Over the course of film history, monsters have been depicted as horrifying and dangerous creatures who were often used to frighten children all over the world. Perhaps that is why the Hotel Transylvania franchise has become such a hit since its release in 2012: it showcases a lesser-known side of monsters, proving that they are not that different from humans after all. Thanks to this franchise, created by comedy writer, filmmaker and novelist Todd Durham, young audiences worldwide were able to peek into the amusing lives of cinema and literature’s most famous, fearsome, and classic monsters, like Count Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Werewolf.
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5 Hotel Transylvania: The Series
Sony Pictures Animation
Due to the popularity of the franchise’s movies, in 2017 Hotel Transylvania: The Series, also produced by Sony Pictures Animation, was released. This series boasted two seasons that ran until October 2020, and it served as a prequel to the films, as it is set in 2008, four years before Hotel Transylvania. The show focuses on Mavis’ teenage years, particularly at a time when Count Dracula traveled to a Vampire Council, leaving his daughter and her best friends at the hotel to experience the most hilarious adventures. Of course, not all is laughter and fun, because Mavis remained in the care of her rigid and boring aunt, Lydia Dracula. Apart from Lydia, the series also presents Mavis’ friends Wendy Blob, Hank N. Stein, and Pedro, relatives of the well-known characters from the movies, who also appear in a few episodes. One significant aspect to mention is that the voice cast is entirely different from the one in the movies.
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4 Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
3 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation was the third film in the franchise, and it premiered in 2018. The film shattered a few records for being the highest-grossing film in the Hotel Transylvania series, collecting $528 million worldwide, as well as, per Deadline, Sony Pictures Animation’s highest-grossing fully animated film. This sequel represents a major change in location, as for the first time, it is set almost entirely outside the hotel. Mavis senses that her father is very stressed out at work, and decides to treat him to a surprise monster cruise, along with their family and friends. Drac hates vacations, and only accepts to go because it’s a gift from his beloved daughter. As soon as he steps on the ship, something unexpected happens: after many years, the vampire falls in love as soon as he meets the ship’s captain, Ericka Van Helsing. However, there is one thing he completely ignores: the woman is, in fact, his arch-nemesis’s great-granddaughter, and she is willing to destroy monsters once and for all.
2 Hotel Transylvania
Hotel Transylvania marked the beginning of the franchise. Released in 2012 and helmed by Tartakovsky in his directorial debut, this production introduces the now-beloved characters for the first time, particularly Count Dracula, the owner of Hotel Transylvania, and his daughter Mavis. For years, he has worked very hard to protect his daughter from the outside world, which he finds alarming, and he has curbed all her attempts to go on adventures. With Mavis’ 118th birthday coming up, and all her friends and family dropping by to celebrate, the safety bubble her father put her in may suddenly burst, as a mysterious guest walks through the hotel doors, and straight into the girl’s heart: Jonathan, who appears to be the first human to ever visit the place that is not afraid of monsters at all.
1 Hotel Transylvania 2
The second Hotel Transylvania movie snags the top spot in this ranking on account of the tremendous job they did cementing both the story and the characters, especially in light of the original film’s popularity. Hotel Transylvania 2 was released in 2015, setting the story several years after the events of the first movie. Mavis and Johnny are now parents to a little boy named Dennis, who doesn’t seem to have any ability as a vampire, so Mavis is considering moving somewhere safer for the child. His grandfather Drac, convinced that his grandson is a vampire, but concerned because he has not yet acquired his fangs, steps in and, with the help of his friends, decides to train the boy so that he can turn into a monster. But the clock is ticking: Vlad, Drac’s stern father, is paying a visit to the hotel, and he has no idea about his son’s new policy towards humans.
