Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

"Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" / "Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation" is just as okay as its predecessor, "Hotel Transylvania 2." The major difference is that this one has far better animation.

When the lonely Count Dracula goes on vacation with Mavis, his family and monster friends on the cruise ship Legacy, he immediately falls in love with the human Captain Ericka. However the mysterious woman has a secret that may jeopardize Dracula, his family and the other monsters. Who is Captain Ericka?

"Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" is another funny animation of this successful franchise. This time with a predictable romance between Dracula and a woman. In-between, lots of confusions and funny situations with the monsters. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Hotel Transilvânia 3: Férias Monstruosas!" ("Hotel Transylvania 3: Monstrous Vacation")

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is an entertaining animated film filled with unique creativity. Wonderful voice acting and a distinctive animation style separate this from the majority of animated films. This is sure to be a worthwhile watch for all families.

The movie follows Dracula (Adam Sandler) as his boring hotel business and lack of love continue to bring him down. Wanting to bring back his joy, daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) surprises Dracula and the rest of his best friend-monster pack with an adventurous monster cruise. Initially angered by this, Dracula slowly begins enjoying himself and even finds a new crush in the mysterious yet charming cruise captain Ericka (Kathryn Hahn). However, things take a left turn when former nemesis Abraham Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan) hunts the cruise, threatening the lives of all monsters aboard.

Adam Sandler, as Dracula, is my favorite character as his transformation to being his old adventurous self is well-presented. His love for his daughter and kind acceptance of humans also provide for a nice central message. Selena Gomez, as Mavis, continues to shine by providing an equally strong father-daughter bond with Dracula. Kevin James, as Frankenstein, greatly presents a dumbfound friend to Dracula whose deteriorating body assures for some inventive comedy. Steve Buscemi, as Wayne/Wolfman, regales with his signature voice highlighting the character's parenting struggles with his many cubs. David Spade, as Griffin/Invisible Man, equally entertains despite not having a corporeal form. Last but not least, Keegan Michael-Kay, as Murray/ Mummy, completes the pack with his unique, child-like nature. Kathryn Hahn, as Ericka, adeptly portrays her mysterious past and interesting attraction for Dracula. Jim Gaffigan, as Abraham Van Helsing, exhibits a new take on the legend monster hunter.

Genddy Tartakovsky brings out his zany and fast-paced direction in new ways. In spite of that, this is nowhere as memorable and groundbreaking as his other works, such as Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory. My favorite scene is the opening one which quickly introduces us to the Dracula-Van Helsing rivalry and sets the stage for a grand adventure. The biggest flaw in the movie is that some of the humor comes across as farcical and this could dissuade adults from watching. Also, the plot is rather one-note and forgettable, especially when compared to the standard of Tartakovsky's other work.

The movie's message is to never discriminate against a person based on their looks and instead, appreciate them for who they are. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 6 to 18.

Reviewed by Arjun N., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more reviews by youth, visit kidsfirst dot org.

The first 'Hotel Transylvania' was surprisingly good, after expecting to dislike it. The second film garnered mixed reviews, though a fair few of them had been negative, some thought it was great fun while others disliked it intensely. Personally am in the former.

'Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation' is the second sequel and also got mixed reviews. Some people, like the first two films, enjoyed it a lot, again others disliked and even hated it. Personally belong in the former camp. 'Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation' is less than perfect, could have been much better and like the second film is inferior to the first film, but it was again much better than expected and was quite enjoyable in its own way.

Starting with the many good points, the animation is great, vibrantly colourful, vivid, never blocky and meticulously detailed. The character designs are very much improved, though never had a problem with them in the first place. The soundtrack is very catchy and fits very well.

Dialogue is witty and hilarious, avoiding going into distaste and immaturity. And the gags hit more than they miss, coming by thick and fast, one highlight being a booby trap-laden dance scene. The fast pace and good natured antics make 'Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation' a very easy watch for the whole family. The message is sincere and easy to relate to, giving the film some heart without being heavy-handed.

Voice acting is on the money, Adam Sandler's Dracula in all three films sees him give some of his better work in recent years. Kathryn Hahn is a great addition and Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez improve hugely over the previous film. The standouts for me were Steve Buscemi (as ever), Kevin James and David Spade, the last two giving some of their funniest and best work of late.

For all those good things there are faults. Parts did get a bit too hectic and noisy and the story is basic and predictable with a few side-stories not serving much point.

Would have liked the secondary characters to have more screen time, character development generally is lacking and a few characters are near-incidental to the plot. Also expected a stronger finale than the anaemic one that goes overboard on the silliness.

Overall though, a good fun time. 7/10 Bethany Cox

If you've seen the previous movies, you know what's up. And you'll know the characters and you'll get the jokes you expect this to make. And you get a bonus love story on top of that. Now you don't have to have seen the other movies to "enjoy" this. Actually especially young kids who watch this may not have been born when the others were released.

Again, this aims to please the kids and Adam Sandler is doing another fun/children movie. You can hate it on it for multiple reasons or accept it for what it is, if it doesn't float your boat. It's not excellent, it's not a masterpiece (quite far away from it), it does exactly what it says on the cover. Nothing more and nothing less either.