- Title: Hotel Transylvania 2
- IMDb: link
The sequel to 2012’s Hotel Transylvania doesn’t stray far from the themes of the first film. After a series of short scenes involving the marriage of Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Johnny (Andy Samberg) and the birth of their son, the movie jumps forward to the eve of young Dennis’ (Asher Blinkoff) fifth birthday. The driving force behind the film is the concern of Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) that his grandson hasn’t show any vampire tendencies. The Count will use the weekend away from the boy’s parents to enlist the help of his old friends to bring Dennis’ monster genes out.
Available on both Blu-ray and DVD, extras include a digital copy of the film, deleted scenes, a character gallery, music video, audio commentary from director Genndy Tartakovsky, and a second audio commentary from Sandler, Allen Covert and writer Robert Smigel. Also included are some kid friendly featurettes such as lessons on how to draw the characters in the film and how to put together a Halloween party, a short featurette on the new characters, and karaoke sing-a-long.
Hotel Transylvania 2 is a passable enough sequel. It may not be as enjoyable as the original, but the movie has its share of laughs. The script is straightforward playing on the same themes as the original (Dracula lying to Mavis, vampire distrust of humans, monsters as modern-day celebrities, Mavis’ desire to explore the outside world, and so on) while providing a lightweight family friendly movie that brings back the entertaining classic movie monster supporting cast from the first film.
[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray $38.99 / DVD $30.99]