Movie Review: “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” will have your kids in stitches

Movie Review: “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” (PG)

I’m a little late with this one, but here we go. When it comes to animation, one thing you know you’re going to get from Genndy Tartakovsky (“Samurai Jack”) is a brisk pace, a lot of color, and plenty of high-energy antics. That trend certainly continues in the form of “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” Tartakovsky’s third outing with Adam Sandler and his Happy Madison crew.

This time around, an exhausted Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) is treated to a grand summer vacation by his loving daughter, Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez). The destination: A cruise right outside of the Bermuda Triangle. Initially, the idea of spending several days at sea with his family and friends doesn’t set well with the famed vampire, and in fact he dismisses the whole cruise concept as “A hotel on the water!” But eventually, he gives into the change of scenery, even more so after coming face to face with the ship’s attractive captain, Ericka (voiced by Kathryn Hahn). It isn’t long before a now lovesick Dracula is doing all in his power to impress a seemingly disinterested ship captain. Adding to the drama of it all is Drac’s run in with a bitter human rival whom he’s been battling for decades.

The first “Hotel Transylvania” was a pleasant surprise, a lively, quirky, nonstop animated romp that immediately brought to mind that old-school Rankin and Bass stop-motion animated gem, “Mad Monster Party.” The second film, while not as strong, still managed to bring the energy and charm. This third entry is definitely my least favorite of the bunch, but that doesn’t make it bad by any means.

Sandler’s goofy manchild sense of humor still serves as a terrific fit for Tartakovsky manic animation style, and as was the case with the first two pictures, “Summer Vacation” is chock full of all your favorite monsters. Furthermore, this flick moves at an appropriately quick clip. Some gags fall flat, but several, including a sea sick Blobby giving birth on the deck of a ship, hit the sweet spot. And admittedly, giving Drac a love interest this time around seems like a sensible direction to take the franchise. After all, this lonely, overworked bloodsucker hasn’t had a real date in a long, long time. Said love interest proves to be a nice addition to the proceedings as well, although it should be noted that this cutie pie may or may not have a hidden agenda.

There are clever plot developments at play here, including the idea that Dracula and his misfit family and friends (voiced by the likes of David Spade, Fran Drescher, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, Kevin James, Chris Parnell, and Andy Samberg) are simply misunderstood while Van Helsing (voiced by Jim Gaffigan) serves as the hostile antagonist. This “monsters are bad” theme has been prominent in all three films, but it appears to be even more front and center in “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.” The contention between Van Helsing and his monster enemies reaches a fever pitch in a spirited final act that finds both sides using the almighty power of music to try and defeat one another. This epic climax proves to be a heap of silly fun and a terrific note on which to end the movie.

“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” may not be as consistently entertaining as the previous two entries, but this one is still worth checking out, particularly if you have kids. Speaking of which, my little ones were howling with laughter throughout this thing! A sequence in which Mavis toots after eating a little too much garlic had my kids in absolute stitches! If that’s not the highest form of praise, then I don’t know what is.

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