Hotel Transylvania 2 *** (2015, voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Mel Brooks) – Movie Review

Hotel Transylvania 2 is mild and minor but it is quite pleasant, amusing and fun. Adam Sandler returns as the voice of Dracula, whose daughter Mavis (voice of Selena Gomez) has married human Johnny (Andy Samberg) and becomes pregnant.

Drac is worried that his grandson Dennis isn’t growing fangs, so while Mavis and Johnny visit her in-laws, Vampa Drac enlists his friends Frankenstein (Kevin James), Murray (Keegan-Michael Key), Wayne (Steve Buscemi) and Griffin (David Spade) to put Dennis through monster boot camp.

Drac’s grumpy old dad Vlad (Mel Brooks) visits the hotel and finds his great-grandson is not pure vampire and that humans are welcome at Hotel Transylvania. However, Vlad is convinced that Dennis is growing fangs.

This animated sequel is pleasant and warm-hearted, with plenty of good, well-animated characters and eye-catching visuals throughout. It’s a shame that the story is thin and there aren’t more funny gags because it could have been really good. Brooks, for example, is amusing, but could have been hilarious with a better screenplay than Sandler and Robert Smigel are able to dream up. Why are there so few great gags and one-liners?

As they’ve got so many characters to work on, there could be so many interesting stories. But this manages to home in on just one and it’s a pretty cosy one at that, involving a small kid, parents, grandparents, and a great grandparent.

Dracula as a caring grandparent? maybe not! It’s just too homely for a monster movie. The U certificate material is the problem, with more grown-up material trying to break out every now and again. Just think what Tim Burton and Henry Selick could have done with this.

In America, it’s rated PG for some scary images, action and rude humour but in the UK it’s a U. Yes, there’s a creepy atmosphere, and old Vlad and his minion Bela (Rob Riggle) might scare younger viewers, but the film’s tone is light-hearted. And that’s the trouble. The problem is that it’s not really scary at all, and not funny enough either. On the other hand, it does have some charm, a gentle sense of humour and a little grown-up appeal.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com