By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
It’s impossible to overstate just how influential the original Universal movie monsters are. Not only did they pioneer the shared cinematic universe, but these larger-than-life villains made horror movies mainstream. Since then, these monsters have been brought back by a number of directors, but their films usually fall short of the iconic originals. Fortunately, one animated film paired legendary movie monsters and legendary voice actors into one family-friendly comedy package: Hotel Transylvania, which you can now stream on Netflix.
Hotel Transylvania On Netflix
If you’ve never seen Hotel Transylvania (no kids or younger siblings, huh?), here is what to expect from this cartoon classic on Netflix. The plot concerns Dracula and his Hotel Transylvania, where he has invited the most famous monsters to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. But the famous vamp must scramble to hide the unexpected presence of a human at his hotel before he can meet any monsters or, worse still, his human-curious daughter.
Hotel Transylvania is worth a watch for many reasons, including a better cast than most Netflix films. Adam Sandler (arguably best known for The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer) plays Dracula, giving the famously cantankerous count the personality of the world’s oldest helicopter parent. And bis daughter is played by Selena Gomez (best known as an actor for Spring Breakers and, more recently, the Oscar-nominated film Emilia Pérez).
Still not convinced that Hotel Transylvania is worth firing up next time you need a little Netflix fix? The film also features the voice of our favorite Lonely Island Boy Andy Samberg (best known for Saturday Night Live and Brooklyn Nine-Nine). Other major celebrity voices include Steve Buscemi, Fran Drescher, CeeLo Green, David Spade, and so many more
Animated films are often quite a Hollywood gamble. Fortunately, Hotel Transylvania made a killing at the box office long before landing on Netflix. Against a budget of $85 million, this film went on to earn a cool $358.4 million. This was enough profit to greenlight a sequel, and the franchise now includes four films and one TV show, with another slated to come out later this year.
Unfortunately, Hotel Transylvania failed to cast its charms (vampiric or otherwise) on critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a fairly dismal 45 percent critical score. In general, the critics griped that the movie is entertaining enough for kids but may have too much noise and not enough story to appeal to adults.
So, time to answer your big, burning question: why the heck should you watch Hotel Transylvania on Netflix after critics drove such a sharp stake through its heart? For one thing, the film actually has a much higher 72 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This, along with the fact that it became an insanely successful franchise, is proof positive that general audiences love this film a lot more than critics.
Additionally, Hotel Transylvania is a real treat for anyone who loves the old Universal Monsters and vintage horror. The movie is a perfect love letter to these classic characters, and its focus on comedy rather than horror means that director and animation guru Genndy Tartakovsky can do new and exciting things with these characters rather than just aping the spookiest scares of yesteryear. And who doesn’t want to pair comedy with classic horror?
That brings me to the last reason you should scope out Hotel Transylvania on Netflix: it’s genuinely funny whether you are young or simply young at heart. Every cast member is hilarious on their own and just uproariously funny as part of this tightly-written ensemble film. By the time the credits roll, you’re likely to regret having to check out of this hotel so early and will likely be scrambling to stream the sequels.
Will you find Hotel Transylvania on Netflix as bloody good as I did, or is this one monster mash you’d like to cut out of? You won’t find out until you stream it for yourself. Love it or hate it, though, this animated classic will completely change how you view horror’s most beloved fiends.
