Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg costar in this animated flick, but don’t expect a repeat of “That’s My Boy”—this film’s actually good for a laugh.
Dracula (Sandler) owns the Hotel Transylvania, which he built to protect monsters from scary, unpredictable humans (“Monsters, Inc.,” anyone?) and to keep his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) safe from the outside world. But when human Jonathan (Samberg) finds the hotel and takes an interest in Mavis, Dracula realizes he’s been wrong.
The film’s not-so-subtle underlying message is a good one, even if not original. As Dracula hesitates to release Mavis to Jonathan, he asks whether Jonathan thinks the world will accept their relationship, despite Jonathan’s pleas that “this is the 21st century” and, more explicitly, “that’s kind of racist.”
Eventually, Dracula adopts the pair’s unapologetic attitude, discovering the monsters love Jonathan and that other humans love monsters.
Aside from standard Sandler and Samberg humor, the supporting cast, which includes Cee-Lo Green, Steve Buscemi, David Spade and Chris Parnell, adds more hilarity as the hotel’s other guests. Gomez and Green also add their vocal talents to the film’s final song, a Sandler/Samberg rap number.
Produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the film does not possess the perfection in animation that only Pixar films provide. But details like Mavis’ eyelashes and Dracula’s bat fur serve as a reminder that animated films can be high caliber without Disney collaborations.
Overall, this film will make you laugh more than a few times, and even if its message is somewhat commonplace, equality is something on which everyone can agree.
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