Hotel Transylvania 3: The Monster Franchise Returns Again!

This third instalment of this monstrously successful trilogy will be tipping the franchise toward the $1 billion mark. Not bad.

The animated film stars Dracula (Sandler) and his half-human daughter Mavis (Gomez) have, over two earlier movies and four prequel series, but the father-daughter relationship is the heart of the franchise.

Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation, join our favorite monster family as they embark on a vacation on a luxury monster cruise ship so Drac can take a summer vacation from providing everyone else’s vacation at the hotel. It’s smooth sailing for Drac’s Pack as the monsters indulge in all of the shipboard fun the cruise has to offer, from monster volleyball to exotic excursions, and catching up on their moon tans. But the dream vacation turns into a nightmare when Mavis realizes Drac has fallen for the mysterious captain of the ship, Ericka, who hides a dangerous secret that could destroy all of monsterkind.

Tartakovsky says that the inspiration for the new film came directly from his real-life experience. “After I finished the second film, I needed a vacation – and my in-laws surprised us with a family cruise,” he notes. “I’m sure everyone loves their in-laws as much as I do, but the cruise forced us all to be together in a small space for a week. That inspired me – what would happen if you put Drac’s Pack in that situation?”

“I think the Hotel Transylvania films connect with families because they’re about families,” says Tartakovsky. “Sure, every family is different – but really, everybody’s kind of the same. And that’s what makes the movies connect all over the world.”

And that doesn’t even include the monsters’ final destination: the lost city of Atlantis. “It’s our version of Vegas,” says producer Michelle Murdocca. “From the depths of the ocean arises a massive kraken – and just when you think this is it, he breaks into a swing-a-ding-ding Sinatraesque song, courtesy of Joe Jonas.”

In Philippine cinemas August 22, Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.