Hotel Transylvania (franchise)
Hotel Transylvania is an American media franchise created by comedy writer Todd Durham. It consists of three theatrical films, three graphic novels and two short films produced by Sony Pictures Animation, as well as a TV series broadcast on Disney Channel and several video games. The series consists of an ensemble cast, usually led by the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez.
The first film, Hotel Transylvania, was released in September 2012, a sequel, Hotel Transylvania 2, was released in September 2015 and a third film, , was released in July 2018. The films have received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide against a combined production budget of $245 million. A fourth installment tentatively called Hotel Transylvania 4 was announced in February 2019 to be in development, and is set to be released on August 6, 2021.
Origin
Comedy writer Todd Durham conceived and created a bible for a multimedia franchise called Hotel Transylvania, consisting of several films, television series, video games, toys, books, merchandising, hotel chain, and theme park. After authoring the book of the same name, he took the package unsolicited to Columbia Pictures and set it up at Sony Pictures Animation where he became the first screenwriter on the project.Feature films
''Hotel Transylvania'' (2012)
Hotel Transylvania was released on September 28, 2012, and is about a human named Jonathan, who unwittingly stumbles upon the hotel and instantly falls in love with Dracula's teenage daughter, Mavis, and eventually dates, despite Dracula's attempts to keep Jonathan away from his daughter.''Hotel Transylvania 2'' (2015)
Hotel Transylvania 2 was released on September 25, 2015, and is about Mavis and Johnny, who have a half-human/half-vampire son named Dennis. Mavis thinks Hotel Transylvania isn't the right place to raise Dennis and wants to raise him in California. When Dracula is disappointed that Dennis does not have any vampire abilities, he helps his friends make his grandson a vampire.''Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation'' (2018)
In November 2015, Sony Pictures Animation announced that would be released on September 21, 2018. This was later resolved during early 2017 when the new release date was pushed forward to July 13, 2018. Despite previously leaving the series to develop other projects, Genndy Tartakovsky returned as director for this installment. The third film is about Dracula unwittingly falling for Ericka, a descendant of monster hunter Van Helsing, while on a cruise ship with his family. It is the first film in the series not to be released in September, as well as the first one not to feature the hotel as its main setting.''Hotel Transylvania 4'' (2021)
On February 26, 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that a fourth film would be released on December 22, 2021. On October 4, 2019, Tartakovsky confirmed he would not be directing the film. On April 24, 2020, the release date was switched to August 6, 2021.Television series
A television series based on the film premiered on June 25, 2017. Developed and produced by Nelvana Limited, in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation, the prequel series focuses on the teenage years of Mavis and her friends at the Hotel Transylvania. Sony Pictures Television handles distribution in the United States, while Nelvana distributes the series outside the United States. It is airing on the Disney Channel worldwide.Short films
''Goodnight Mr. Foot''
Goodnight Mr. Foot is a traditionally animated short film based on Hotel Transylvania, featuring Bigfoot from the film. Premiering in time for Halloween, on October 26, 2012, the short was shown exclusively in Regal Entertainment Group Cinemas, before the theatrical shows of Hotel Transylvania. As Sony Pictures Animation's first traditionally animated film, it was written and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky himself, who also animated the short with the help of Rough Draft Studios. Animated in the style of Bob Clampett, Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, Tartakovsky created the short in four weeks during the final production stages of the main film. Bigfoot was voiced by Corey Burton while the Witch Maid was voiced by Rose Abdoo. Both voice actors provided additional voices in Hotel Transylvania.Taking place before the events of Hotel Transylvania, the short stars Bigfoot, whose rest in Hotel Transylvania is being constantly disturbed by an overly enthusiastic witch maid.
''Puppy!''
Puppy! is a CG-animated fantasy comedy short film based on Hotel Transylvania, featuring Dennis from Hotel Transylvania 2, with the additional voices of Selena Gomez, reprising her role as Mavis, Andy Samberg as Jonathan, and Adam Sandler as Dracula. The film is written and directed by veteran director of the Hotel Transylvania movies, Genndy Tartakovsky, and is shown in theaters alongside The Emoji Movie, which was released in the United States on July 28, 2017. The film is set in the hotel, as Dennis convinces Dracula to give him a monster-sized puppy named Tinkles, and the hotel learns to cope with it. The short is a sneak preview of the third film, , which was released on July 13, 2018.Reception
Box office performance
Critical and public response
Cast and characters
Crew
Chronology
- '
- Goodnight Mr. Foot
- Hotel Transylvania
- Hotel Transylvania 2
- Puppy!
- '
- Hotel Transylvania 4
Video games
Another video game, titled Hotel Transylvania, developed by WayForward Technologies and published by GameMill Entertainment, was released on September 18, 2012, for Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS at retail. The game was also released in the Nintendo eShop in North America on November 15, 2012.
A mobile game, titled Hotel Transylvania Dash, developed by Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc. and PlayFirst, was released to iTunes App Store on September 20, 2012. The game is a variation of Hotel Dash and features the film's art and characters.
A mobile digital storybook app, titled Hotel Transylvania BooClips Deluxe, developed by Castle Builders and Sony Pictures Animation, was released on the iTunes App Store, Nook Store, Google Play for Android, iBookstore, Microsoft's Metro, and for PC and Mac via BooClips, both in English and in Spanish, on September 20, 2012.
A third video game based on , Hotel Transylvania 3 Monsters Overboard, published by Outright Games, was released on July 13, 2018.