Cartoon sequels somehow manage to work a lot better than their live action counterparts and that’s once again the case for director Genndy Tartakovsky’s return with Hotel Transylvania 2. In terms of our review for the recent DVD release of the film, we’re taking a slightly diminished stand-point on it, compared to a lot of the other online reviews and star ratings, which fall into the trap of looking at it with grown up eyes.
However, when you try to put yourself in the shoes of the average 5 to 10-year-old, which comes pretty easy to us and our tiny tiny minds, it ticks a lot of the boxes, making it a solid addition to the “keep the little ones quiet and happy for an hour and a half” collection for parent. It’s a fast-paced, fun-filled movie that doesn’t leave any fat for distraction and at just 89-minutes long it’s an easy movie to make it all the way through without getting disinterested.
The story is a little stilted to begin with as it tries to fill in the gaps since Hotel Transylvania first arrived, which looks too much like a moving slide show than a recap, but when it does land it hits the ground running. It picks up with the infamous hotel that Drac built as the pitter patter of little vampire feet get underway thanks to Mavis and Johnny recent marriage and ongoing nuptials (although, it’s probably not a good idea to remind Drac about that side of the 1 + 1 = 3 equation).
With the new parents getting to grips with the arrival of their first son, Dennis, Drac has his own struggles to contend with as the little guy shows no signs of having the vampire genes. To add insult to injury, the lack of monstrous redilience in a hotel filled with big and scary creature means that the parent are thinking about moving to California where it will be safer for him. Drac will stop at nothing to bring out the fangs in his grandson and to keep his family in Transylvania, but when his own dad Vlad gets involved things take a significant turn for the worse.
It makes for a clever sequel to the film, giving it easy justification and a funny plot to build the gags around as Drac repeatedly steps over the line in a bid to ensure Dennis gets the monstrous strength he needs to survive life in the hotel. While the real baddy of the piece gives it a bit too much of a Scooby Doo ending, as a whole the story makes for a decent return for the film.
The cast put in some excellent voices with Adam Sandler (Pixels) leading the way brilliantly as Drac, Andy Samberg (Cuckoo) doing a solid laid-back job as Johnny, and Selena Gomez nailing it as Mavis once again. They’re backed up by a good supporting cast, including Kevin James (Pixels) as Frankenstein, Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire) as werewolf Wayne, David Spade (The Ridiculous 6) as Griffin the invisible man and Keegan-Michael Key (Let’s Be Cops) as Murry the mummy. Mel Brooks makes a great introduction as Vlad, Dennis’ grand-vampire and there are some brief comedy moments for Dana Carvey (Wayne’s World) as the director of the local vampire academy, Nick Offerman (Ice Age: Collision Course) as Johnny’s dad and Rob Riggle (Let’s Be Cops) as Vlad’s mean servant bat monster Bela.
Visually the film is very cool with great animation, sweeping CGI and a good comedy horror style that should keep eyes glued to the screen throughout. It’s a step up on the animation of the previous film, and while it isn’t as epic as the average Pixar effort it isn’t a million miles off, and it definitely doesn’t lack anything in the animation quality department.
The Hotel Transylvania 2 DVD is a fun and easy to watch CGI animation with enough comic presence and story interest to make it a film that will pick up at least a few plays over the years, especially when the kids are getting ready for Halloween. There aren’t necessarily too many frills, but the blobby spills and gruesome spills make it a sure fire hit for kids great and small.
Hotel Transylvania 2 DVD review: 3.8/5
