Hotel Transylvania 2!!
That's right! The sequel to the 2012 hit animated monster film! With the plot:
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At the start, we go through a seven year period after the first film, that features Johnny & Mavis' wedding, the birth of their son Dennis, and the boy's growing up all at the Hotel Transylvania, which, also goes through some changes such as becoming more technologically savvy and allowing humans as well as monsters in. Now you'd think things would be happy for everyone and it is initially...
Except for one thing...
As Dennis's fifth birthday approaches, his "Vampa" Dracula starts to become worried that he's not displaying any vampire abilities. Apparently if he doesn't come into his powers by age five, he won't come in to them at all. And old Drac doesn't like the notion of that.
It's made even worse when Mavis, feeling that if her son does turn out to be human, he won't be safe around all the monsters, and contemplates moving to California to be near Johnny's family and more humans.
So when Johnny and Mavis go to California to visit Johnny's family, Dracula and his friends, Wayne the Werewolf, Griffin the Invisible Man, Frankenstein, and Murray the Mummy try everything to get Dennis to come into his powers by taking them to all of their hot spots from their heyday. Of course the usual hijinks ensue which call for a lot of laughs.
Meanwhile, in California, Mavis, in her small-world naiveté, is entranced by mini-marts, and skate parks and becomes excited for the possible move, though she starts having second thoughts when Johnny's mom inadvertently offends her while trying to make her more comfortable during their visit. However, those thoughts are shriveled and her goal is strengthened when Drac and the gang's antics wind up being posted and going viral on the internet, causing her and Johnny to rush back home and berate the Count for trying to make Dennis into something that he's possibly not.
Things get even more batty when Mavis invites her grandfather and Drac's father, Vlad to Dennis's birthday, which sends Drac into a panic, since Vlad is a firm believer of humans and monsters staying separate, and forces him to improvise disguises for all humans (including Johnny's family) attending it.
Not gonna spoil the end since it's a recent release, but I can tell you it's very anti-climatic. Now on to the review...
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The film explores once again the notions of humans and monster's abilities to civilly interact with one another. We see that the hotel has undergone some technological renovations over the seven year period, to accommodate modern times and human guests.
Most of the main characters and voice cast return as well:
Dracula is still running Hotel Transylvania and has become more open towards humans since the first film, letting them in and modernizing the place. He has also supported Johnny and Mavis' marriage and is ecstatic about the birth of his grandson, Dennis. However, he soon slips back to his old ways when Dennis seems to show no signs of becoming a vampire, and is eager to get him to come into his powers.
Johnny and Mavis return, and are now husband and wife and father and mother, which provides with some major character development. Mavis is still the more excitable and high-spirited of the pair, though she does act overprotective of Dennis throughout the film (similar to how her father was with her in the first movie), to the point where she considers moving away incase Dennis doesn't "vamp out". This of course gives her the biggest character development in the form of a somewhat Face Turn Heel.
Johnny is still the laid-back goof we all love, but has embraced his fatherhood role to the fullest. Unlike Mavis, however, he wishes to stay in the hotel, regardless of Dennis's status as human or not, but doesn't want to disappoint his wife. So he and Drac conspire to have him keep her happy during their visit to California...but not TOO happy.
Wayne the Werewolf, Griffin the Invisible Man, Frankenstein, and Murray the Mummy all are back, and are ready to assist the Count in his plot to get Dennis to come into his powers-though not without the usual hijinks....
Dennis, Johnny and Mavis' son, is the most beloved person in this movie. His five-year-old innocence and love of extremity make him one of the characters that I love in this film. He also has a complex (and somewhat literal) puppy love with Wayne's only daughter Winnie, even though he claims they're only friends. In his innocence, he loves his monster friends and family, though thanks to his parent's-mainly Mavis's-and a kiddie monster performer's influence, he believes all monsters to be friendly.
Also, some of Johnny's side of the family (his parents, two of his brothers, and their families) are introduced in this film (though I still can't believe they haven't given them a surname yet). Johnny's father Mike is shown to be a deadpan guy for the most part (though I attribute it to being married to his wife), but a good-natured guy at heart. His mother Linda is well-meaning but often naive to the whole monster-human relationship thing. His brothers and their families don't get that big a role but do care for Johnny and his family.
And finally, Vlad, voiced by legendary actor and comedian Mel Brooks, wraps it all up in his appearance with his raspy voice and clever wit. Vlad isn't invited to the wedding or the birth due to his strained relationship with his son, and Drac's fears of what will happen if he finds out about the integration of humans and monsters. But Mavis invites him to meet his great-grandson and things just get battier from there.
All together, this is a film for the whole family to see as summer closes out, especially if you're a fan of the first film. The plot and characters really bring people close and will give you laughs that you will carry for at least until after Halloween.
In all I give this film a 9/10 and recommend that you...SEE IT!
