Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Promotional release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Story byGenndy Tartakovsky
Based onCharacters
by Todd Durham
Produced byAlice Dewey Goldstone
Starring
Edited byLynn Hobson
Music byMark Mothersbaugh
Production
companies
Distributed byAmazon Studios (worldwide)
Sony Pictures Releasing (China)
Release date
  • January 14, 2022 (2022-01-14)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million[2]
Box office$18.5 million[3][4]

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (also known as Hotel Transylvania 4 and Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania) is a 2022 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation and released by Amazon Studios. It is the fourth film in the Hotel Transylvania franchise and the sequel to Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018), the film was directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska (in their respective feature-length directorial debuts) from a screenplay by Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo and Genndy Tartakovsky. It stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez (who also served as an executive producer alongside Tartakovsky and Michelle Murdocca), Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Hull (Replacing Adam Sandler), Fran Drescher, Brad Abrell (Replacing Kevin James), Asher Blinkoff, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins and Zoe Berri (Replacing Sadie Sandler). In the film, Dracula and Johnny (Hull and Samberg) team up to find a crystal in South America to turn themselves back into normal, before their transformations become permanent.

Plans for a fourth Hotel Transylvania film began in February 2019 Tartakovsky confirmed in October 2019 that he will not direct the film and was announced to be released on December 22, 2021. Returning and new cast and crew members were announced soon after, and Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed the score for the first three installments, returned to score, in addition to original song performed by Yendry. Production took place remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. After it was planned to be released theatrically in the United States on October 1, 2021, Sony Pictures Releasing cancelled the release and sold the film's distribution rights to Amazon Studios for $100 million, due to rising cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in the United States.

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on January 14, 2022, and theatrically in China on April 3. The film received mixed reviews from critics with the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus calling it "middling family viewing -- relatively painless, but overall rather uninspired". A spin-off series named Motel Transylvania is scheduled to premiere on Netflix in 2025.

Plot

[edit]

During Hotel Transylvania's 125th anniversary celebration, Dracula is planning to retire and leave the hotel to Mavis and Johnny. Mavis overhears this and tells Johnny who excitedly tells Dracula his plans to renovate the hotel. Worried about Johnny ruining the hotel, Dracula lies to him saying that there is a "monster real-estate law" which only lets monsters own the hotel and instead falsely announces the expansion of the hotel with an extra bathroom.

Van Helsing decides to help Johnny by using a ray powered by a crystal that turns humans into monsters and monsters into humans. After testing it on his guinea pig Gigi, he uses it on Johnny who turns into a dragon. Learning about Johnny's monster form, Dracula tries to turn him back to normal but accidentally turns himself into a human and breaks the ray's crystal. Van Helsing tells Dracula and Johnny that they can turn themselves back to normal by getting another crystal in the Cave of the Reflexión in South America, so Dracula and Johnny set off to do so.

Dracula's friends Frank, Wayne, Griffin and Murray end up becoming humans as well, as a result of drinking from a fountain that was contaminated by the ray. After learning about Dracula and Johnny's whereabouts on the news, Mavis and Ericka confront Van Helsing, but they are attacked by Gigi, where Van Helsing discovers that the effects of the ray are unstable, as the monster transformation will keep mutating until the subject becomes a mindless beast. The rest of the gang head to South America to find Dracula and Johnny.

While traveling through South America, Dracula and Johnny begin to bond. During a camp-out, Johnny teaches Dracula about how if he only sees the worst in things, he’ll miss out on the best parts. Dracula begins to confess that he lied about the monster real-estate law, but the rest of the group finds them. Things turn sour when Dracula admits his deception regarding passing over the hotel to Mavis and Johnny. This prompts an upset and furious Johnny to believe Dracula doesn’t consider him family and to mutate further before running away.

Mavis goes to find Johnny while Dracula and the rest of the gang go to the Cave of the Reflexión. Mavis finds Johnny, but the transformation has turned him very volatile. She leads him to the cave where they finally find the crystal. When Mavis tries to turn Johnny back to normal, nothing happens. Dracula lets himself get captured by Johnny and makes a speech about how he now sees him as family. This brings Johnny back to his senses, and he is returned to normal.

With Dracula and his friends back to normal, they return home but to find that the hotel has been destroyed by Gigi. After turning Gigi back to normal, Dracula decides to let Mavis and Johnny rebuild the hotel to their liking. One year later, Mavis and Johnny have rebuilt and modernized the hotel.

Voice cast

[edit]
Main article: List of Hotel Transylvania characters
  • Andy Samberg as Jonathan "Johnny" Loughran, Mavis's husband, Dracula's son-in-law, Ericka's stepson-in-law and Dennis' father[5]
  • Selena Gomez as Mavis Dracula, Johnny's wife, Dracula's daughter, Ericka's stepdaughter and Dennis' mother[5]
    • Victoria Gomez voices a young Mavis Dracula
  • Kathryn Hahn as Ericka Van Helsing, Dracula's wife, Mavis's stepmother, Johnny's stepmother-in-law, Dennis' step-grandmother and the great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing[5]
  • Jim Gaffigan as Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a former monster hunter, Dracula's great-grandfather-in-law and ex-nemesis and Ericka's great-grandfather who invented the "Monsterfication Ray"[5]
  • Steve Buscemi as Wayne, a werewolf and Wanda's husband[5]
  • Molly Shannon as Wanda, a werewolf and Wayne's wife[5]
  • David Spade as Griffin, an invisible man[5]
  • Keegan-Michael Key as Murray, an ancient mummy[5]
  • Brian Hull as Count "Drac" Dracula, the founder of Hotel Transylvania and Mavis's father, Johnny's father-in-law, Dennis' maternal grandfather and Ericka's husband. In the previous films, he was voiced by Adam Sandler,[5][6] who was unavailable to return for the fourth installment due to scheduling conflicts.[7]
  • Fran Drescher as Eunice, Frankenstein's wife[5]
  • Brad Abrell as Frankenstein, Eunice's husband. He was originally voiced by Kevin James in the first three films[8]
  • Asher Blinkoff as Dennis, the dhampir son of Johnny and Mavis, Vlad's great-grandson, Ericka's step-grandson and Dracula's grandson[5]
  • Zoe Berri as Winnie, a werewolf who is the daughter of Wayne and Wanda and Dennis' best friend. She was originally voiced by Sadie Sandler in the first three films
  • Asher Bishop as Wesley, a werewolf who is the son of Wayne and Wanda
  • Tyler "Ninja" Blevins as Party Monster[9]
  • Genndy Tartakovsky as Blobby, a green blob monster
  • Victoria Gomez as Wilma, a werewolf who is the daughter of Wayne and Wanda
  • Jennifer Kluska as Wendy, a werewolf who is the daughter of Wayne and Wanda
  • Derek Drymon as a zombie that was briefly turned into a human

Production

[edit]

In February 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that a fourth film had been in development.[10][11] In October 2019, Genndy Tartakovsky confirmed that he would not direct the film.[12] In September 2020, Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon, a storyboard artist on the first two Hotel Transylvania sequels and a former crew member of Rocko's Modern Life, CatDog, SpongeBob SquarePants and Adventure Time, respectively, were confirmed to be the film's directors, while Tartakovsky would write the screenplay and serve as an executive producer alongside Selena Gomez, who voices Mavis in the series.[13][14] Production took place remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

In April 2021, the film's title was revealed to be Hotel Transylvania: Transformania and it was confirmed that it would be the final film in the franchise.[16][17] That same month, Sony confirmed that Adam Sandler would not reprise his role as Dracula.[6] The role was given to Brian Hull after voicing the character in the short film Monster Pets,[18] while Kathryn Hahn, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, and Keegan-Michael Key were confirmed to reprise their roles.[5] The following month, it was announced that Brad Abrell had replaced Kevin James as the voice of Frankenstein.[8] Lynn Hobson served as editor.[19]

Music

[edit]

Mark Mothersbaugh returned to score the film, having previously scored the first three installments.[20] The soundtrack was released on January 14, 2022 by Sony Classical.[21] Additionally, the original end credits song Love Is Not Hard to Find were written by Morien van der Tang, Faried Arween Jhauw, Glen Faria & Jheynner Argot) and performed by Yendry and released on January 14, 2022.[22]

Release

[edit]

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was released by Amazon Studios on Prime Video, on January 14, 2022.[23] In February 2019, Sony Pictures Releasing scheduled the film for release on December 22, 2021.[24] In April 2020, the film was moved up to August 6, 2021.[25] In April 2021, the film was moved up again to July 23, 2021.[16] In June 2021, the film was rescheduled to October 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]

In August 2021, Sony Pictures cancelled the film's theatrical plans and entered discussions to sell the distribution rights to a streaming service, in response to the rising cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in the United States.[27][28] On August 16, 2021, it was reported that Amazon Studios was in negotiations to acquire the distribution rights to the film for $100 million from Sony and would release it exclusively on Amazon Prime Video worldwide, excluding China, where Sony would release it theatrically on an undetermined date. Sony would also retain home entertainment and linear television rights to the film.[29][30] On October 6, 2021, Amazon set a release date of January 14, 2022.[23]

The film had a limited theatrical release on February 25, 2022.[31] On March 7, 2022, it was announced that the film would have a theatrical release in China beginning April 3 of that year.[32]

Home media

[edit]

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on August 15, 2023 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[33]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 47% of 77 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Much like the trio of films it follows, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is middling family viewing -- relatively painless, but overall rather uninspired."[34] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[35]

Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting rates it 2.5 out of 5 stars, writing "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania never gets as complex as its moral center suggests, therefore never really rising above a wholesome, exuberant amusement ride."[36] Tomris Laffly of Variety gave the film a mixed review, writing, "The result is yet another wearisome tale that inelegantly depicts themes like acceptance, understanding and diversity within a saga that has always been rather clumsy with its messaging around such weighty topics."[37] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing, "Never much to write home about in the script department — Tartakovsky excels in more stylish, less verbal fare like Samurai Jack — Transformania remains sufficiently goofy-sweet to please its target demo; those who find the humor toothless should at least appreciate the distinctive animation, which can be as energetically wacky as classic Looney Tunes."[38]

Accolades

[edit]

The film was nominated in two categories for "Outstanding Special Class Animated Program" and "Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for an Animated Program" at the 1st Children's and Family Emmy Awards.[39] At the 2023 Kids' Choice Awards, Selena Gomez won the award for "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie (Female)".[40]

Future

[edit]

Television series

[edit]

Although Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was made as the final entry to the franchise, in June 2024, Motel Transylvania, a television series set to debut on Netflix in 2025, was announced.[41][42] The series is set to focus on Dracula and Mavis opening a motel.[43][44]

Possible sequel

[edit]

In September 2024, while interviewed by Collider due to his forthcoming attendance to the SCAD AnimationFest to be honored with an Award of Excellence, Tartakovsky was asked about the likelihood of a fifth Hotel Transylvania film. He said that he thinks Sony may want more films if there's a demand for it, acknowledging how well Transformania performed during its Amazon release, opining that they will have to wait and see.[45]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Billington, Alex (May 17, 2021). "Goofy First Trailer for Sequel 'Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania'". FirstShowing.net. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
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  4. ^ "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania". The Numbers. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
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  7. ^ Bramesco, Charles (July 21, 2022). "Genndy Tartakovsky's Vision For 'Primal' Season 2? Create The Lovechild Of Bugs Bunny And 'Heavy Metal' Magazine". Decider. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Verboven, Jos (May 17, 2021). "Trailer Park: 'Hotel Transylvania: Transformania'". Scifi.radio. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Malkin, Marc (December 10, 2021). "Twitch Streamer Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins Cast in 'Hotel Transylvania: Transformania' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
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  21. ^ "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. January 13, 2022. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
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  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 12, 2021). "'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' Delayed Until October; Exhibition Buzzes That 'Hotel Transylvania 4' Also On The Move – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  28. ^ Perine, Aaron (August 12, 2021). "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Possibly Headed to Streaming". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
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  34. ^ "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 31, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  35. ^ "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  36. ^ Navarro, Meagan (January 10, 2022). "[Review] Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Ends Franchise With Final Lighthearted Monster Adventure". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  37. ^ Tomris Laffly (January 10, 2022). "'Hotel Transylvania: Transformania' Review: Monster Toon Franchise Hits New Lows With Adam Sandler-Less Sequel". Variety. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  38. ^ John DeFore (January 10, 2022). "'Hotel Transylvania: Transformania': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  39. ^ Schneider, Michael (November 1, 2022). "Netflix Leads Nomination Tally for First-Ever Children's & Family Emmys". Variety. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  40. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (March 4, 2023). "Wednesday, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles Among Winners at 2023 Kids' Choice Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  41. ^ Squires, John (June 6, 2024). ""Motel Transylvania" Animated Series Will Continue the Adventures of Drac & Mavis". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
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