Hotel Transylvania was released in 2012 and it grossed over $358 million at the worldwide box office. It’s no surprise then that three years later sequel Hotel Transylvania 2 arrived in cinemas. Mavis (Selena Gomez) and her husband Johnny (Andy Samberg) get married and have a half-human, half-vampire baby, Dennis (Asher Blinkoff). Worried about her son growing up surrounded by monsters, Mavis thinks it might be best if she and Johnny bring him up away from Transylvania. As Mavis and Johnny explore the possibility of life among the humans, Drac (Adam Sandler) babysits his grandson in an attempt to bring the monster in him out and convince Mavis to stay with the family.
The movie’s storyline is decent enough and sees Count Dracula and his family living in a world where monsters and humans are still living mostly separately. Things pick up a bit when Drac’s father Vlad (Mel Brooks) arrives and isn’t all too impressed that his son’s hotel now allows humans to reside there. His arrival also brings further complications for Mavis as her grandfather has no idea that her husband is human or that her son isn’t a pure vampire.
Featuring an all-star cast Hotel Transylvania 2 should be a knockout. The first film established Count Dracula and his family as an entertaining bunch, and while that film had its issues, I had high hopes that they’d be ironed out for this sequel. Unfortunately Hotel Transylvania 2 suffers from many of the same problems and it fails to be as clever or as funny as other films in the genre. The jokes are on the corny side and there are too few laughs for the adults that will not doubt sit through this film endlessly with their kids.
It should be noted that all of the cast do solid jobs voicing their characters. Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally bring plenty of entertainment as Johnny’s parents Mike and Linda. Adam Sandler also shines as Drac with David Spade stealing a few scenes as Griffin the Invisible Man.
Special features on the release include Fifth Harmony’s I’m in Love With a Monster music video, a character sketch gallery, and two feature commentaries with selected members of the cast and crew.
Hotel Transylvania 2 is an adequate movie but it’s nothing particularly special and that’s a real shame. When you compare it to a Pixar or DreamWorks outing, it simply doesn’t come close. It lacks the clever humour of those films despite its fantastic animation and stellar cast. Kids will still love it and to be honest it will be a hit with younger children as it’s very easy to watch and not in the least bit demanding.
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Cast: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally Director: Genndy Tartakovsky Writer: Robert Smigel, Adam Sandler Released By: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Certificate: U Duration: 95 mins Release Date: 15th February 2016
