Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation  - An extravagant but dull trip

A couple of fart jokes, children's favourite Count Dracula swiping through Tinder and a particular stretched out shot having three witches ogle at an old vampire’s bony behind- no wonder the movie is obviously certified with a UA from the censors. Maybe the director wanted it to cater to both the young and the old ones, but comes off miserable in executing the same.

The threequel begins with a non-impressive flashback explaining the arch-rivalry between Abraham Van Helsing and Dracula himself. Helsing wants monsters eliminated from the surface of the earth. He is adamant to the point where he uses his knavery to an almost sinister and laughable extent. And how fate so happens to create ‘zing’ for Dracula and Van Helsing’s great granddaughter Ericka forms the weak crux of the story.

Surprisingly though, one area where director Tartakovsky has managed to create meaning is in the writing of his characters. Four main protoganists namely Van Helsing, Dracula, Ericka and Mavis(the count’s daughter) are really basic people at heart with a longing for love. And the journey that the writers have devised for them might have been good on paper, but comes trying on the screen. One reason that may be attributed for this is the lack in show of strong conflicts.

Even in the flashback train sequence we see Dracula getting rid of his pack to remain alone to face Helsing. We identify with his ‘sorrow’ face in a spiky monster’s wedding, considering the death of his wife. And when he sees Ericka at the cruise for the first time, he cannot trust that he has fallen in ‘zing’ (love) with her. While on the other hand Ericka refuses to acknowledge the ‘zing’, Helsing has not known ‘zing’ and Mavis is afraid that she might lose the ‘zing’. A satisfactory takeaway though is that all of them find their places at the end.

Talking about this film will be incomplete if the cruise vacation portion is not given attention to. It’s extravagant with gags that try too much to be funny. A few of them succeed in giving you laughs as well. But the ‘colourfulness’ of it with incorrigible, hilariously crafted monsters having their way at a vacation would make the young ones giggle. The portion gets a bit draggy around the middle- we’re ahead of the story tellers here- definite of what’s going to unfold. In short, the cruise part of the story is a slow sail with lazy story progress.

However, special kudos to the folks behind the glossy visuals and photography of the movie. Mark Mothersbaugh’s music score helps where monters’ antics fail.  What you might also like is the flight travel sequence and the final showdown between Johnny and Helsing playing a musical DJ battle to control a sea demon. It’s as desperate as it gets, but children might love it.  

Verdict: Though moderately fun, doesn't get us excited about a fourth installment at all.