Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Review

PG: Some action and rude humorColumbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation1 Hr and 37 MinutesDir: Genndy Tartakovsky | Writers: Genndy Tartakovsky, Michael McCullersVoice Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Keegan-Michael Key, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Mel BrooksOh, Sony Pictures Animation. I was hoping your streak of terribleness was going to end soon. AND IT BRIEFLY DID! Earlier this year, “Peter Rabbit” was released and I enjoyed the hell out of that movie. It exceeded my low expectations and had me look at SPA in a more respectable light. It had me kind of looking forward to “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation”.
Mavis surprises Dracula with a family voyage on a luxury Monster Cruise Ship so he can take a vacation from providing everyone else's vacation at the hotel. The rest of Drac's Pack cannot resist going along. But once they leave port, romance arises when Dracula meets the mysterious ship Captain, Ericka. Now it's Mavis' turn to play the overprotective parent, keeping her dad and Ericka apart. Little do they know that his "too good to be true" love interest is actually a descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, ancient nemesis to Dracula and all other monsters.THE GOODHotel Transylvania has to be one of the only film franchises that embraced its cartoony nature since day one. One of the best aspects each film carries and maintains is the visuals and the frantic movement that Genndy masters. “Despicable Me” is decent at doing it and with “Ice Age” it was an abrupt change in quality and tone. But with these Hotel Transylvania movies it feels perfect how fast and rapid the animation is for they feel like a series off Cartoon Network. There is currently a Hotel Transylvania series on Disney channel but its not as cartoonish as the films. This movie is Genndy Tartakovsky and his animators on speed.This time the humor is very reminiscent of both Dexter's Laboratory and Looney Tunes. The comedic timing and facial expressions are taken straight out of Dexter’s Lab from the side view cheesing smile to the squiggly smiles.  
Then, you have creative character designs that feel like something straight out of Samurai Jack, especially one in particular being Abraham Van Helsing in present day.For a fast-paced cartoon, I give credit to the animators in charge of the production designs and the water textures. Since the film is primarily taking place on the sea, the water looks realistically detailed and somehow it integrates with the silly characters decently.THE BAD
With “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation“ the film relies so much on the humor that the visual gags take the front seat, animation takes the back, and the story is in the trunk. This is an animator’s movie... as in a movie where animators are able to go buckwild with their movement and care less about whatever narrative attached.There isn’t a constructive narrative attached to the plot, or lack thereof. What you get instead is a string of vignettes where the monsters get into silly shenanigans during the summer. Sometimes we focus on Drac trying to find love on this cruise which leads to some nice parallels to the first film. But there are only 40 minutes of material with that story while the rest of the film is dedicated to dance sequences, visual gags, and irrelevant hijinks the characters get into. In other words, THERE IS NOTHING TO THIS MOVIE AT ALL!Seriously, these "Hotel Transylvania" movies are turning into another "Ice Age" for me where I thoroughly love the first film but the drop of quality drastically shifts which each sequel. And this is the lowest of the low.
The movie is called “Hotel Transylvania 3: SUMMER VACATION” for crying out loud. This might as well been called “Hotel Transylvania 3: We’re Creatively Bankrupt” because this movie is by every means of the term 'cash grab'. As cash grab movies go, other animated films have more integrity than this. There are innovative sequences and hilarious moments that work, but compared to the original, and even the sequel for that matter, it’s on a minimum for it’s hampered by excessive dance numbers and an abundant amount of jokes that doesn’t progress any story. There are not just one or two, BUT SEVEN MUSICAL MOMENTS THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE AND ONLY ONE OF THEM WORKS IN THE FILM’S FAVOR!I was just writing this off as a lame sequel that is fun for families at home, but then that climax happened. This movie’s climax has to be the most cringeworthy finale I’ve ever seen in an animated movie on par with “Foodfight”. If you thought three hedgehogs dancing to the Macarena was bad in “Ferdinand”... Shit, if you thought dabbing horses and twerking bulls were bad in “Ferdinand” wait till you see this movie. I don’t care if your movie is for kids or anything but no movie’s climax should have a DJ music battle to begin with. And also UNLESS YOUR FILM WAS RELEASED IN THE LATE 90s OR EARLY 00s, NO MOVIE SHOULD HAVE AN ENTIRE DANCE SEQUENCE WHERE EVERYONE DANCES TO THE MACARENA AND CALL IT A CLIMAX! I’m just envisioning a group of animators working day and night making sure each frame is detailed and moved fluently SO CHARACTERS CAN DANCE TO THE MACARENA!? Who approved this?! Who thought this was okay to take this tired and dated song from 1995 And have it as a big finale to your movie? Was this Sony? Was this Genndy? Someone needs to pay for that because, not only is that a form of pandering to the young audiences watching the film but it’s also proof that this movie has nothing creatively to offer at this point.
It hurts even more to know that this is the first time Genndy is in the writing department along with Michael McCullers who wrote “Baby Mama” and "The Boss Baby” and it just had me wondering “Okay, which part of the script was McCullers and which part was Tartakovsky’s?” Because the final product is such a jumbled mess that had me wishing for Robert Smigel to return. Now, since I’m fatigued by this franchise which has just turned from a fresh start to a tired one, I want Genndy Tartakovsky to branch out to new ideas and put these films in the coffin.
Also, somebody needs to take charge at Sony Pictures Animation because the route they’re going on right now is embarrassing as hell. The president is named Kristine Belson and unfortunately her head of the studio is not going out well. So, I’m giving you one more chance Sony Pictures Animation. If your “Spider-Man into the Spider Verse” ends up being as terrible as your other recent animation releases, I’m going to fully give up on you because you’ve left me with nothing but anger, emptiness, and rage for the past year since “Smurfs: The Lost Village”LAST STATEMENT“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” is colorfully vibrant and frantically fast-paced, but due to a lack of narrative material, this blatant cash grab sequel has nothing to offer but a thread of visual gags that will amuse only the youngest of the young audiences.Rating: 1.5/5| 37%Super Scene: Dance of defying death.