«Hotel Transylvania 3: you'll be zinging!

Cinema Wednesdays - Virginia Eufemi

In this third instalment of the saga of vampires and other monsters - and we're not talking about Twilight - the scenery changes. We find Dracula and his band of famous friends such as Frankenstein's monster, the invisible man, the mummy and the werewolf ready to face new adventures.

An original cruise

As we learned in previous episodes, Dracula runs the Hotel Transylvania, a popular vacation destination for monsters from all over the world seeking a rest from human persecution. For the monstrous creatures of’Hotel Transylvania are gentle and fearful of humans, just like the Bob Razowski and Jacques Sullivan who hid in Pixar's wardrobes.

But Dracula is a hard worker leadership who has come to abandon his family for his work at the hotel. That's when his beloved daughter Mavis decides to take all the hotel guests and the family on an unprecedented cruise, the first ever organized for monsters. Heading for the Bermuda Triangle, a monstrous surprise awaits them all.

Humor for all

One of the powers of cartoons is their ability to push back the limits of the possible; just think of the extensibility of Looney Tunes or their widely accepted immortality. The characters of’Hotel Transylvania are also malleable and dismountable, which helps create some hilarious situations. The real strength of this animated feature is its humor. The youngest viewers will enjoy the wacky comic characters, while older viewers will enjoy the witty references to current events.

For example, the film (from the first instalment onwards) revolves around the «zing» of love at first sight, which seems to happen only once in a monster's life, hence the «Zingr» app - a clear reference to Tinder - where you can meet witches and other creatures.

Viewers of all ages will undeniably have a good time in the company of these endearing monsters, for whom friendship and family are important values, and who possess a comedic potential that feels familiar to us. Familiar because the humor of’Hotel Transylvanie 3 is a successful blend of legendary fantasy and folklore with modernity and contemporary themes. We had already seen these elements in the animated feature films by the ogre Shrek (2001), which combined medieval fables with everyday objects.

Hotel Transylvania 3 It also seems to take a humorous look at societal themes such as transhumanism: the illustrious Van Helsing, who has been hunting Dracula since Bram Stoker’s novel, is now so old that he has become a man-machine who is both repulsive and comical. This raises questions about humanity’s desire to overcome its mortality through science and technology.

Dancing epilogue

This animated film, directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, tenderly explores the relationship between a widowed father and his daughter: Dracula raised his daughter Mavis on his own, and the two have formed a very strong bond. But how does he feel about the possibility of rebuilding his life with another woman? Would his daughter see this as a betrayal of her mother? Hotel Transylvania 3 provides a fine answer to these questions.

Since the first Shrek In 2001, we noticed an unfortunate tendency to end these animated feature films with a big party where all the characters from the movie gather to dance to contemporary music. We saw this again at the end of the charming Despicable me (2010) and Hotel Transylvania 3 stays true to tradition. However, this film plays with music in a unique way, ironically blending well-known songs from the past with contemporary dubstep sounds. This is yet another aspect that appeals to both young people and adults, who won’t be able to help but «dance along.» Hotel Transylvania 3.

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Photo credit: © Sony Pictures