It’s been a while since I had the chance to watch a newly released kid’s movie.
So, naturally, I went with the hype for “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” and watched it from the comfort of home with my family.
While I found the movie unnecessary after the third film, it still was hilarious and had plenty of jokes for adults and children alike.
Plus, hearing Dracula complain about mosquitos swarming him as a human is rather poetic and funny!
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (also known as Hotel Transylvania 4) is a computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and released by Amazon Studios.
The fourth and final installment of the Hotel Transylvania franchise and the sequel to Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018), the film is directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska from a screenplay by Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo, and Genndy Tartakovsky (who directed the prior three films).
It stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Hull, Fran Drescher, Brad Abrell, and Asher Blinkoff.
The film is rated PG for some action and rude humor including cartoon nudity and as a total run time of 87 minutes.
During the celebration of the 125th anniversary of Hotel Transylvania, Mavis (Gomez) overhears Dracula’s (Hull) plans to retire and leave the hotel to her.
She tells her husband Johnny (Samberg) who excitedly tells Dracula his plans to renovate the hotel.
Worried about Johnny ruining the hotel, Dracula lies to him saying that there is a real-estate law that only lets monsters own the hotel - disappointing Johnny.
Mad scientist Van Helsing (Gaffigan) decides to help Johnny using a ray that turns people into monsters and vice-versa; after testing it on his guinea pig Gigi, he uses it on Johnny who turns into a dragon-like monster.
Learning about monster Johnny, Dracula tries to turn him back to normal, but accidentally turns himself into a human and breaks the ray’s crystal.
Van Helsing tells Dracula and Johnny that they can still turn themselves back to normal by getting a new crystal which lies in a cave in South America, so Dracula and Johnny set off to do so.
Dracula’s friends Frank (Abrell), Wayne (Buscemi), Griffin (Spade), and Murray (Key) end up becoming humans as well, as a result of drinking from a fountain that was contaminated by the ray, along with Blobby who’s turned into a plate of gelatin.
Mavis and Ericka (Hahn) confront Van Helsing after learning about Dracula and Johnny’s whereabouts in the news, but he warns them about the effects of the ray, as people affected by the ray continue to mutate and become more hostile as time goes on.
With this in mind, the rest of the gang head to South America to find Dracula and Johnny.
While traveling through the South American jungle, Dracula and Johnny begin to bond.
Dracula eventually begins to confess that he lied about the monster’s real-estate law, but the rest of the group finds them.
Things turn sour when Dracula admits his deception regarding passing over the hotel to Mavis and Johnny.
As usual, things get worse before they get better and everyone has to pull together to save Johnny.
Overall, the movie reinforces the importance of family and telling the truth – both of which are important messages for everyone.
