Dear god, not another Adam Sandler film. After suffering through Pixels, the thought of watching another Sandler production brought a certain nausea that comes with his films. While the first Hotel Transylvania was watchable, Hotel Transylvania 2 is a boring, laugh-free experience.

Like the first movie, Hotel Transylvania 2 casts the same voice actors — or should I say voice buddies? While Sandler provides the voice for Dracula, David Spade (Werewolf), Kevin James (Frankenstein), Steve Buscemi (Invisible Man) and Andy Samberg (Jonathan) all return and stumble along in this half-assed sequel.

The plot is simple enough. After the birth of their first child, we see the recently married Jonathan (Samberg) and Mavis (Selena Gomez) struggle over whether their baby will be a vampire or simply human. Of course this is where we see art imitating everyday life. Since Dracula’s father Vlad (Mel Brooks) opposes the idea of humans marrying vampires, the thought of a grandson being human is deplorable. Aye the drama. And that’s where I got bored with the film. This movie played out like a simplified after school special. There’s nothing really funny save for a couple of scenes featuring a Jello-like blob.

For an animated movie based on historically scary monsters, Hotel Transylvania 2 has a pleasant vibe with each character. The graphics are wonderful as each monster retains their signature look. I imagine there’s a fine line of making these characters too scary while trying to maintain their horrific feature’s. I especially appreciated the set pieces of each scene as the Hotel itself retains it’s charming Scooby Doo like quality.

Despite the best efforts of Sony Animation, nothing else really works which is sad. The only good thing I can say about this film is the animation’s great but that’s it. Without an enjoyable story and flat humor, Hotel Transylvania 2 feels like just a typical Adam Sandler movie. And that’s not funny.

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