangely relatable. Mavis is a good character, she's youthful, full of curiosity and also naturally protective of her son. It makes a good contrast against Johnny's family, which is a cynical take on suburban parents. The couple compromises on different often trivial things, and despite being parents they are still exuberant, identifiable to both young and old.

Drac and his merry band are vanilla version of monsters. Each of them produces a couple of timely funny gags, so they don't seem crowded. Visual cues help a lot, not only on creating slapstick humor, but also emotional body language which is occasionally interesting when monsters perform them.

There's an underlying message of acceptance, a closer touch on prejudice. It's not entirely spectacular but still a strikingly effective analogy. Most of the humor comes from pop culture references and physical jokes. These may seem excessively flashy, but oddly enough, they are whimsically tickling, especially those on second act.

Hotel Transylvania 2 is teeming with average family comedy troupes, although it also brings healthy dose of clever quips and cordial value to merit a viewing.

Now Dracula's (Adam Sandler) Hotel Transylvania is open to humans, things for him are changing for the better. Not everything is going right for him since Dracula is worried that his half-human grandson Dennis (Asher Blinkoff) hasn't yet shown his vampire side. To help with this, Dracula asks his monster friends The Invisible Man (David Spade), The Mummy (Keegan-Michael Key), The Werewolf (Steve Buscemi), and Frankenstein (Kevin James) to help him train Dennis to be a monster while Mavis and Johnny (Selena Gomez and Andy Samberg) are away on vacation. Things for them then get more complicated when Dracula's old-school father Vlad (Mel Brooks) pays an unexpected visit.

I am an adult but I'm not afraid to admit that I like to watch animated kids films. Maybe it's because they remind me of my childhood. To me the things that make a good animated film are it sounds it simple but good animation and a good story, not a stupid story that just doesn't make sense. I hate stories that don't make sense because it just makes me feel bad for kids who keep fooling for it. Suffice it to say, this one has both. Like the first film, the animation isn't groundbreaking but I thought it looked good on the theater screen. I saw it in 3D which it gave it some nice touches bringing the monsters and the intricacies of the castle to life but I think it would be just as good without it. I thought the story was better than the first film as it focused more on the family aspect than the hotel itself. The film was more about the Dracula and Mavis relationship which I thought was the secondary focus of the first film. I liked this direction better as I greatly enjoyed the scenes between Dracula, Dennis, and all the other monsters. There are just as many, or maybe more funny moments and one-liners than the first film. There are still funny moments involving the other monsters in the hotel but those are toned down from the first film. The jokes were a little less stupid than the first film but I still found them funny for the most part. I think (and possibly others) that if the film was just more of the same, it would have been quite boring. I didn't think it was. Just like the first film, I thought the voice work was good all around and Dracula was still my favorite character. I also thought he sounded less like an Adam Sandler character than he did in the first film. I thought the film's message wasn't as good as the first but it was still good. When compared to top animated films, this one does not come close but it is still a cute film and an enjoyable experience for both kids and adults alike.

Score: 7.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The sequel to the hit animated comedy proves it worth the loved it gets as it showcases raw emotion, fun and pop culture all wrap into one.

Few sequels in modern film could be better than the first, and Hotel Transylvania 2 is one of those. As it expands instead of developing a new idea that make the this film feel like an adventure with many funny and charming moments. in addition, the story of it replicates modern day civilization as it shows the different points of view from the old and young people.

Overall, Hotel Transylvania 2 will delight Kids and adults alike and will please fans at the same time will covert many non fans.

For cartoons, Genndy Tartakovsky has had his hands in and on a lot of peoples' favorite shows. There's something about Tartakovsky's vision of cartoons that breathes life into every movement that is made by them. Tartakovsky made his directorial debut with Hotel Transylvania (2012) and although it was not universally renowned, made people found it to be a fun family movie with a well-developed story, energetic animation and colorful characters. Plus even though it dealt with Halloween related characters, the idea wasn't to scare but make light of the characters and the lore of which they originated from. Here we are with its sequel and although it does keep several elements from the original the same, some things have changed and other parts should have changed. Thankfully, this sequel isn't brought down a whole lot, but it is enough to notice the differences in what should've been focused on more.

The story to this installment revolves around Dracula (Adam Sandler) trying to bring out the inner vampire of his hybrid grandson Dennis (Asher Blinkoff) brought upon by newly wedded couple/parents Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Jonathan (Andy Samberg). The reason for this is fearing that if their son has no vampire blood flowing in him anywhere, Mavis would end up leaving the hotel for good. Although the premise isn't as obvious, unfortunately the execution ends up feeling very similar to that of the first (plot wise). Dracula claims he is more open minded now but still clings to his past and tries to hide his true ambitions. In some respects, this particular play out moots the point of the first film altogether. Once Drac accepted Jonathan into his world, he should've been prepared for what came after. It just makes it feel like he didn't learn from before. The writing group for this entry shrunk in size. For the first film, five writers were involved. Here only two were, of which only one of them were from the original five.

The one from the original five was Robert Smigel, a writer for multiple Saturday Night Live episodes. The other writer credited for this film was Adam Sandler and unfortunately it shows too. How? Two words, potty humor. Yes, and it sticks out like a soar thumb. Hotel Transylvania (2012) did have some silly moments but none of the comedy required potty humor. That's not to say all of the scenes don't work, but there are scenes where experienced viewers will be able to point out the scenes that Adam Sandler had wrote in. It's just not necessary. Of all problems with this and a familiar plot, that's it. For the moments that don't included immature humor, the rest of the comedy bits are new and contemporary, which is having the characters play off of their own flaws and personalities or trying to have them figure out social media. Drac can't seem to understand that to use a touch screen, you can't have long fingernails. He'll get it I'm sure.

There's also new character additions to the cast, which is great although sometimes it can sink a film if it becomes over saturated. All the original characters voiced by Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, David Spade and Steve Buscemi all sound exactly as they should and still play off one another well. Even Keegan-Michael Key who replaces CeeLo Green as Murray from the first film practically sounds the same too. Some of the new voice actors to jump on board or receive more attention are Sadie Sandler as Winnie (one of Wayne's children), Jon Lovitz as a "phantom of the opera" type character and the comedy guru himself, Mel Brooks playing Vlad, Dracula's father. It really is nice to see a bunch of new and old voice actors work together though. Plus, a star talent like Brooks isn't wasted either. His appearance isn't as long as everyone else's roles but he comes in at the best time.

Again since this production was headed by Tartakovsky, the animation and character designs are nothing but great. The character designs are all unique and have intricate texture detailing. Alan Hawkins who worked as an animator for the first film serves a senior animation supervisor for this entry. Considering his past work being on projects like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and Arthur Christmas (2011), Hawkins feels like a great collaborator for Tartakovsky's vision. The film score produced by Devo member Mark Mothersbaugh continues his usual work but again fails to provide his listeners with an actual soundtrack for download. The score itself matches the scenes well and portrays the right emotion but it's weird that Mothersbaugh can provide a score for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) or The Lego Movie (2014) but can't for these films. Why so selective in distribution?

It's not a huge step down from the original but it is noticeable. The sequel does maintain all the character relations and chemistry while adding in new ones like Drac's father voiced by Mel Brooks. It also keeps the same great animation and music. Unfortunately although the premise feels new, the execution is very much parallel to the first film in some ways. Plus with Adam Sandler now active in writing the script, some his childish annoying potty humor got in the recipe as well and it's obvious as all get out.

When I first heard this movie was announced I did not know what to think. The first one was entertaining, witty and brought a new spin the old story of a dad not thinking the "slacker dude" is good enough for his daughter. There have been many occasions where sequels either aren't as good as the original or wear out the original concept too much. This movie thankfully does neither of those things. From start to finish this movie feels fresh and unrestricted by the expectations set by the first.

If you've seen any of the previews you already know the plot. Johnathan, the human from the first movie, and Mavis, Dracula's own daughter, get married and have a child which they are raising in Dracula's hotel. Count Dracula, proud of his own heritage as a monster, wishes for his grandson becoming a vampire like himself and is concerned when he does not show signs of being a monster. He also wishes to raise him the traditional monster way. This of coarse begins to clash with the human teachings from the other half of his family and cause the conflict of the entire movie. Said conflict is whether or not young Dennis should be raised in the hotel or in the monster-less safe human world. Though this plot sounds like the first one remixed, I feel it is more of a continuation as good sequels should be.

The animation is on par if you've seen the first movie, which is not bad. The animation of the first movie was active and full of life and that same attention drawing quality animation is here again. Everything in this movie flows to an unseen rhythm and nothing feels stiff or artificial. That's not saying there aren't a few scenes that are more dynamic then the first movie, because there is, but as a whole if you liked the animation from the first movie you will like it here as well.

As far as the characters go everyone is as kooky as they were in the first movie. Adam Sandler's brilliant comedic version of Dracula taking center stage, leading the still funny renditions of classic movie monsters. As Dracula, Sandler is just the right amount of hammy without it being off-putting. Such a performance makes it seem as if the over the top way movie monsters acted in our films was just the "old way" of acting for them.

The mood and colors used in the movie are a great mix of themes. The moody backdrops with dank dark colors fit the horror movie style the characters in the movie originate from perfectly. Then add some bright colors to mimic the happy comedic tone of the movie. Combining this together you have a brilliant mix of happy and spooky that made both the first movie and this one enjoyable for everyone.

When it comes down to it Hotel Transylvania 2 is a heartwarming family movie full of comedy that everyone, whether you're big or small, can enjoy.