"Transformania?" Who Vanted a Fourth Movie?
New Hotel Transylvania movie makes its long awaited premiere on Amazon Prime.
By Maya Ortiz
New Hotel Transylvania movie makes its long awaited premiere on Amazon Prime.
By Maya Ortiz
“Hotel Transylvania: Transformania,’’ directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska, made its debut on Jan. 14 on Amazon Prime. Following the trilogy of the previous “Hotel Transylvania’’ films and the series, “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’’ added to the growing franchise. Due to an uprising in COVID-19 cases, the film did not premiere in theaters as originally planned, but instead decided to premiere for free on Amazon Prime.
Dracula, voiced by Brian Hull, decides to hold a party for the 125th anniversary of the hotel, where he plans to make a big announcement. But before doing so, Dracula has a conversation with his wife, Erica, voiced by Kathryn Hahn, about his nerves and his announcement. Mavis, voiced by Selena Gomez, happens to overhear their conversation, and finds out that Dracula might announce his retirement. She finds out that Dracula intends to hand the ownership of the hotel to her and her husband, Johnny, voiced by Andy Samberg, after doing so.
This film had its good qualities, but also had a few flaws and missed opportunities. One of the components that had an effect on the movie was the cast replacements, which was the main thing that gained the film’s popularity in the first place. Adam Sandler, who had previously played Dracula’s voice, Adam Sandler in the last three films, was replaced with Brian Hull, a YouTube voice impressionist, and Kevin James was replaced with Brad Abrell for the part of Frankenstein’s monster.
In addition to these re-casts, the film did not introduce any new characters, plot twists, or hidden mystery to the information we already know. One thing that could have been added to this fourth film could have been a deeper dive into the dramatic backstory, which was only shown briefly during the first film, and left some viewers with a hope that it would be clarified in the fourth installation. As for the relevance of “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania,” it did not manage to add or expand anything to the existing storyline. Comparing the Rotten Tomatoes reviews from the previous three movies, the film’s popularity had its ups and downs. “Hotel Transylvania” had an audience score of 71%, “Hotel Transylvania 2” at 63%, “Hotel Transylvania: Summer Vacation” at 48%, and “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” at 43%. Many audience members found the plot and journey of these characters to be blunt, and not really a worthy continuation of the previous sequels. None of the last films hinted at or left space for another possible movie, making the fourth film seem like it came out of the blue.
Despite these elements, “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” did have multiple great parts. Funny moments and a hilarious animation style managed to add extra comedy into the scenes and complemented the flow of the story. It is also worth noting that this is a movie for younger kids. It did have a good final message about how there is always a good side to negative scenarios.
“Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” is available for free for prime members on Amazon Prime Video.
Dracula, voiced by Brian Hull, decides to hold a party for the 125th anniversary of the hotel, where he plans to make a big announcement. But before doing so, Dracula has a conversation with his wife, Erica, voiced by Kathryn Hahn, about his nerves and his announcement. Mavis, voiced by Selena Gomez, happens to overhear their conversation, and finds out that Dracula might announce his retirement. She finds out that Dracula intends to hand the ownership of the hotel to her and her husband, Johnny, voiced by Andy Samberg, after doing so.
This film had its good qualities, but also had a few flaws and missed opportunities. One of the components that had an effect on the movie was the cast replacements, which was the main thing that gained the film’s popularity in the first place. Adam Sandler, who had previously played Dracula’s voice, Adam Sandler in the last three films, was replaced with Brian Hull, a YouTube voice impressionist, and Kevin James was replaced with Brad Abrell for the part of Frankenstein’s monster.
In addition to these re-casts, the film did not introduce any new characters, plot twists, or hidden mystery to the information we already know. One thing that could have been added to this fourth film could have been a deeper dive into the dramatic backstory, which was only shown briefly during the first film, and left some viewers with a hope that it would be clarified in the fourth installation. As for the relevance of “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania,” it did not manage to add or expand anything to the existing storyline. Comparing the Rotten Tomatoes reviews from the previous three movies, the film’s popularity had its ups and downs. “Hotel Transylvania” had an audience score of 71%, “Hotel Transylvania 2” at 63%, “Hotel Transylvania: Summer Vacation” at 48%, and “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” at 43%. Many audience members found the plot and journey of these characters to be blunt, and not really a worthy continuation of the previous sequels. None of the last films hinted at or left space for another possible movie, making the fourth film seem like it came out of the blue.
Despite these elements, “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” did have multiple great parts. Funny moments and a hilarious animation style managed to add extra comedy into the scenes and complemented the flow of the story. It is also worth noting that this is a movie for younger kids. It did have a good final message about how there is always a good side to negative scenarios.
“Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” is available for free for prime members on Amazon Prime Video.