Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Blu-ray Movie Review

The Love Bloat?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 12, 2018

Something kind of peculiar happened to American television in the 1964-65 season. In an era rife with westerns like Bonanza, family situation comedies like The Donna Reed Show, lawyer dramas like Perry Mason, police-centric series like Naked City, and even what would soon become a major fad, the spy show as epitomized by the then new The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a trio of comedies appeared in September or October of 1964 that were in some ways unique to the annals of series television. Arguably the most innocuous of these was Bewitched, a show which slightly tweaked the already prevalent “smart wife, dumb husband” conceit of countless other sitcoms by making the wife a witch. But the two other oddities of the 1964-65 season really have no real analogs or predecessors (at least that I can think of). The Addams Family brought the curious creations of cartoonist Charles Addams memorably to life, with the “altogether ooky” clan putting a decidedly Gothic spin on the “suburban sitcom”. Perhaps even stranger was CBS’ answer to the ABC series, The Munsters, a show which kind of came close to copyright or trademark infringement (or whatever the appropriate legal term of art might be) by “resurrecting” several notable Universal creatures like Frankenstein's Monster and Dracula in slightly changed forms. And in a way the Hotel Transylvania franchise can be seen as a more or less direct descendant of The Munsters, albeit with a few important changes. In this case the paterfamilias is not a Frankenstein's Monster knock-off, but instead a version of Dracula / Drácula (voiced by Adam Sandler), who is surrounded by a coterie of other iconic creatures (including Frankenstein's Monster, it should be noted). There is also an extended family at play in the series, with the films' "Grandpa" character a vampire (much like in The Munsters) named Vlad (voiced by Mel Brooks), and with Dracula dealing with a daughter named Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez), a wife and mother in her own right who is kind of half Marilyn Munster (in terms of relative "normalcy) and half Wednesday Addams (in terms of a certain Goth component in her appearance and emotional tenor).

Another television series from about a decade after the debut of the three aforementioned fantasy laden enterprises may come to mind as some watch this third Hotel Transylvania outing, since, despite actual protestations to the contrary voiced by Dracula in the film, Hotel Transylvania 3 plays at least a little like a typical episode of The Love Boat . When Mavis fears her father is working too hard, and hasn’t bonded properly with grandson Dennis, she decides to book the whole Hotel Transylvania crew on a “very special” monster themed cruise, one which launches from the Bermuda Triangle.

Dracula has already been shown trying to drum up some online dating prospects, but he longs for the “zing” (as he puts it) he felt when he first set eyes on Mavis’ now long deceased mother. Unfortunately for Drac, when he does (predictably) feel that romantic tingle when he sets eyes on the liner’s captain, a comely blonde named Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), he isn’t aware that her surname is Van Helsing, and that she is under the sway of her nefarious and slightly bionic great-grandfather Abraham (Jim Gaffigan). The elder Van Helsing has already been shown to be totally obsessed with eliminating monsters from the world courtesy of a prelude of sorts tracing the arrival of Dracula and his friends in Hungary in the 19th century.

That through line plays out against a number of sometimes rather funny vignettes involving a revolving door of other Hotel Transylvania stalwarts, including prodigious reproducer werewolves Wayne (Steve Buscemi) and Wanda (Molly Shannon); “Frank” (Kevin James), the franchise’s version of Frankenstein’s Monster; Murray (Keegan-Michael Key), this film’s version of The Mummy; and this film’s Invisible Man, Griffin (David Spade). These monster icons join the fray with a number of other characters either introduced in previous Hotel Transylvania outings, or, as in the case of some ubiquitous Fish or pilot Gremlins, in this film. The vignette driven quality of the story means that some bits hit better than others, but the film is almost relentlessly energetic, never really pausing long enough to cause much concern even when a joke doesn’t land all that well.

A subplot involving the Lost City of Atlantis leads to an expectedly noisy showdown, but the film perhaps hints at old feuds finally finding some semblance of peace in terms of the ultimate upshot of the relationship between Dracula and Ericka. Hotel Transylvania 3 doesn’t have any outsized ambitions, and it really doesn’t even try to deliver even a passing “message”, but it’s bright and colorful and more often than not enjoyable, undemanding fun. The film’s unexpected haul at the box office almost certainly guarantees a fourth at bat (vampire or otherwise) for the franchise.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hotel Transylvania 3 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As befits a film created entirely within the digital realm, the film's appearance is often razor sharp and incredibly well detailed, and aside from just a few very minor and transitory issues with elements like banding (keep your eyes peeled during the opening sequence as the train leaves the tunnel), the transfer looks fantastic. Textures are really well defined, including everything from the Mummy's burlap wrappings to the kind of gelatinous green goo of Blobby. The film's palette is just a riot of colors, with some really spectacular looking hues courtesy of kind of "Aurora Borealis" shadings in the Bermuda Triangle, but with a whole panoply of both vivid primaries and really distinctive interstitial tones making the viewing experience really enjoyable. Some characters like Abraham Van Helsing have an almost Steampunk sensibility, and rendering of everything from his wiry hair to his motorized, well, body (?) look precise and consistently well detailed. The one drawback some fans may have with this release is the absence of a 3D presentation, since the animation style is so clearly designed to be dimensional.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hotel Transylvania 3 benefits from a nicely designed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one that makes use of the film's kind of goofy quasi- musical sensibilities while also providing consistent engagement of the surround channels during a lot of the many crowded scenes aboard the cruise line. The film is awash (no pun intended, considering the sea element of the plot) in goofy sound effects, many of which are placed in discrete channels, and the cacophonous climax featuring a Kraken offers some appealing panning effects and rather forceful LFE. Dialogue and effects are all rendered with excellent fidelity on this very enjoyable and problem free track.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Director and Animators


• Original Shorts include:

  Puppy! (1080p; 4:55) gives a little background on Tinkles.

  
  

  Goodnight Mr. Foot (1080p; 4:07) is kind of like a Depatie Freleng take on Sasquatch.

• Scary-Oke Sing Alongs (1080p; 7:29) includes Dennis Had a Giant Dog, Monsters Like to Party Down, and Oh These Wolf Pups!


• Monster Lullaby Scary-Oke Singalong with Denisovich! (1080p; 4:47) includes Hush Little Monster, Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat, Vlady Had a Little Drac and Holiday Scary-Oke "Deck the Halls".


• Behind the Screams: The Voices of Hotel Transylvania 3 (1080p; 7:29) features some of the voice talent.


• Meet the New Characters (1080p; 5:40) offers some brief introductions to characters like The Gremlins and the Fish(es?).


• Johnny's Home Movies (1080p; 5:19) basically gives a brief history of the character.


• Drac's Zing-Tastic Read Along (1080p; 2:31) is a little story of love.


• Monster Activities! (1080p; 27:33) includes Plan Your Own Spook-tacular Sleepover!, Vampire Make-Overs: Mavis and Drac Make-Up How To, How to Draw Dracula and Make Your Own Watermelon Jack-O-Lantern.


• "I See Love" Dance Party (1080p; 2:46)


• Lyric Videos (1080p; 7:28) includes It's Party Time, I See Love, Float, Seavolution by Tiesto, and Mommy, My Hero.


• More Hotel T! includes:

  Hotel Transylvania Trailer (1080p; 2:37)

  Hotel Transylvania 2 Trailer (1080p; 2:42)

  Hotel Transylvania Monsters Mobile Game Trailer (1080p; 00:17)

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's just a slightly padded feeling to Hotel Transylvania 3, as if the screenwriters were aware they had to get to 90 minutes or so (give or take), and so just kept coming up with bits which don't necessarily add to the forward momentum of the Dracula - Ericka plot, or even to the Atlantis angle, but which at least offer some decent laughs along the way. Fans of the first two films will probably enjoy this one, even if it's predictable to a fault. As with the two predecessors, Hotel Transylvania 3 has some really appealing character designs and the animation is consistently enjoyable. Technical merits are first rate, and the supplemental package quite extensive. With caveats noted, Hotel Transylvania 3 comes Recommended.