Review of Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) by Patrick L — 29 Feb 2016

"What a miracle! Adam Sandler has made his best comedy in over a decade".

Movie Review: Hotel Transylvania 2.

Date Viewed: September 29 2015.

Directed By Genndy Tartakovsky (Hotel Transylvania).

Written By Robert Smigel and Adam Sandler.

Featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Mel Brooks,.

Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade,.

Keegan-Michael Key, Asher Blinkoff, Sadie Sandler, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Rob Riggle, Dana Carvey, Robert Smigel, Jon Lovitz and Chris Kattan.

Here's a total shocker. "Hotel Transylvania 2" is a delightful treat for kids this Halloween season. I wasn't a fan of the first movie. I thought it was boring and it had "Ice Age" level jokes. The sequel however, is surprisingly better than the original and it's easily the best movie Adam Sandler and Kevin James have made together. Pope Francis did you bless Sandler and his cohorts before they made this movie? If you did, Thank You So Much! Written by Sandler and veteran "Saturday Night Live" writer Robert Smigel, the jokes in "Hotel Transylvania 2" are more fast-paced and zippier and the story is much better than the original "Hotel Transylvania".

Don't me wrong. This movie is far from a Pixar classic but it's still a fun time for the whole family. Plenty of things have changed in Hotel Transylvania, the hotel has now opened it's doors to human guests and Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) and Johnny (voiced by Andy Samberg) are finally married. They also have a son named Dennis (Asher Blinkoff) but just days before his fifth birthday, he has yet to grow his vampire fangs. This worries Mavis' father, Drac (voiced by Adam Sandler) who fears that his grandson won't gain his vampire powers.

After Dennis' birthday, Mavis is also thinking about moving away from Hotel Transylvania to somewhere safer for Dennis. When Mavis and Johnny go to California to visit the in-laws, Mike (voiced by Nick Offerman) and Linda (voiced by Megan Mullally), Drac along with his friends, Frank (voiced by Kevin James), Wayne the werewolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi), Griffin the Invisible Man (voiced by David Spade), Murray the Mummy (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key who is taking over for Cee Lo Green) and Blobby the Blob (voiced by Jonny Solomon) help train Dennis to become a scary monster just like them.

Later in the film, we get to meet Drac's grumpy old father, Vlad (voiced by Mel Brooks) who gets invited by Mavis to come to Dennis' birthday party. Here's the problem, Vlad and bat-like servant Bela (voiced by Rob Riggle) hate humans and Vlad becomes enraged after he learns that humans have been accepted as guests in the hotel.

Sandler (who once again does good voice work as Drac) and Robert Smigel who is known for his TV Funhouse cartoons on "SNL" have added more laughs and heart to this sequel. Unlike previous Sandler films like the two "Grown Ups" movies and "Jack and Jill", "Hotel Transylvania 2" doesn't indulge in fart jokes or bullying, it's a colorful animated film with clever pop culture references and bright jokes. As usual, Sandler brought along most of his buddies and fellow "SNL" alums to lead the voice cast (Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, Chris Kattan, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey). There's a reason why Mel Brooks is voicing the grumpy old vamp, he wanted to reconnect with his "Young Frankenstein" roots.

Pope Francis, if you do come back to America, bless Adam Sandler again because we need more good comedies from him. "Hotel Transylvania 2" is quite a miracle, it's the best comedy Sandler has made in over a decade.