310. Hotel Transylvania 3 - A Monster Vacation; movie review

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
Cert U
97 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild scary scenes, slapstick violence, rude humour

Ok, the Lake District is a long way to go to watch a movie which is being shown nationwide.
But, while Miss W and Master W were testing themselves by walking up Skiddaw (we did that ten years ago), we alighted upon the excellent Rheged Discovery Centre.
And, not entirely by chance, one of the mass of summer sequels was playing on its very large cinema screen.
Sadly, there were only a handful of families present to enjoy one of the funniest films of the season.
Yes, Mrs W and I were laughing even when the children in the audience were not.
Three years ago, I remarked, after see in Hotel Transylvania 2, that Adam Sandler is better off screen than on it.
Ditto here. His voice-work is essential to bringing the lightheartedness out of Dracula - the prince of darkness.
And, thanks to sharp direction of Genndy Tartakovsky, this is a film which competes with its predecessors for wit, pace and just good fun.
Its premise is that Drac's daughter (Selena Gomez) has organised for family and friends to go on a vacation to recover from the stress of running their own hotel.
Therefore, they join the most elaborate monster cruise ever seen - to the lost city of Atlantis, via the Bermuda Triangle.
Initially, Drac is unenthusiastic about the holiday but his head is quickly turned by the glamorous ship's captain (Kathryn Hahn).
Little does he know that she is the great grand-daughter of his old adversary, Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan).
So, while she plans his downfall, he is dewy-eyed for her.
But, hey, who cares about a plot during a Hotel Transylvania film - the audience buys its tickets just to see the crazy and often very funny antics of the monsters.
And, whether they are a green blob or Frankenstein, they hit the mark.
Of course, holiday time tends to nurture good moods so it is possible we just happened to be watching the right movie at the right time.
Whatever the case, the vampires of Hotel Transylvania 3 bit right into our funny bone.

Reasons to watch: One of the funniest films of the summer
Reasons to avoid: If you haven't got a heart for animation

Laughs: Five
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10

Director quote - Genndy Tartakovsky: ",After I finished the second movie, I was kind of burnt out, and I thought I was pretty much done with the franchise, And then my mother-in-law and my wife's dad invited us on a cruise. And as we were boarding the ship, and it was a New Year's cruise, and so it was all families... and then it kind of hit me! I started to realise, 'Right, what a perfect setting for our monster family?'"

The big question - Why are we so obsessed with vampires?

Share this post