In the woeful age that I have dubbed A.S.S. (the Adam Sandler Spiral), 2012’s Hotel Transylvania proved that The Waterboy could solidly lead an enjoyable comedy – albeit as an animated, family-friendly Dracula. For this sequel, Sandler graduates to co-writer, which is most likely the reason why Hotel Transylvania 2 feels weaker than the first. And yet, it’s still better than most Sandler-written movies.
Drac now has a grandson – Dennis – but it’s not clear whether the child’s a vampire (inherited from his mother Mavis) or a human (passed down from his father Jonathan). Drac loves Dennis, which makes him even more bothered that the child doesn’t have fangs yet. By means of a road trip and deceiving his daughter, Drac attempts to make the five-year-old a “real vampire”.
Looking deeply into this, you can see how the film tackles themes of diversity, individuality, and mixing traditions with modern values. The social commentary can be surprisingly clever, with Jonathan’s parents (voiced by the excellent Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman) playing the culturally-ignorant couple to hilarious effect.
You could also NOT look deeply into this and just enjoy the sweeping amount of visual gags. From Drac’s spider-web floss to a subtle advertisement for “Spin Classes” in the background (I can’t describe how damn funny this was), there are enough family-aimed chuckles to keep everyone on board thanks largely to director Genndy Tartakovsky and the abundantly creative Sony Pictures Animation team.
Unfortunately, there are slumps that cannot be ignored. The climax takes a massive step backwards with an unnecessary fight sequence that goes against the sequel’s message of diversity and a non-violent future. The film also suffers from a big number of repeated jokes, lazy Family Guy-esque cutaways, and the worst case of Spontaneous Dance Sequence Syndrome I’ve seen from any animated film.
‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ Movie Times | ‘Hotel Transylvania 2 3D’ Movie Times
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