Everything in the movie (voice acting, direction, animation, comedy, story) is perfectly okay. Nothing's amazing nor annoying. Good for kids and kids at heart. Don't expect a lot or else you'd be bored.

Yeah-Yeah-Yeah - I know that this is, in fact, "just-a-kiddies-movie" - But - All the same - Hotel Transylvania's story, literally, managed to single-handedly destroy every horrific myth about every frickin' monster that you've ever heard about in no time flat.And, then - To top that off - This movie had the absolute gall to reduce all of these monsters to the level of being nothing but cute, cuddly, sweet, little teddy bears, one and all. (Cringe-cringe)With its storyline gleefully delivering just about every stale monster (and fart) joke in the book - This hideously predictable "Romeo & Juliet" tale really went well out of its way to be oh-so cute and oh-so clever. But, alas - It failed miserably.And, as a result - Hotel Transylvania quickly became something of an irritating bore to watch from this annoyed viewer's perspective.

Set in a world in which monsters fear the wrath of human beings, Count Dracula runs a refuge and has to hide the fact that his latest guest is really a lost human backpacker this animated comedy. While never short on imagination, the film begins poorly with lame flatulence and urination gags as well as silly wordplay with terms like "holy rabies" and "scream cheese". The humour does not really improve as the movie progresses either (fingers stuck up noses), but the main characters become well developed and likable, especially the backpacker - an avid horror fan who enjoys interacting with the monsters with a natural curiosity, sticking his hands into skeletons and so forth. Some of the backdrop gags work well too (the backpacker beaten up by an invisible knight) and there is a great sequence towards the end where the monsters come across a town in which they are celebrated as horror legends rather than feared. The film does, however, also become more sentimental as it progresses, especially as Dracula's daughter predictability falls in love, but the overall product is more enjoyable than one might expect from the barrage of toilet humour and groan-inducing wordplay puns early on.

I got all the way to the end of this before I realized what was missing - crucifixes. This traditional way of repelling a vampire (here the most famous one - Dracula) is omitted, presumably because a healthy number of the production staff are of Jewish ancestry and/or faith.I just have a problem with someone trying to re-write fictional characters now grown to legends, just because some details don't mix with their personal beliefs. I accept fantasy stories within whatever context they present themselves. So when "Hotel Transylvania" delves deep enough into Dracula lore to present him sporting fangs, sleeping in a coffin, and wanted by angry torch-carrying villagers sporting wooden stakes and mallets - but omits crucifixes... the whole thing left me feeling a bit cross.