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JANUARY 26�FEBRUARY 2, 2022
‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ wraps
up the monster franchise with familiar fun
By Tracy Brown
Los Angeles Times
T
he last thing you see before the title
card for “Hotel Transylvania: Trans-
formania” drops at the end of the movie
is a character shrugging with a smile as
if to say, “It is what it is.” It’s a pretty good
summation of the fi lm itself.
The fourth and fi nal installment of a
long-running 3DCG monster franchise,
“Transformania” delivers what most view-
ers would expect from a “Hotel Transylva-
nia” fi lm: frenetic energy, physical comedy
and Dracula learning another lesson
about acceptance. It is now streaming on
Amazon Prime Video.
This time around, the fi lm also has
some meta elements that its young
intended audience likely will not notice
nor care too much about. A story about
being ready to pass the torch, “Transfor-
mania” sees Genndy Tartakovsky — who
directed the fi rst three “Hotel Transylva-
nia” fi lms — hand over directing duties
to Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska.
Tartakovsky, known best for his work in
TV animation, co-wrote the screenplay
with Amos Vernon and Nunzio Randazzo.
The celebration that kicks off the ac-
tion this time is Hotel Transylvania’s 125th
anniversary. Dracula (Brian Hull, replac-
ing franchise staple Adam Sandler), who
Sony Pictures Animation
Dracula (Brian Hull) with Mavis (Selena Gomez) return in Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures
Animation’s “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania.”
watched beloved daughter Mavis (Selena
Gomez) grow up within the walls of the
establishment, is ready to hand her the
reins so he can enjoy retirement with his
new love, Ericka (Kathryn Hahn).
Or so he thinks. As much as Dracula
believes in Mavis’ ability to keep things
running, he absolutely does not trust
her human disaster husband, Johnny
(Andy Samberg), to not muck things up.
One thing leads to another and Drac and
Johnny essentially switch places — Drac
becomes human and Johnny a monster
— because, as the old adage goes, you
can’t really know someone until you walk
a mile in their shoes.
In “Transformania’s” case, that mile is
stretched into an adventure through the
jungles of South America. It’s a setup that
allows Drac, among other things, to suf-
fer through sunlight in the most extreme
ways a human can.
Younger viewers who already have
an affi nity for the “Hotel Transylvania”
fi lm series likely will fi nd enough to keep
them entertained in this fi nal installment.
The amount of havoc the normally goofy
but fairly harmless Johnny can wreak as
a monster is impressive, and there are
plenty of easy laughs to be had watching
all of the familiar monsters of Drac’s pack
in their new human forms.
For parents, the enjoyment of “Trans-
formania” might come down to their at-
titude toward adults who never quite grow
up. Johnny, a self-professed slacker, is
in heightened form here even compared
with previous “Hotel Transylvania” fi lms.
Unless you already have a natural liking
for the character — or experience the
same epiphany Drac has over the course
of the movie — Johnny might be a bit
much, especially since he’s not the one
required to show any growth.
That said, one of the “Hotel Transylvania”
series’ biggest strengths has always been
its cartoony style and embrace of a more
exaggerated, elastic character animation.
While this may not be as innovative now
as it was when the fi rst fi lm in the series
debuted in 2012, Drymon and Kluska’s
“Transformania” still packs visual fun.
Another hallmark of “Hotel Transylvania”
fi lms is their routine setup — Drac tries to
keep a secret from Mavis for one reason
or another, then has to dig himself out
of trouble. This time, Mavis gets a bigger
stake in the action. While much could be
said about Mavis having to clean up after
her father or her husband, it’s nice to see
her take an active role in saving the day.
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