Hotel Transylvania Movies - Nostalgia Critic 

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Fun fact: The reason Brian Hull got the part of Drac in number 4 is that he has actually doubled for Sandler in commercials, a theme park ride, and some other internal stuff for sony

“Who wouldn’t that kill?” After being asked about stakes through the heart. Ah God! Gets me every time 😂

"Why the Macarena?" Line dancing is a staple on cruises, and the Macarena is the cliche of cliches when it comes to line dancing.

I think Drac's emotional vulnerability in the first movie is pure gold. That scene, the lighting and color choices, it really hits hard

Another awesome fact i love about this series is: When director Genndy Tartakovsky immigrated to America from Russia at age seven, some of the first movies he saw on American TV were Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles," "History of the World Part 1" and "The Producers." "Those were my comedic pillars growing up," says the director. "Mel Brooks is one of the foundations of comedy, he's been around forever, he shaped my comic sensibility, and he's still sharp and witty, so I was very nervous to direct him. He's amazing it's not like he needs directing," says Tartakovsky. "But I remember at one point, he wanted to hear how I thought he should do one particular line. What was I gonna tell Mel Brooks? But he wanted me to do it, so I did it, and he liked it, and he did it the way I did it. That was an amazing moment for me I'll never forget that.

I'll always appreciate hearing Mel Brooks as Vlad. That's one of those casting choice's that works on multiple levels.

Hotel Transylvania 2 still has one of my favorite jokes of all time where a guy tells Dracula “love your chocolate cereal”. It still cracks me up to this day and I especially like it’s one of those jokes not everyone is going to get especially kids. Count Chocula isn’t exactly easy to find even during the Halloween season.

That stake to the heart joke where dracula says "Who wouldn't that kill?" Always makes me laugh because in the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and even in it's spin off show Angel they actually do kill most of the monsters and demons with stakes or stake like weapons such as wooden poles or bolts and arrows. There's even an episode where one of the characters accidentally kills a innocent person who they mistake for a monster by stabbing them in the heart with a stake.

So glad you gave Brian Hull the respect he deserves. That guy's character impressions are impeccably amazing and on point.

Genndy Tartakovsky: *Makes good children's entertainment from Dexter's Laboratory to directing Hotel Transylvania* Also Genndy Tartakovsky: *Makes one of the most badass Star Wars productions ever...until Dave Filoni came along* Also Also Genndy Tartakovsky: *MAKES TWO OF THE GREATEST ANIMATION MASTERPIECES EVER IN SAMURAI JACK AND PRIMAL* This man needs more recognition for his art.

Mavis is indeed one of the best goth characters ever because she still has that morbid aesthetic yet she is so nice and full of life. I would love to see more perky goth characters to balance out the deadpan ones. Plus, she's just so cute! ❤

One thing I noticed is drac specifically says "yes, I'm allergic to garlic, it makes my throat swell" then in number three the 'can't have garlic' is turned into "it gives me gas"

Can’t believe it’s been a decade since the first film.

What's so strange about the original Design of Dennis was initially designed with giant curls of his father's red hair but when translated to computer animation, his hair was so big that it blocked the light in front of Dennis' face and nobody's arms would have been long enough to hold Dennis since his hair took so much space. Dennis' final model had more than 265 individual strands. Once the computer filled in the rest, there were a grand total of 150,000 hairs.

I still feel that my favorite moment in any of these movies is in the first. When Drac has that tender moment with Johnny telling him all about his wife. He even admits that he likes johnny. "Maybe if things were different it would be possible." Just the pain, but reluctant hope in that one moment... made me like adam sandler again

Watching the Macarena scene at the theatre was like watching hell manifest in front of me.

These movies prove that Adam Sandler still has a very good sense of Humor when he isn't doing Happy Madison movies. Hope he does more movies like these

Honestly i'm just glad Adam Sandler made these films and Uncut Gems because it just shows how much talent and effort is behind him when he's given that chance to shine as a actor and not just have to tell bad poop, fart or piss jokes so kids can laugh at his films.

Brian hull needs to be hired for more voice acting roles. He’s such a talented guy.

Genndy Tartakovsky absolutely did not disappoint with the first movie. His animated work will be considered classics in generations to come.

To quote the late great Norm Macdonald and something i'm sure Adam Sandler might be thinking about is “It’s a very odd thing with Hollywood, where you do stand-up, you’re good at it, then they go, ‘How would you like to be a horrible actor?’ Then you say, All right, that sounds good. I’ll do that.”

What i love about these films is that we're able to make Dracula edgy while also keeping him safer for kids to enjoy and laugh at.

"Tell me. Do you dream of being a vampire?" "This is how we're represented. Unbelievable." Still to this day, I howl at that scene. Or how about "I DO NOT SAY BLAH BLAH BLAH!"

I just realized Johnny's name is because one of the main characters in the original Dracula novel is named Johnathan.

I like how these films showed how incredible Adam Sandler can be at telling a story when he gives real emotions and not dressing up as a Woman

I like how the production team initially thought Vlad should inhabit an old-school castle--in other words, a classic foreboding location right out of a vampire movie from the twentieth century--before deciding to have him live in a cave instead to show how secluded he's become. It kind of shows Dracula growth as a character and show's how much he's improved over the years.

One point I wish this video covered was how Hotel Transylvania 2 was about a topic I've never seen covered in a kids movie: Culturally Mixed Families. The two main plotlines of Drac trying to make Dennis more "vampiric" and Mavis and Jon experimenting with suburban life both have strong analogies to two issues that can arise in culture mixed families. I'd like to preface this as being a Jewish man from an Israeli family who married a Christian woman from a Filipino family. Drac and his father Vlad are both played by legendary Jewish actors, and many of the "Vampire Culture" moments they exhibit share similarities to Jewish cultures: frequent complaining, parents being the fearful heads of the household, a stubbornness against compromise, and a positive outlook on "tradition". Drac tries to fool his father that his grandson Dennis is a vampire because he doesn't want Dennis and Mavis to be shunned by the Vampire community for not being "pure". I sympathize with Drac as I've met numerous Jewish friends who were outcasted from their families or communities for marrying outside their cultures. From personal experience, my parents weren't fond when my first girlfriend wasn't Jewish, but luckily, much like Vlad, they came around and fell in love with the woman I eventually married, though they still object to certain cultural norms my wife shares. With Mavis and Jon in suburbia, we get an opposite problem of forcing a culture: inhibiting ones culture. Mavis starts excited at the "human" lifestyle of technology, food, and activities. She even meets another monster who is married to a human and lives in suburbia. But in doing so, this monster gave up his monster heritage, and looks dull and miserable because of it. Mavis contemplates raising her son as a human or a monster, and in the former, asks if she'd have to live a human life as well. The counterpoint to both these views are Dennis and Winnie, the werewolf girl. The two children focussed in the movie come from different worlds, and they don't care. Winnie likes Dennis, not because he is a human or a monster, but because she likes him. And Dennis likes Winnie for everything she is. This becomes the moral of the story, that you can culturally identify with either of your parents, or both, or none, and still have a loving family.

The funniest thing about the 4th movie is how Twitter went crazy over the fact that the Invisible Man wasn't hot when he became became visible

Love this year's Nostalgiaween intro!

What a perfect way to start off Nostalgiaween by talking about these films and I do love the new nostalgiaween intro ❤️🎃

Mavis’ Godzilla-levels of rage on her expression is what sells the part where she finds out her son was thrown off a tower for me. The moment they open the phone-only to see THAT face glowering back at them, is the moment they all knew it was game over.

The first film is amazing. The sequels... Eh.. though there was one joke in the third film that easily one of the funniest things I've ever heard. "So you're telling me you'll watch our kids for us? But why?" That had me laughing so damn hard the first time I watched it I was literally in tears 🤣🤣🤣 I can only imagine every parent ever nodding in agreement when hearing that joke.

Super happy that Brian Hull got the opportunity to voice him. He did a great job

The Hotel Transylvania movies are absolutely amazing and they really show how good of an actor Adam Sandler is

Another cool fact about this series is: One of the ships in the Bermuda Triangle is named "Dawn", which is the name of director Genndy Tartakovsky's wife.

I LOVE the scooby doo intro parody! I was ironically watching scooby doo yesterday on HBO Max! Nice!

I love looking at the intros of every NostalgiaWeen and seeing how much the animators have improved so much over the years.

Yay! I love nostalgiaween! The new opening is great!

The first movie still holds a very special place in my heart because it’s one of the few films that helped me discover what films reviews is back in 2012. And I was still in high school at that year.

the bouncy-ness with the smiles is honestly creepy in 3 and 4 but 1 and 2 are still worth watching and entertaining

Love the Scooby-Doo intro! Hotel Transylvania is actually a decent movie, I liked it better than most animated movies that year!

You guys never fail with the Nostalgia-ween intros! I hope y'all will cover Coraline this year! 😄

I actually liked that 4 focuses on Drac and Johnny, as Johnny was rather neglected as a character in the last 2 movies.

One more cool fact from this series is: Drac's backpack sports flags from both Canada and California, USA, which is a nod to the fact that physical production for the film took place in two cities: Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Honestly Adam Sandler should do more parodies.

I'm Loving the Scooby-Doo theme. That was actually adorable and creative, please make more for the near future of Nostalgiaween.

When I first began dating my fiancé, she showed me the first two movies (it was a couple months before 3) the scene with Frank screaming and burning down the summer camp was the first big laugh we had together watching a movie. Its a great memory!

7:12 you detailed the reasons I love this movie excellently, it’s full of love, laughter and thought provoking moments. Draculas family(who look peaceful and seem not wanting to hurt anyone) is attack by a mob and loses wife to humans, the. It transcends to drac and his daughter crying with the house in flame’s”they are the real monsters” man that is as deep. Second is that the main gang(Dracula Wayne Frank and Murray) seeing the Monster festival, after centuries of hiding in fear running from humans hunting them. They all find a whole village and locals and tourists having a party Dedicated to Them! The shock & on their faces is incredible. I can’t imagine what’s going on in their minds if this ain’t a sign tis have changed I don’t now what is.

Though not the best movies, the animation is so vibrant and zany, the characters are so fun, and the voice actors sound like they're having so much fun, I can't help but love them haha

Fun Fact: The multi-headed Hydra is a monster from Greek mythology, and made an appearance in Jason and the Argonauts (1963).

"The good thing about a stake through the heart, is that it also works on non-vampires" I really felt the "This time the sequel actually continues the story". It's amazing how many movies have a problem with this simple fact. Give us new issues, development and story arcs. Build upon your own lore instead of finding ways to just make the first movie again.

Nostalgiaween intros are definitely one of my favorite things about Halloween!!!

Ok. This may be my favorite Nostalgiaween intro ever, right next to the Nightmare Before Christmas stop motion opening! Stellar job everyone!

Happy 10th anniversary year to this franchise. Perfect for Halloween and Nostalgiaween. I so like Dracula and Erica as a couple.

my own opinion on the last movie : Dracula should have stayed human, and Johnny should have stayed a monster, since it was the premise of the movie and with all the development of character in the movie. kinda hard to "retire" when you are immortal but your new wife is still a human. on another hand Mavis with a monster Johnny would thrive forever

Thanks Doug (and Team!). These films were a wonderful opportunity to not only bond with my incredible Grand-Daughter, but later, I used them as a stepping stone to introduce her to one of my dearest collection of films, the original Universal Monsters family (which at first she didn't care for but now a teen, really loves them, thankfully, heh). I agree, not only did these films entertain but did so without insulting the audience's attention or trying to deliver some half-assed political messaging. They also provided a modicum of respect to the source materials I was happy to see. Oh also, I had no idea there was a 4th one. Cheers my friend and my gratz once more on the continued success of you and your very talented team! You've been in the game a long time and I still really enjoy your presentations, whether I agree with your evaluation of a flik or not.

That opening was awesome! I love Buster and Chaplin being the Scoobies of the gang!

All of the Nostalgiaween themes have been amazing, but as a life long Scooby Doo fan, the one for this year is a definite banger and a total new favorite!

The first two movies didn't feel like two movies, but parts one and two of the same movie. That's a really good thing.

I think the last film was the only one I really didn't like, at least till the end, because we'd seen the Drac accepting Johnny thing before. What bugged me most was that they hinted at a more interesting story in the film itself. Mavis and Erica bonding. Mavis lost her mother when she was very young so it has to be weird for her having a step mother so much later in life. And Erica was a monster hunter who's now married to a monster. That feels like it would have been a much more engaging story to tell. Also just more Mavis in general would have been nice cause she was easily my favourite character.

What was so interesting about these films is that always made want to come back more because all of them except for maybe the 4th one we're just so good and felt like nothing you had seen beforehand

The first movie still holds up, in my opinion, as one of Sony's best and a great film to watch every Halloween. My dad and I still quote Wayne's line of "Yeah, it's a mess back there" to this day LOL! Also, regardless of how you feel about the third movie, you can't deny that "It's Party Time" is a great song.

WOW. I had no idea that the Hotel Transylvania franchise is a decade old. Also, I LOVE the Nostalgiaween 2022 Scooby Doo parody intro.

Definitely liked the first two! Didn't realize it was only 10 years old, thought it was older lol. And so many sequels in a decade 😆

Okay one LOVE this year's intro. But I still think the Gravity Falls one is the best. I think the first film is definitely a step above the rest. It feels special. Like there was care put into it. And MY GOD Adam Sandler as Dracula really absolutely killed it when it came to hitting those emotional notes. The first is a movie I do put on every year around Halloween, where as with the others....Not gonna lie I do have the DJ Teisto tracks on my phone and still listen to those when I need a good pump up workout song lol.

If i had a dollar for every time Adam Sandler made a weird noise, sound effect or voice i probably be a millionaire.

I always knew Dracula was sweeter than Cherry Coke throw-up

Anyone else wonder if it would make more sense for Johnny to seek his transformation from Dr. Jekyll? It'd be a fitting way to introduce him into this universe.

21:26, The first time we get to hear Brian Hull getting a Shoutout in a Nostalgia Critic video. Awesome!

I'm glad Jim Gaffigan seems to be getting more recognition now. He's a very funny comedian and I think he deserves more popularity

15:13 - it's like watching Charlie Brown as a Vampire and Lucy as a Werewolf xD

My favorite time of the year, love this years opening. Great job as always

An amazing new intro, and a review of Hotel Transylvania? Best start of Nostalgiaween ever! Also, a quick defense to the 3rd film, I love the message that it's possible to find true love more than once.

I do enjoy these films, but I have to admit for the longest time I did see the third one as the one that stood out the most, because it had the most unique element I’ve seen throughout these four installments. Dracula not being both the main protagonist and the main antagonist. The movies have this thing where Drac pretty much is trying to do what he believes is best for everyone, never realizing until it’s too late that he was setting himself and others up for a huge fall. Both trying to do what he believes is what’s needed and being the one standing in his own way, mainly because of understandable prejudices he had acquired throughout the centuries. The second was the one I didn’t like the most for a while because it felt that Dracula’s turn in the end just happened way too abruptly; suddenly being on Mavis’ side just because his father did what he was practically hoping he would do without anyone calling him out for his own similar behavior. The third is like the only one that has an actual main antagonist who isn’t Drac or someone who is just designated the main antagonist even though they hardly had any screen time to justify having that title. This series says that Quasimodo and Bela (the main bat monster) are the main antagonists of their respective films, despite only being in the film for a little bit. Even though I don’t regard it as highly as before, I still have to give the film credit for definitely standing out the most compared to the rest in the series. I know Wayne and Wanda enjoyed it the most. 😉

The third one was my favorite. I liked how cartoony and exaggerated the movements were and reminded me of Chuck Jones, which I think was a big influence for Gendy.

oh yeah for me I really enjoy the first two Hotel Transylvania movies and I also made them a halloween tradition. I didn't like the third one so much though and I never even saw the fourth one

Out of all the characters that would get recast I didn’t think it would be Sandler who is literally the guy who made this series possible

I absolutely love the intro credits. They’re so creative and artistic. I always appreciate the special spin you give to certain movie theme months. I also find it funny that I’ve been watching you since your “Top 11 dumbest LOTR moments” while I was still a kid and now you’re doing movies that were my childhood that are more recent. It’s making me realize how long ago it was for me but still relatively new. Even still I truly appreciate videos like this. KEEP DOING WHAT YOU’RE DOING!!

Man this is stranger than that one time i saw Police try to integrated a Banana

Nostalgia-ween time again! Love the sccooby doo intro

My favorite characters have always been the werewolves. While Wanda isn't seen doing jackshit controlling her children, don't underestimate dog mothers, potentially one of the craziest protective mothers to exist While Wayne is one hardworking, underrated, and underappreciated father Who the hell can manage to take care of over 300 untamed wolf puppies in one sitting

Man i so can't wait for the History of the World Part 1 done by Vlad

Wait, you've never done a parody of the original Scooby Doo opening for the Nostalgiaween titles before? Feels odd we're only doing that one now! Looks and sounds great as always by the way! I do have to ask what "Sways like a hieroglyphic" means though, in my mind hieroglyphics are as static as static can be.

Honestly you should do a career dive on Adam Sandler i think it would be a really interesting video to watch

I always have a soft spot for the Hotel Transylvania movies from the Greatest Animation dirctor Gennady Tartasovskey who gave us Samurai Jack to Primal

The first Hotel Transylvania movie is one of my favorites - thank you for giving so many shout-outs to this trilogy! For this or next Halloween, please do "A Monster in Paris" (2011) or "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944)

I have always loved the Hotel Transylvania movies (especially 1 and 2.) I miss simple but smartly done animated slapstick comedies like these because good slapstick seems so rare in movies these days. It's always refreshing to hear someone say something positive about these movies for a change.

So let’s recap the intros 2010: Charlie Brown with Jason/leatherface 2011: x files 2013: nightmare before Christmas 2014: Michael Myers Halloween 2015: goosebumps 2016: gravity falls 2017: the Simpsons treehouse of horror 2018: beetlejuice 2019: unsolved mysteries 2020: the real ghostbusters 2021: Donald Duck 2022: scooby doo Pitches for 2023: Rick and morty Tales from the crypt Creepshow 1987 The walking dead The munsters The owl house

I think you perfectly described the issue I have with the 3rd movie but couldn't describe.... like I always felt the personalities were not there from the previous 2 movies.

I am mostly with you overall. My own experiences were going into the first movie optimistically and enjoying what i got. Sure, it was relatively cookie cutter, but there was just enough passion behind it to overcome the problems you would expect. It wasnt a perfect movie, but it did its job and showed the potential of becoming a Halloween staple. Then the second movie came around. To be honest, it is probably the one i remember the least, but there was still enough passion coming through that, whether i thought it was an improvement or a downgrade, i could still respect the movie as its own thing. When the third came around, everything changed. Maybe i didnt notice all the nuances behind the problems i had with the movie on a conscious level, but i did notice them subconsciously. It was no longer trying to be a movie that could stand on its own, it was just a corporate shell. "The concept has proven it can work and stick around, so we dont need to put any effort into it. Just follow the formula and cash in our checks when the audience comes for the name (IP)." The characters previously being surprisingly well detailed for the style and characters moving in their own unique ways were no longer considered top priorities. All that leaves is the final movie. I never watched it because i felt so burned by the third movie and there were clear pandemic issues playing a part. Overall, my enjoyment went down when the focus changed from being a halloween movie to being an IP to exploit. If the series was always meant for halloween, they should always be released in the September-November timeframe. The latter 2 didnt even try, and therefore could not use holiday spirit to fill seats. When the movies are detached from the halloween spirit, their shortcomings become ever more apparent.

There’s no way Sandler played Drac. He’s actually funny.

21:24 Love the Brian Hull shout out!

I can’t believe these movies count as being nostalgic now. I feel so old 😂

Yay!! Your reviews are a staple of my Halloween - been watching since the beginning - your part of my nostalgia for Halloween and I never miss a review this time of year - thanks so much for all the work for so long ❤️👻😊

Love this year’s Nostalgiaween intro!!

I just wish sometimes Adam Sandler would show how great he is sometimes it's really sad and frustrating to see him do bad because i want to root for him to make that big time Comedy film but it just seems like every time he's close to making something become really good something else comes in the way and we don't get it in the end sadly.

Honestly i feel like Adam Sandler is kind of a troubled actor in just that sometimes it just feels like he's missing that something to really make a film good and enjoyable but i'm glad he was able to find it for these films

Jonathan is named Jonathan after the protagonist of Bram Stoker's Dracula. I found that out last year when I read it for the first time and I love that detail

I love how when introducing Genndy Tartakovsky, the poster for Primal comes up