Hôtel Transylvanie 3: Les vacances d'été

The first 'Hotel Transylvania' was surprisingly good, after expecting to dislike it. The second film garnered mixed reviews, though a fair few of them had been negative, some thought it was great fun while others disliked it intensely. Personally am in the former.

'Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation' is the second sequel and also got mixed reviews. Some people, like the first two films, enjoyed it a lot, again others disliked and even hated it. Personally belong in the former camp. 'Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation' is less than perfect, could have been much better and like the second film is inferior to the first film, but it was again much better than expected and was quite enjoyable in its own way.

Starting with the many good points, the animation is great, vibrantly colourful, vivid, never blocky and meticulously detailed. The character designs are very much improved, though never had a problem with them in the first place. The soundtrack is very catchy and fits very well.

Dialogue is witty and hilarious, avoiding going into distaste and immaturity. And the gags hit more than they miss, coming by thick and fast, one highlight being a booby trap-laden dance scene. The fast pace and good natured antics make 'Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation' a very easy watch for the whole family. The message is sincere and easy to relate to, giving the film some heart without being heavy-handed.

Voice acting is on the money, Adam Sandler's Dracula in all three films sees him give some of his better work in recent years. Kathryn Hahn is a great addition and Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez improve hugely over the previous film. The standouts for me were Steve Buscemi (as ever), Kevin James and David Spade, the last two giving some of their funniest and best work of late.

For all those good things there are faults. Parts did get a bit too hectic and noisy and the story is basic and predictable with a few side-stories not serving much point.

Would have liked the secondary characters to have more screen time, character development generally is lacking and a few characters are near-incidental to the plot. Also expected a stronger finale than the anaemic one that goes overboard on the silliness.

Overall though, a good fun time. 7/10 Bethany Cox