Hotel Transylvania

[BillBrasky]

Initially I wasn't paying much attention to this movie, but the more I read about it it seems like it might hopefully be enjoyable for Sandler fans and adults as well as kids. As someone pointed out in the "Things to look forward to" thread, the credited screenwriters on this are Robert Smigel and Peter Baynham. The voice cast basically reveals this to be an animated Happy Madison movie: Sandler as Dracula, Kevin James as Frankenstein, Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon as Wayne and Wanda (a werewolf couple), David Spade as the invisible man, Cee-Lo Green as a mummy, Jon Lovitz as Quasimodo. Other people doing voice work in the movie: Brian Stack, Brian McCann, Chris Parnell, Rob Riggle, Paul Brittain, Allen Covert, Tom Kenny. The movie is the feature directorial debut of Genndy Tartakovsky, who worked on "Dexter's Laboratory" and "The Powerpuff Girls".

So I hope this turns out to be good, I am seeing a sneak preview of it tomorrow so I'll let you know. The commercials for it don't look especially promising but I will remain optimistic.

[BillBrasky]

There were a few cute Sandler-type gags in this movie (Dracula hires a bunch of zombies to do construction work on the hotel, and there's a scene where a zombie babe walks by them and they very slowly objectify her). Overall though it's mostly a movie for kids. If you have kids though, you probably won't mind sitting through it too much. I recognized Parnell as an effeminately-voiced fly character and Rob Riggle as a skeleton but couldn't place the others.

[isoS]

I went into this with my 4yo daughter and very low expextations, and I loved it. I thought it was really funny and had a fresh take on the monster world. Also, I know they've both been doing the voice forever, but Sandler's Dracula is so identical to Smigel's Triumph that they could've tag-teamed this role and no one would've noticed.

(Caveat: this movie is all about a father and daughter, so it was right in my dad wheelhouse. Your mileage may vary.)

[BrianStack]

Glad you guys enjoyed the movie overall. I haven't had a chance to see it yet myself, but I hope to take my own daughters to see it this week.

I only have very small role as the airline pilot who get briefly possessed by Sandler's Dracula bat, but I had a great time doing it. Mr. Smigel was nice enough to recommend me for it. The director and producers were all really great to work with, and as a big movie nerd, it was a real treat walking around the old MGM lot that Sony now occupies.

[BillBrasky]

I visited the Sony studios in 2009 and as part of the tour they drove us past Sandler's Happy Madison offices. There was a golf cart made to look like an Escalade parked out front that we were told belonged to Adam. Unfortunately, this was during the period where Sandler was in Massachussetts filming the first "Grown Ups" movie, so I didn't get to see him, but it was cool seeing where his office is anyway.