Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) – Film Review

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
Voice Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez
Certificate: PG

by Anel Blazevic

A rare welcome sequel to the best animated movie of 2012, Hotel Transylvania 2 picks up five years on from the original. Here, Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Jonathan (Andy Samberg) have had a child to add to the scary mix.

It works, like the original works, because of two things: The tensions between the undead and the living, and through the precarious balancing of ghoulish subject matter in a knockabout kids’ film. The jokes are fresh, endless and seemingly inexhaustible. The movie engages throughout its entire 120-minutes.

Adam Sandler’s Dracula is a wonderful comic take on the horror icon. It turns the hackneyed, old horror staple upside-down. The animation is terrific, with Sony finally giving Dreamworks a run for their money in the innovative digital stakes. Heck, even Mel Brookes gets a voice credit late on in a rare but all-too-brief appearance as Dracula’s dad.

Pop culture references run riot with some glorious slapstick moments. The pacing is breakneck as, indeed, are the jokes. They pile up and overflow in a silly/smart manner. Parenthood, friendship and lifestyle choices are big themes well handled. The whole is the the kind of clever, big-hearted fun-for-all-the-family experience that most of the best animated movies have become.
8/10