Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, more of the same, but it looks great

Remember when direct-to-video was a pejorative? The expectations of a direct-to-video movie aren’t as high as something you see in the theater. It’s also a term that is quite dated and I’m probably showing my age just by uttering it as if it’s a phrase that most moviegoers use. Planes is the most recent film that I can think of that was supposed to go straight to video but was redirected when Disney thought they had a low-key hit on their hands. That film was OK, but it wasn’t in the same league as Cars, or even Cars 2. Those were the days when every animated film had the aurora of somewhat being worth ticket prices (and snacks) in movie theaters.

We were not fans of Hotel Transylvania when it came out. I completely missed the second one and the third wasn’t horrible. The fourth, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is being released on Amazon Prime, having initially been directed towards movie theaters. It’s been completed for a while, but with COVID and the uncertainty of the public’s appetite for going back to someplace to watch a movie it was sold to Amazon. In the comfort of our own home, when we can view Hotel Transylvania: Transformania it’s somewhat entertaining. Had a family seen the film in theaters, and the kids were over ten most would’ve left feeling underwhelmed. At home, where the film that young audience will seek it out, it’s a bargain for the price of a month’s service.

Granted some could certainly view that as tepid praise at best. However, we were expecting the film to be horrible and it wasn’t horrible, thus somewhat entertaining is a step up from that. Is this the new normal for animation that isn’t expected to be a seasonal blockbuster? The answer to that all depends on the profit margin.

Amazon Prime paid around 100 million dollars for the streaming rights to Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. The previous three movies have each increased in how much they’ve earned. This is a series that is squarely aimed at middle to lower elementary school ages. We saw the third one with a nine-year-old and they liked it. That same child, now 12-years-old, saw Transformania and did not care for it at all.

In Transformania the monsters become humans or not scary and the human becomes a monster. There’s a quest to find the crystal that powers the rock that made all of this happen. The plot is pretty simple and doesn’t tread any new ground. It’s harmless, non-offensive fun for kids and the parent who draws the short stick that had to go to the theater with them. That’s what I would’ve written had the movie played in theaters. As it sits, this is entertainment the kids can watch in the living room while you work in the kitchen or do whatever.

The film does look gorgeous and its animation is top-notch. Whatever secret sauce Sony is using to put into their animation needs to continue. Now if they could just even out the quality a little bit, lose the see/saw effect of their releases and there could be a new animation studio king on the screen.

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is rated PG for mild action.