Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (known internationally as Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation, or simply Hotel Transylvania 3) is a 2018 American 3D computer-animated comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The third installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, it is directed by Genndy Tartakovsky and written by Tartakovsky and Michael McCullers, and features Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Keegan-Michael Key, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, and Mel Brooks reprising their roles, as well as new additions to the cast including Kathryn Hahn and Jim Gaffigan. In the film, Dracula finds love with a ship captain named Ericka Van Helsing while on a vacation on a cruise with his family and friends, but Mavis discovers that Ericka is actually the great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula's arch-enemy.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 13, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 13, 2018. Like its predecessors, the film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $498 million worldwide, against a budget of $80 million.
Video Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Plot
In 1897, Dracula (Adam Sandler) and his friends disguised as humans are traveling on a train to Budapest. However, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan), Dracula's arch-enemy, boards the train and unveils the monsters; the monsters escape by climbing through the roof, and Dracula pushes his friends from the train for their safety. Van Helsing is obsessed with destroying Dracula but is constantly outsmarted by him.
In the present day, some time after the events of the previous film, Dracula is running his hotel business smoothly, with his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) and son-in-law Johnny (Andy Samberg). However, Drac is depressed by the fact that, since Martha's death, he's lonely despite attempts to meet someone. Misinterpreting this as stress from overwork, Mavis books a cruise so they can all take a break and spend more time together as a family. The next day, Dracula, Mavis, Johnny, Dennis (Asher Blinkoff), Vlad (Mel Brooks), and the hotel guests board a cruise ship called the Legacy. Dracula sees the ship's human captain, Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), and immediately falls for her, something that he thought was impossible as he had already "zinged" before.
Ericka goes to a secret room on the lower decks where she meets Abraham Van Helsing, who is revealed to be her great-grandfather and is almost completely mechanised, to avoid death. Van Helsing has a plan to eliminate all the monsters, in the cruise upon its arrival at the lost city of Atlantis using an Instrument of Destruction, which could be found in Atlantis's ruins. Van Helsing makes Ericka promise to not assassinate Dracula beforehand, but she repeatedly attempts to do so anyway, albeit unsuccessfully, much to her frustration.
After failing to kill Dracula at an underwater volcano, Ericka moans about being unable to get him. Dracula's friends hear this, and thinking that Ericka likes him, inform Dracula about what they heard. Dracula nervously asks Ericka out on a date, and she accepts since she sees this as another chance to kill the vampire. However, as they dine on a deserted island, Ericka unexpectedly begins to fall in love with Drac, after they learn about each other's pasts.
Mavis finds out Dracula is interested in Ericka and becomes suspicious of Ericka's motives. The cruise ship reaches Atlantis which has been converted into a casino; Dracula decides to tell Mavis the truth about Ericka but gets distracted seeing Ericka going into a crypt below the city. Drac follows her, with Mavis not far behind, and learns that Ericka is after a "family heirloom." With Dracula's help, she gets past the numerous booby traps around the object, and escapes. Mavis arrives and confronts them, and Dracula confesses that he "zinged" with Ericka, to Mavis's surprise and confusion. After Ericka is told what a "zing" is, she harshly rejects Dracula's romantic feelings, leaving Dracula heartbroken.
A regretful Ericka gives Van Helsing the object--revealed to be the Instrument of Destruction--and he proceeds to set a trap for the monsters, at a dance party. Noticing that Dracula is still upset, Mavis, after some advice from Johnny, tells her father to talk to Ericka, admitting that she was afraid of him leaving her, which Drac allays. Suddenly, Van Helsing shows up and pushes away the DJ, and a saddened Ericka is forced to reveal that she is his great-granddaughter. Van Helsing unveils the Instrument of Destruction, a case for a music note sheet, and plays a song that drives a friendly Kraken (Joe Jonas) living near the island to attack the monsters. Ericka saves Dracula from the Kraken and pleads with her great-grandfather to stop the destruction, confessing to Drac that she fell in love with Dracula as well, which infuriates Van Helsing and causes him to attack them both.
In order to pacify the Kraken, Johnny opens up a portable DJ kit and starts playing positive songs to beat Van Helsing's song. Upon playing the Macarena, the Kraken is relaxed and happy for good; Van Helsing is unable to counter the song as everyone begins to dance, including the music sheet (which shreds itself to tiny pieces, in the process). Van Helsing also ends up dancing and accidentally slips and falls but is saved by Dracula. Touched by this act of kindness, Van Helsing apologizes to the monsters and gives everyone a full refund for the cruise, before sending them back.
Back at Hotel Transylvania, Dracula and Ericka have ended up in a romantic relationship. Drac proposes to Ericka, who stammers at the question, and she agrees to the proposal.
Maps Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Voice cast
Production
Development
In September 2015, Michelle Murdocca, the film's producer, said before the second film's release that the studio was "talking about number 3 and moving forward and taking the franchise to the next level," but thought that she and director Genndy Tartakovsky would not return, since they were working on Tartakovsky's Can You Imagine? before that project was later shelved. That same month, Tartakovsky stated that he will not return for the sequel, specifying to TheWrap that "two is enough. I have a lot of other ideas, and I kind of have to express them and have them come out." In November 2015, Sony Pictures Animation announced that the third film, under the tentative title of Hotel Transylvania 3, had been set for release on September 21, 2018.
Despite leaving the series, Tartakovsky later announced that he would return as the director for the third installment. Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, and Andy Samberg also reprised their previous roles, as Dracula, Mavis, and Johnny, respectively, and the film was written by Tartakovsky and Austin Powers writer Michael McCullers. In June 2016, Sony also confirmed Tartakovsky's return, after his taking a leave of absence to work on the final season of his show Samurai Jack. According to Tartakovsky, he returned after he received inspiration from a "miserable" family vacation, and from the Chevy Chase National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as the film takes place aboard a cruise ship. By early November 2017, the film had been entitled as Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.
One of the biggest challenges for the animation team was creating the massive Kraken character and simulating the water effects and destruction caused by the massive creature.
Music
Mark Mothersbaugh returned to score the third film, having previously scored the first two installments, while Sony Classical has released an official soundtrack of the trilogy. Dutch DJ Tiësto also provided music for the film's final battle. DNCE's song "Cake by the Ocean" and Pitbull's song Shake Senora were used in promotional material. I See Love performed by Jonas Blue ft. Joe Jonas. Eric Nam recorded the song Float for the film. Joe Jonas also recorded It's Party Time for the film while he was voicing Kraken the sea monster.
Release
Summer Vacation was originally scheduled for release on September 21, 2018, a date that was later moved up two months, to July 13, 2018. A video game adaptation, titled Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard, was released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows on July 10, 2018. On June 21, 2018, Amazon announced it was offering its Amazon Prime members an early showing of the film on June 30, at about 1,000 theaters, similar to fellow Sony release Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle the previous December.
International Release
While most territories are slated for July release dates, the film is set for release in China on August 17, 2018. Similarly, Italy and the Philippines won't see the film until late August while Japan and Poland have October release dates.
Marketing
The first teaser trailer was released online on November 16, 2017, and the official trailer for the film was released on March 21, 2018. A 95-second sneak peek of the film was released online via Sony Pictures Entertainment's YouTube channel on May 7, 2018.
Home media
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 9, 2018.
Reception
Box office
As of September 14, 2018, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation has grossed $164.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $333.3 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $498 million against a production budget of $80 million. On September 1, 2018, the film passed its predecessor, Hotel Transylvania 2, to become Sony Pictures Animation's second highest grossing film worldwide only behind The Smurfs in 2011.
In the United States and Canada, Summer Vacation was released alongside the opening of Skyscraper, as well as the wide expansion of Sorry to Bother You, and was projected to gross $38-45 million from 4,267 theaters in its first weekend. The film made $1.3 million from its early 3PM screenings held by Amazon on June 30, and $2.6 million from screenings beginning at 5PM the Thursday before its official release. It went on open to $44.1 million, finishing first at the box office and landing in-between the debuts of the first two Hotel Transylvania films. The film made $23.2 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomers The Equalizer 2 and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. It made another $12.3 million in its third weekend, finishing fourth.
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 59% based on 105 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation delivers exactly what fans will expect - which means another 97 agreeably lightweight minutes of fast-paced gags and colorful animation." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by both its predecessors.
Sarah Melton from Exclaim! thought the film was predictable but not entirely unappealing, writing, "not a shipwreck... Mostly, the film rests on putting familiar, likeable characters in a goofy setting and seeing what gags ensue." IGN gave the film score of 7.6 out of 10, saying, "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is mostly funny, BLAH-blah-BLAH!" Conversely, Scott Tobias of Variety gave the film a negative review, stating, "That leaves Hotel Transylvania 3 to look too much like another lackadaisical gathering of Sandler and his frequent on-screen chums, like a PG-rated Grown Ups at sea. They seem like the ones taking the vacation, and it's audiences who are left to pick up the tab." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote, "Trust me, I know that "storytelling" is not the main reason that kids go to third films in a franchise--I have two of my own that love this particular series--but I'm speaking more to the adults who have to pay for the ticket and waste their time here. Kids go for the familiar faces, repeated jokes, and comfortable world they feel they know. Hotel Transylvania 3 gets enough of that right to allow it to stand above the truly abysmal summer animated offerings of recent years (I'm looking at you, The Nut Job 2 and The Emoji Movie). It's not that bad. It's more forgettable than painful. When it was over, I asked my 9-year-old what he would give it. He replied, "I would give it 4 stars but I'm a kid. I'd probably give it 3 if I were an adult." Not quite."
Brian Lowry of CNN wrote, "Creatively, though, unlike the best animated franchises, whatever sense of discovery, surprise or ingenuity that Hotel Transylvania originally offered appears pretty well behind it. That might not mean it's checkout time just yet, but all that seems left is to dig up the pieces, stitch them together, and flip the "on" switch." Scott Mendelson of Forbes gave the film a positive review, saying "Hotel Transylvania 3 feels less like a narrative sequel and more like a casual "episode of the week" animated adventure. When you can watch the TV show at home, the movies must be relative events. This one feels less like an inspired PG-rated, kid-friendly distillation of Sandler's comedy than an animated version of his (comparatively) lazy studio comedies where he and his regular castmates go on a vacation on the studio's dime. The movie looks great, there are a few chuckles, and the kids may enjoy it. But compared to its predecessors, Hotel Transylvania 3 is mostly blah (blah blah)." Jamie Righetti of IndieWire wrote, "With plenty of laughs, truly dazzling animation, and some more of the franchise's signature dance sequences, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is a summer treat worth savoring, and a reminder that if we can see past our differences, we'll find we're not that different after all."
Chris Nashawaty from Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B-, saying "The harmless high jinks all go down easily enough without being particularly memorable or pushing the art form past the expected. Three movies in, the Hotel Transylvania series is undeniably getting a bit long in the fang. It's maybe one more sequel away from having a stake mercifully driven through its heart. Still, it's hard to argue with the sight of an airplane piloted by mischievous gremlins or the film's benign messages of the importance of family and love conquering all. I may have spent large stretches of the film rolling my eyes, but my 5-year-old twins' attention never flagged. Even if, in their eyes, Summer Vacation was no Lego Movie. Then again, for them, nothing could be." Rafer Guzmán of Newsday stated, "In the end, the noisy humor and classic rock songs drown out whatever worthy messages Hotel Transylvania 3 might offer." Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent gave it 2 out of 5 stars, saying "In its scattergun way, parts of the film are funny and very inventive. The hitch is that the storytelling feels so utterly random. All sorts of unrelated ideas are thrown together into the big, sloppy, monster mash of a plot as the cruise continues. The end message, namely that monsters and humans aren't that different and really ought to learn to get along, is sanctimonious in the extreme. Maybe it is time to put a stake through the heart of this particular franchise."
References
External links
- Official website
- Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation on IMDb
- Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation on Rotten Tomatoes
Source of article : Wikipedia
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