Movie Review – Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania

A solid B movie in terms of animation values, high-quality celebrity voices, low-key warm humor, and a fun direction the plot spins off into. It’s damn hard to get a franchise right in every iteration, but somehow the under-the-radar work in the Hotel Translyvania oeuvre manages to make a good little story each time. They aren’t up there with Toy Story for sheer quality but beats out Shrek and Cars in terms of heart and consistent competence.

Loved the little in-jokes, like Gremlins flying the plane…even if you’re not old enough to get the Twilight Zone/William Shatner reference, you probably still absorbed the notion of Gremlins from vintage 1980s pop culture. A nod to Godzilla. Steampunk rigs, some Indiana Jones type ‘sets’.There’s also a Habitrail involved…remember those?

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It’s too bad with the pandemic that Hotel Transylvania 4 never got to be seen on the big screen. The ‘location’ shots are some gorgeous animation work.

The best scenes are with Drac’s Classic Monster friends. Extremely funny “nothing” scenes — these actors could riff their way through a whole movie, a la Minions, and it would be a hoot. Please gimme.

Hey. Could we have a real hotel in a castle with these monsters? Maybe in Transylvania itself. This is an amazing theme and somebody should run with it. With zombies as bellhops, of course. Maybe Vegas? The strip could some fresh theme hotels and a haunted one would be, um, a scream. 😉

In the end: If you’re a dad with a daughter, you’ve probably seen and enjoyed the Hotel Transylvania movies. They’re made for you. Their bond is the motivator for every plot and is the shiny heart of the franchise. Go catch up with your own daddy’s girl — no matter what age — and watch these fun, goofy, loving stories together. Don’t worry — Adam Sandler keeps it (almost entirely) clean. Not bad, guys. Not bad, Sony Animation.

Grade: B

About The Peetimes: Here are 3 decent Peetimes with nothing major going on. I recommend the 3rd one after the first hour mark. There’s much better humor sprinkled throughout the rest of the film, with better dialog and set pieces. You’ll be safe with these Peetimes.

There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. (What we mean by Anything Extra.)

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Plot
When Van Helsing’s mysterious invention, the “Monsterfication Ray”, goes haywire, Drac and his monster pals are all transformed into humans, and Johnny 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 and the hilariously human Drac Pack, the heat is on to find a way to switch themselves back before their transformations become permanent.

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Jill Florio

Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)