New review

"From the very beginning, the 'Hotel Transylvania' franchise has espoused the ?nicecore? philosophy, as Dracula overcomes centuries of hatred and prejudice against humans, who murdered his wife due to their own misconceptions about monsters."

"The movie is a Frankenstein?s monster of cobbled-together scenes: Most are so-so slapsticky sequences but some are really clever, like the action-packed opening prologue showing Drac and Van Helsing?s 19th-century rivalry that?s a Looney Tunes spin on classic Dracula movies."

"The setting for 'Hotel Transylvania 3' allows for the most Tartakovsky ingenuity in the series when it comes to pure visuals and character design. There are sequences of dozens of monsters in dance crowds or poolside on the ship and one can sense the creator of 'Samurai Jack' and 'Dexter?s Laboratory' simply enjoying the opportunity to fill in the edges with as much monster ingenuity as possible."

And while it seems strange to use terms like ?character-based humor? in this context, the film does build on what we know about these lovable creatures, whether it?s the werewolves (Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon) getting to drop off their many, many children at the ship?s daycare to enjoy themselves for once ? hint: a tennis ball is involved ? to the many wacky visual permutations of the Blob.

"The movie flirts with the usual mixed-signals of romantic comedy, but is on much more solid ground with sight gags (as when Drac's jello-like blob friend happily absorbs the slice-and-smash violence Ericka aims at the vampire) and character work that depends less on celebrity voice talent than on body-language animation: Though not used much this time around, Mavis' hang-loose husband Johnny (Andy Samberg) slouches and sways his way into a few laughs near the end."

"Director Genndy Tartakovsky, who has helmed all three ?Hotel Transylvania? films, is a gifted animator with an affinity for elongated figures, sharp angles, and expressive features, and he likes to keep the gags coming at a breathless pace."