Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is the generic children's threequel you would expect, but it's not a shipwreck.
Mavis (Selena Gomez) books a vacation for her family on a luxury cruise, including her father, Dracula (Adam Sandler). An old rivalry between Dracula and monster hunter Van Helsing is rekindled when their cruise ship captain, Captain Erika (Kathryn Hahn), turns out to be Van Helsing's granddaughter. Dracula falls for Captain Erika, and as she plots to get rid of him, he nervously tries to get closer to her.
While the plot plays out fairly predictably and is not terribly compelling, there is something cute about a lonely, single-dad Dracula who wants to start dating. Mostly, the film rests on putting familiar, likeable characters in a goofy setting and seeing what gags ensue.
Johnny (Andy Samberg), Mavis's husband, hasn't changed much from the backpacking bro who showed up in the first film, and at times is barely distinguishable from their infant son. While there is some goofy charm in the father-son similarities, it is disappointing that Mavis ends up doing the vast majority of emotional and maternal labor for her new family, while also looking out for Dracula's emotional wellbeing.
While Dracula learned to let go of some of his fear and hatred of humans in earlier films, the Van Helsing family has some catching up to do.The moral of the movie is ultimately to look past differences and appreciate other people. It lightly dances around an allegory of modern-day xenophobia and racism, but doesn't lean into it.
(Sony)Mavis (Selena Gomez) books a vacation for her family on a luxury cruise, including her father, Dracula (Adam Sandler). An old rivalry between Dracula and monster hunter Van Helsing is rekindled when their cruise ship captain, Captain Erika (Kathryn Hahn), turns out to be Van Helsing's granddaughter. Dracula falls for Captain Erika, and as she plots to get rid of him, he nervously tries to get closer to her.
While the plot plays out fairly predictably and is not terribly compelling, there is something cute about a lonely, single-dad Dracula who wants to start dating. Mostly, the film rests on putting familiar, likeable characters in a goofy setting and seeing what gags ensue.
Johnny (Andy Samberg), Mavis's husband, hasn't changed much from the backpacking bro who showed up in the first film, and at times is barely distinguishable from their infant son. While there is some goofy charm in the father-son similarities, it is disappointing that Mavis ends up doing the vast majority of emotional and maternal labor for her new family, while also looking out for Dracula's emotional wellbeing.
While Dracula learned to let go of some of his fear and hatred of humans in earlier films, the Van Helsing family has some catching up to do.The moral of the movie is ultimately to look past differences and appreciate other people. It lightly dances around an allegory of modern-day xenophobia and racism, but doesn't lean into it.
