by Takis Garis (@takisgaris)
Episode 23 The Year of the Animated Dead
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (7/10)
I honestly didn’t expect this one coming so strong. I mean, what are the odds? I even scrupulously left Hotel Transylvania off my TIFF2012 viewing list. A big budget ($85M) - 6 year - tantalized project, scripted and directed by altogether a dozen people, helmed by first timer with the funny name Genaddy Tartakovsky? And I haven’t mentioned the hardest problem to tackle, that is the protagonist, Mr. Drac(ula) himself, aka Adam Sandler… (Long pause to reflect upon the revulsive That’s My Boy, cementing comedian’s status as the new Eddie Murphy’s heir to dumb, toilet seat comedy). Well, Sandler’s tarnished career is getting back from the grave, simply because he holds a terrific voice talent, which finds itself in consonance with a fast and furious, incessantly inventive, hilarious joy ride production, showcasing a bunch of distinguished character actors such as: Kevin James (Frank, Frankenstein), David Spade (Griffin, The Invisible Man), Fran Drescher (Eunice, The Bride) and the man with cult following, Steve Buscemi himself, as Wayne, the Werewolf.
I honestly didn’t expect this one coming so strong. I mean, what are the odds? I even scrupulously left Hotel Transylvania off my TIFF2012 viewing list. A big budget ($85M) - 6 year - tantalized project, scripted and directed by altogether a dozen people, helmed by first timer with the funny name Genaddy Tartakovsky? And I haven’t mentioned the hardest problem to tackle, that is the protagonist, Mr. Drac(ula) himself, aka Adam Sandler… (Long pause to reflect upon the revulsive That’s My Boy, cementing comedian’s status as the new Eddie Murphy’s heir to dumb, toilet seat comedy). Well, Sandler’s tarnished career is getting back from the grave, simply because he holds a terrific voice talent, which finds itself in consonance with a fast and furious, incessantly inventive, hilarious joy ride production, showcasing a bunch of distinguished character actors such as: Kevin James (Frank, Frankenstein), David Spade (Griffin, The Invisible Man), Fran Drescher (Eunice, The Bride) and the man with cult following, Steve Buscemi himself, as Wayne, the Werewolf.
Even Andy Samberg (That’s my Boy) is practically stealing the show, by downplaying that backpacker, clueless dude (Jonathan), who intrudes into Dracula’s five stake monster retreat and falls instantly for his daughter Mavis (Selena-Bieber-Gomez riding on her acting break beautifully, sparing us from having to suffer from Miley Cyrus who was originally cast for the role) an adorable teen-vampire (Twilight, what?) celebrating her 118th birthday, in shadow of her long passed away mother (Martha) whose untimely undoing cast a spell on Drac’s overprotective fatherly heart. The thematic swirls around the undead-humans’ monstrous interaction, reflecting a common ground of dubiousness, mistrust and primal fear but this time from the monsters’ POV. While Hotel Transylvania cannot obviously boast about such novelty, coming second after the impeccable Monsters INC, however, I caught myself thoroughly amused by the innovatively functional, without being showy, visuals and the somewhat eccentric, not going for the big laughs humour.
In a year that big animation studios are bringing out the dead (Frankenweenie and ParaNorman being the illustrative manifestations of this latest trend), I remain in the minority claiming that Hotel Transylvania, thinly plotted or clichéd as accused, gives the films stated above a run for their money, by simply staying true to what young ages aspire from an animated story; solid fun, clear message, eye-grasping sketching. Sometimes it is way better for us adults to leave some breathing space to our offspring so that they will enjoy movies on their own pacing and style. Critics should be mindful of that too *wink*.
In a year that big animation studios are bringing out the dead (Frankenweenie and ParaNorman being the illustrative manifestations of this latest trend), I remain in the minority claiming that Hotel Transylvania, thinly plotted or clichéd as accused, gives the films stated above a run for their money, by simply staying true to what young ages aspire from an animated story; solid fun, clear message, eye-grasping sketching. Sometimes it is way better for us adults to leave some breathing space to our offspring so that they will enjoy movies on their own pacing and style. Critics should be mindful of that too *wink*.
gaRis
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