The Drac Pac is back

Hotel Transylvania 2 picks up from the first charm-filled hit

Hotel Transylvania 2 (U)
Running time 89 mins
Rating: ***

WHO knew that Sony’s Hotel Transylvania did well enough at the box office to warrant a sequel? With so much stiff competition in the form of offerings from CGI animation giants Pixar and Dreamworks, it’s actually quite surprising that other studios even get a
look-in.

But, the first film was an original and funny take on the universe of classic monsters, adapted for the younger/family market, and
incorporated characters like Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and everything in between. And the second? It revisits the characters from the first for another charm-filled hit.

“Adam Sandler charming?” you may well ask. Providing the voice for Count Dracula, he’s funny and likeable in a story that sees his vampire daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) marry her human boyfriend Jonathan (Andy Samberg) and quickly fall pregnant.

As the baby grows into a toddler, the main concern for ‘Vampa’ Dracula is exactly when the adorable rugrat with more than a hint of his father about him is going to show vampiric tendencies. When Mavis and Jonathan threaten to move to California in search of a safe environment in which to raise their boy, Dennis, Dracula hatches a plan to hasten his grandson’s bloodsucking development. But the prejudiced Count must learn to accept his grandson for what he is if he’s to keep his daughter close…

With the film and its comedy working on two levels, parents should enjoy this just as much as their smaller counterparts – it moves along at a nice pace and has plenty of visual appeal to boot.

A voice cast that includes US stars of the small and big screen Kevin James and Steve Buscemi, as well as comedy icon Mel Brooks, alongside names like David Spade, Molly Shannon, Megan Mullally and Wayne’s World’s Dana Carvey, there’s a pool of talent to guarantee engaging delivery. Hotel Transylvania 2 is made with as much care and
attention as its predecessor.