HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA (2022)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *comedy*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*

Although I like a lot of "monster-mash" comedies, I've liked none of the previous HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA movies kid-flicks directed by the renowned Genndy Tartokovsky. I can respect well-executed formula, but the three HOTEL films seem to consist of nothing but ponderous schtick-pieces. At the end of my review of the third film, I commented, "Since HT3 was another box-office success, presumably another of these things will be glutting movie screens in the near future."

I guessed wrong regarding the provenance of the fourth HOTEL film, for it appeared on the Amazon streaming service (though originally the cartoon was produced with theatrical release in mind). More importantly, the fourth script-- which Wiki claims will be the last-- is also the first not to rely completely on lame schtick. Tartokovsky abjured the director's chair in favor of two newbie directors and confined his contribution to co-writing the script with two other writers. It may be that Tartokovsky wanted to bring the series to a close, at least as far as his contributions were involved, because TRANSFORMANIA finally deals with the elephant-monster that's dominated the hotel since the series began.

The conflict for the original HOTEL was nothing more than "Daddy Monster Can't Give Up His Little Girl." After centuries in which Dracula was the only "man" in the life of his sole daughter Mavis, the lissome teen vampire girl (a mere 118 years old) falls in love with a goofy male human, Johnny. Dracula's management of a "monster-exclusive" hotel serves mostly as an excuse to bring together a panoply of comical versions of famous monsters of movieland: a mummy, a werewolf, a Frankenstein, and so on. At the end of the first film, Dracula seems to make his peace with the wedding of Mavis and Johnny, which in the second film eventuates in a vampire-human offspring. However, both the second and third films occasionally touch on the fact that the master vampire is still far from captivated with his daughter's husband.

Following the events of Movie #3, Dracula finds his own human lover, one Ericka, and though the movie doesn't say so, her influence may have something to do with the vampire lord's decision to step down from running Hotel Transylvania. He intends to cede the business to Mavis and Johnny at a party for the hotel's 125th anniversary. However, because Johnny proves exceptionally annoying at the party-- though always without intending to irritate his fangster-in-law-- Dracula lies, telling Johnny that he can't run the hotel because he's not a monster. 

But because the bumbling youth sincerely wants to help, he appeals to the Hotel's resident mad scientist. Doctor Van Helsing (also introduced in the third film) promptly unveils a monster-making ray-gun and zaps Johnny, who becomes a big green dragon. Through a series of unfortunate incidents, Dracula and various other monsters also get zapped, which results in their becoming human beings. 

The only way to reverse these transformations involves journeying to South America for special power-crystals, so Human Drac and Monster Johnny set forth, with the embarrassed vamp-daddy doing his best to keep daughter Mavis from finding out about his little fabrication. Mavis finds out after they've gone that if the transformation isn't reversed soon, Johnny may mutate into a malevolent beast. 

As mentioned before, TRANSFORMANIA is just good formula, nothing more. But after having to endure three films in which Dracula always manages to keep his animus concealed, I enjoyed seeing Monster Johnny find out what Daddy Vamp really thinks of him, at least in Drac's less charitable moments. And Johnny's disillusionment plays into his mutation, allowing for a climax which involves some definite peril mixed in with heartfelt confessions. So I hope that the series, for all its minuses, does manage to go out on at least a medium note.