Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Hotel Transylvania Transformania, is a film that we all quite enjoyed. We thought that the characters were as memorable and entertaining as ever keeping us engaged and laughing throughout even with a relatively simple plot.
Nathanyal: 8.5/10
Non-Spoiler:
The Hotel Transylvania series has always brought a smile to my face whenever I watch it. Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was no different. It was a fun movie overall, and definitely one the family can enjoy altogether. Although this movie wasn’t my favourite movie in the series, it still did a good job bringing smiles and laughter out from me.
On the negative side, I guess the plot of this movie is pretty straightforward and typical of the series. There wasn’t anything new with this release. Now, this isn’t technically bad, but it does feel a bit recycled. Besides that, there aren’t too many negatives. You get exactly what you want from this movie and not much else.
And what is it that you would want? Well for one, this movie was still hilarious and family friendly. The characters are the same as they always were, and their dynamics stayed pretty much the same here. I do have a hope for one of the characters, but I’ll discuss that part in the spoiler section.
Overall, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is pretty much what you would expect out of this series. A simple movie, with fun characters and comedy that the whole family can enjoy. So, if you’re in for a laugh, this is the movie for you.
Spoiler:
Here in this spoiler section, there isn’t too much I want to talk about that I haven’t already. I guess the one thing is that, if there are more movies in this series, I hope they keep Drac’s character development and his relationship with Johnny. I liked what they did with their relationship in this movie, and I hope it stays.
Other than that, there’s not much else. Characters are great, and I loved seeing the human forms of the main monsters. Comedy was fun too, and the movie is still family friendly, if that matters to you.
Give this movie a shot if you’re a diehard fan, or you just want a laugh the whole family can enjoy.
Austin: 8.0/10
Non-Spoiler:
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is the 4th movie in the Hotel Transylvania series, and it is a lot of fun. The plot isn’t awesome, but it’s a family movie so the quality reflects that. It’s pretty funny, and our characters are just as loveable as they were in the first three. My biggest worry was the departure of Adam Sandler and Kevin James and how those roles would be filled. Brian Hull was really, really good in this movie, and you almost couldn’t notice it wasn’t Adam Sandler. It felt like the same character, and it made the movie less jarring than it might have been. Cannot wait to see what he does next.
Honestly, the plot of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was pretty darn simple, but it was easy to follow and will be a bit hit with younger audiences. The idea of having all of our main characters switch roles and then try to fix it made for a pretty unique plot for a series that was running out of things to do. At the same time, it is really clear what is coming next so if you are here for any kind of mystery or wonder, this won’t work for you. If you can understand what genre this falls under, it is a ton of fun.
Our character cast is really long for this movie, and for an animated film that isn’t super unusual. With that being said, most of these characters actually play a meaningful role. Drac, Johnny, Mavis are really well written and different kinds of funny. Drac and Johnny’s relationship only gets better over the course of this movie, although when I say better I don’t mean more amicable. It is super entertaining to watch both characters and grow, primarily on their experiences with each other. It sort of becomes a storyline within the plot, and it fleshes out this movie ever so slightly. Our side characters like Frankenstein, Van Helsing, and Griffin are hilarious additions that play into those different brands of humour and they provide a little bit for everyone. They add a little bit to the plot and don’t really develop, but they provide a ton of entertainment value which is worth more than either of the first two points in a movie like this.
I enjoyed this quite a bit more than I expected. With it being on Amazon Prime instead of theatres initially, I was a little bit concerned if the quality or brand was going to change. I was happily surprised to see the same brand of humour and those same great characters that made the first three movies quite entertaining.
Spoiler:
Not a ton to talk about spoilers wise, I thought the ending of Drac apologizing to Johnny and then him calming down as a result was pretty clear from the get go. It was a nice moment for our characters, but it wasn’t anything surprising. The surprising piece comes moments later, when our crew discovers that the very large guinea big has destroyed the entire hotel. Gonna be honest, I didn’t see that coming whatsoever. For what looks to be the last movie in this franchise, it set up a closing act perfectly. Mavis and Johnny get the hotel, and they get to build it their own way. I really didn’t see anything surprising coming out of this movie, so that was a fantastic touch to end the movie on a high note.
Sebastian: 8.5/10
Non-Spoiler:
Hotel Transylvania is a series that I have always enjoyed since I was a kid. I still remember going to see the first film in theatres and then watching it and the sequels many more times. So, when this was announced I was looking forward to it and it honestly was better than I thought it would be. I thought this was an enjoyable film that was a welcome addition to the franchise. I thought that the film was a fun time with the characters we know taking on new roles and growing as people. Without getting into spoilers, it was nice to see how the characters have changed over the films and how their growth from the other films is still recognized in this film.
This story also puts the focus back on Drac and Johnny which is nice because they were the big focus of the first film and one of my favourite aspects of the series. I thought the story itself was a bit underwhelming but it wasn’t bad by any means, just familiar. The idea of characters swapping lives has been done in many stories but the twist in this film where Drac becomes human and Johnny a monster was unique and made for fun new dynamics. The characters were just as memorable as the first and it was cool to see that almost all the actors returned.
All in all, this was a really fun and entertaining movie. It wasn’t a mind-blowing film but it was still pretty creative and I had a good time so I would definitely recommend this one.
There isn’t a ton to talk about in terms of spoilers as there aren’t many big reveals or surprises but I will say that I didn’t see the reveal that Johnny’s monster transformation would make him evil which made the first reveal of the red eyes and flames a surprise for me. The other big surprise for me was the ending with the hotel being destroyed because I never thought something like that would happen to the hotel, though it is quickly rebuilt. I did also really enjoy Drac’s apology as I felt it did a good job showing how the relationship between those two has evolved and I liked his call back to Johnny’s marshmallow analogy.
