The HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA trilogy will definitely get a mention in my Jekyll and Hyde appendix even though Hyde’s presence is small even for a monster mash. I’m not sure I’d have registered him at all because the glimpses are brief and he’s just a monstrous figure in a top hat — plus director Genndy Tartakovsky throws in so much visual detail (it’s reminiscent of his work on Samurai Jack) it’s easy for one figure to get lost in the shuffle. I’m still happy my work on the book led to me watching these because dang, they’re fun.
The premise of HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (2012) is that Dracula (Adam Sandler) lost his great love to a torch-wielding mob back in the 1800s. Retreating from the human world he created the eponymous resort, somewhere monsters can stay without having to hide. In the present day, his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) has turned 18 meaning she’s finally free to leave the hotel and explore the human world. Dracula’s terrified of what might happen to her and desperate to talk her out of it; complicating things, a hiker named Jonathan (Andy Samberg) wanders into the hotel. Dracula has to pass him off as another monster until he can push the guy out the door. Worse, Mavis has “zinged” on him, a form of love at first sight — and Drac can’t stand the thought of his little girl with one of Them.
The film is funny, visually delightful and has a great voice cast, including Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon and David Spade. Hyde appears briefly in a couple of group shots and like I said, I wouldn’t have noticed him if I hadn’t researched where to watch. “Can’t you see we’re in the middle of something very normal here?”
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 (2015) has Mavis and Johnny marrying, then Mavis giving birth to a kid to the delight of his “Vampa” Dracula. Except — is it possible the kid is just an ordinary human? And what will Drac’s father in law (Mel Brooks) say about that? While Dracula starts testing the kid to prove he’s a monster, Mavis and Johnny visit the human world where Mavis discovers the joy of convenience stores and Slurpees (“We have to try all the 48 flavors!”). If anything, funnier than the first one. “We don’t need to kill any more — we’ve got Pop Tarts!”
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 (2018) has Mavis and Johnny dragging the gang out of the hotel and onto a cruise ship. Mavis figures after her dad’s been running the hotel for a century, he could use a break so why not a lovely vacation cruise to Atlantis? Too bad the captain (Kathryn Hahn) is a descendant of the Van Helsings, out to recover an ancient mystical artifact that will help her cyborg grandfather take his revenge on Dracula. Will Dracula zinging on Captain Erika be enough to avert the apocalypse? Hyde has a slightly larger scene this time, getting mouth to mouth from a gremlin, though I’m still not sure I’d have spotted him watching cold. In any case, good fun. “Now that we have the instrument of destruction, our family legacy will be fulfilled — but first we’ll lure them in with a dance party!”
THE BAD GUYS (2022) are anthropomorphic animal outlaws whose attempt to cap their career (“No thief has ever succeeded in snatching the Golden Dolphin.”) leads to capture, than an attempt at reform under the guidance of the guinea pig Richard Ayouade, the Kindest, Most Wonderful Humanitarian the World Has Ever Faced. Why, just look at how he selflessly housed a mysterious glowing meteorite so he can study its energy, which of course he will only use for humanitarian purposes … Unsurprisingly the Bad Guys end up framed for a crime they (for once) did not commit, while the guinea pig taps the meteor’s power to pull off a billion-dollar heister. Funny and extremely meta (“Will this be the feel-good redemption story all of us need?”), with Sam Rockwell as Wolf and Awkwafina as the hacker Ms. Tarantula. “Out of all the people in the world, I hate you guys the least.”
All rights to images remain with current holders.
Pingback: Kelpies, witches, Frankenstein’s castle and Atlantis: books read | Fraser Sherman's Blog