Hotel Transylvania 2

Some studios – we’re looking at you, Pixar – make kids movies that are aimed more at what adults think kids want to see. Others make films like Hotel Transylvania 2, which is the kind of movie kids actually want to see – packed with dumb jokes and with a bare minimum of dull stuff like “learning” and “growing”.
The plot – hotel operator Dracula (Adam Sandler) is increasingly concerned that his new half-human grandson may not turn out to be a vampire, and thus takes increasingly extreme (and extremely silly) measures to turn him into a blood-sucking fiend – is basically an excuse for loads of sight gags about monsters acting un-monster-like, which has been a sure-fire comedy formula since the days of The Munsters and The Addams Family.
Director Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack) gives the visuals enough individuality to keep things interesting, while Sandler sounds more engaged here than his last three live-action films. There’s a bit of a message about assimilation and moving with the times – Drac may seem old-fashioned but he’s totally hip compared to his dad Vlad (Mel Brooks) – but it never gets in the way of jokes about, say, the Invisible Man’s clearly fake Invisible Girlfriend, or the Wolfman’s tired acceptance of his army of wolfpack cubs.
Reviewed by Anthony Morris