Hotel Transylvania 2 sinks teeth into family dynamics

In Hotel Transylvania 2, writers Adam Sandler, 49, and Robert Smigel, 55, grapple with themes of family heritage and cultural assimilation—pretty deep for an animated film starring a vampire and a gelatinous creature named Blobby.

In Hotel Transylvania 1, Dracula (voiced by Sandler) ran a hotel from his castle tucked away in the Transylvania forests. Although monsters (including vampires) and humans have co-existed peacefully for hundreds of years, monsters still shun human contact. Dracula—an overprotective, fang-toothed dad—eventually gave his blessing to the relationship between his young-adult vampire daughter, Mavis, and her human boyfriend, Jonathan.

HT2 opens with the marriage of Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Jonathan (Andy Samberg) and, “one year later” (the film takes care to point out), the birth of half-vampire, half-human Dennis. The young family lives with Dracula and their monster relations in the castle-hotel, which now admits human visitors. Little Dennis, however, has no fangs and cannot transform himself into a bat. His lack of vampire traits greatly concerns “Vampa” Dracula: If Dennis doesn’t grow fangs by age 5, he’ll never become a vampire.

Most of the story takes place in the week leading up to Dennis’s fifth birthday. Mavis and Jonathan travel to Jonathan’s native California to find a place to raise Dennis in a human community. Concerned he’ll lose his family, Dracula takes Dennis on a spooky road trip, hoping to coax Dennis’s fangs out by putting him in scary situations.

One stop on their journey is the vampire camp Dracula went to as a child. To his dismay, it’s a kinder, gentler experience. Hearing the vampire kids sing light and happy songs, he laments, “What happened to ‘Michael, Row Your Corpse Ashore?’” The camp has discontinued dangerous activities because of high insurance premiums, and the kids participate in esteem-building exercises. Instead of going into the fields to catch mice, a hunt that might prove unsuccessful for some, the vampire children pluck their prey off a T-ball stand.

Such is the charm of Hotel Transylvania 2 (rated PG for some scary images, action, and rude humor). Keeping naughty bits to a minimum, the film entertains with a stream of clever sight gags and crafty one-liners.

The frequent scary images will be too much for young children. And although they might not fully appreciate the drama, older children will enjoy the kooky action. But for parents looking back on their lives, the story will have plenty of bite.