Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, the fourth installment of the movie franchise, is a fun and imaginative film. Though Adam Sandler has left the series as a producer and the voice of Dracula, the picture successfully continues the evolution of the story and the development of its characters.

Dracula (Brian Hull) is planning to retire from running his hotel now that he is married to Ericka (Kathryn Hahn). His plan is to give the business to his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez).

When her husband Johnny (Andy Samberg) gets word of this intention, he excitedly imagines the changes he can make, which frightens Dracula. He invents a story and tells Johnny that only monsters can inherit real estate in Transylvania. Dracula then goes onstage, and instead of announcing his retirement, announces that he is building another bathroom for the lobby.

Johnny goes to the basement to find Ericka’s father, Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan), to turn him into a monster. Van Helsing produces a ray gun powered by a crystal that can transform a human into a monster or vice versa. He demonstrates this on his guinea pig before using it on Johnny.

Johnny, ecstatic at becoming a monster, tries to go to Mavis to tell her. Dracula gets the ray gun and tries to turn him back. In the process, a ricochet turns Dracula into a human.
Eventually the five main monsters at the hotel are transformed as well. Blobbie becomes a gelatin dessert. Frankenstein (Brad Abrell) becomes a suave hipster with great hair. Murray the Mummy (Keegan-Michael Key) becomes an old man with sagging skin. Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade) reveals that he has been naked the entire time, which freaks out the other monsters. Werewolf Wayne (Steve Buscemi) becomes a hirsute male.

Dracula ends up breaking the ray gun. Van Helsing reveals that he got the crystal from the Amazon. So Dracula and Johnny travel to South America in the hope that they can get the crystal and transform before anyone notices that they have changed.

Dracula didn’t count on him and Johnny becoming an internet meme. So soon the rest of the gang are traveling in Ericka’s blimp to join the quest.

What they don’t know is that there is a twist to being transformed into a monster by the ray gun. Will they be able to undo the damage before it is too late?

One of the strengths of this franchise is that it has managed to keep itself fresh by advancing the story of its characters through each sequel. In the first film, Mavis and Johnny meet. In the 2nd film, Dracula is concerned that his grandson Dennis is not evolving into a vampire. In the 3rd film, Dracula and the gang go on a cruise where he meets Ericka and falls in love. Each of the minor characters also undergo changes. The Hotel Transylvania series is like a soap opera, where you care about the characters and their adventures.

In this sense, the fourth film is a success. In particular, the minor monsters get much more to do as do their wives and children.

I particularly enjoyed the use of bright colors in the South American sequences. The scenes at the hotel can be quite dark or drab, but this plot point gives the animators more leeway to show their art.

The animators also do a great job with a hall-of-mirrors sequence. In this case the setting is in an ice cave with reflective stalactites and stalagmites.

Sight gags and slapstick have been a hallmark of the series. Seeing the human Dracula try to enter sunlight for the first time in centuries is priceless. Johnny as a monster dealing with a bus ride is also quite entertaining. A zombie being changed into a human and then being immediately bitten by another zombie is quite amusing.

The screenwriting is inventive and creates an engaging story that will interest both adults and children. It will be interesting to see, given the ending, what direction the franchise will take next.

The only complaint I have is with the scenes in the jungle. I think that the tribulations of a now-human Dracula are a bit drawn out. It is ironic, though, to see a once blood-sucking monster being infested with blood-drinking mosquitoes.

I will admit that I did not notice that Adam Sandler was no longer the voice of Dracula throughout the feature. It was only in the end credits when he did not receive top billing that I became aware of the new voice actor. So I would say that the transition is seamless.
In a similar vein, Kevin James is no longer the voice of Frankenstein, being replaced by Brad Abrell. Again I noticed no difference.

As far as appropriateness for children, I think that this movie will be quite enjoyable. There are some scary scenes with a giant monster. The now-human Invisible Man does show cartoon butt, but not continuously.

You will want to stay for the end credits. I will not spoil these, but I will say that I appreciated the use of a different animation style for these.

Three and a half out of five stars

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA is exclusively launching on Amazon Prime beginning this Friday January 14th

Drac and the Pack are back, like you’ve never seen them before in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. Reunite with your favorite monsters for an all-new adventure that presents Drac (Brian Hull) with his most terrifying task yet. When Van Helsing’s (Jim Gaffigan) mysterious invention, the ‘Monsterification Ray,’ goes haywire, Drac and his monster pals are all transformed into humans, and Johnny (Andy Samberg) becomes a monster! In their new mismatched bodies, Drac, stripped of his powers, and an exuberant Johnny, loving life as a monster, must team up and race across the globe to find a cure before it’s too late, and before they drive each other crazy. With help from Mavis (Selena Gomez) and the hilariously human Drac Pack, the heat is on to find a way to switch themselves back before their transformations become permanent. The film also features the voices of Kathryn Hahn (Ericka), Steve Buscemi (Wayne), Molly Shannon (Wanda), David Spade (Griffin the Invisible Man), Keegan-Michael Key (Murray), Fran Drescher (Eunice), Brad Abrell (Frank), and Asher Blinkoff (Dennis).

Starring: Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Hull, Fran Drescher, Brad Abrell, Asher Blinkoff
Directed by: Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska
Written by: Amos Vernon & Nunzio Randazzo and Genndy Tartakovsky