Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is a 2022 animated adventure fantasy comedy film directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska in their feature-length directorial debuts, from a screenplay by Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo, and Genndy Tartakovsky. It is the fourth and final installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise and a sequel to Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018). Produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, the film features the voices of Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Fran Drescher, Asher Blinkoff, and newcomers Brian Hull and Brad Abrell, who replace Adam Sandler and Kevin James, respectively. The narrative follows Dracula and his son-in-law Johnny as they travel to South America to locate a crystal that can reverse a transformation spell before its effects become permanent.
Originally scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on October 1, 2021, the film’s release was cancelled due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sony Pictures sold distribution rights to Amazon Studios for $100 million. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on January 14, 2022, and theatrically in China on April 3, 2022.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania had a production budget of $75 million and grossed approximately $18.5 million worldwide, primarily from its theatrical release in China. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
During the 125th anniversary celebration of Hotel Transylvania, Dracula plans to retire and leave the hotel to his daughter Mavis and her husband Johnny. After overhearing the news, Johnny enthusiastically shares his renovation plans, prompting Dracula to lie about a “monster real-estate law” that prohibits humans from owning the hotel. Disheartened, Johnny accepts his exclusion.
Van Helsing offers to help by using a special ray that transforms humans into monsters and vice versa. Johnny becomes a dragon-like creature, but when Dracula tries to reverse the transformation, he accidentally turns himself human and breaks the ray’s crystal. Van Helsing instructs them to retrieve a replacement crystal from the Cave of the Reflexión in South America to undo the effects.
Meanwhile, Dracula’s friends Frank, Wayne, Griffin, and Murray are transformed into humans after exposure to the ray. Mavis and Ericka confront Van Helsing, who reveals the ray’s effects are unstable and irreversible if not cured in time. They join the others in traveling to South America.
On their journey, Dracula and Johnny grow closer, but tensions rise when Dracula confesses he fabricated the real-estate law. Hurt, Johnny mutates further and flees. Mavis finds him and leads him to the cave, but the crystal initially fails to reverse the transformation. Dracula allows Johnny to capture him and expresses his acceptance of Johnny as family. This helps Johnny regain control, and Mavis successfully restores him.
Everyone is returned to normal, but the hotel is destroyed by Van Helsing’s pet, Gigi. Dracula decides to let Mavis and Johnny rebuild the hotel. One year later, it reopens with a modernized design.
In February 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that a fourth Hotel Transylvania film was in development.[10][11] In October of that year, Genndy Tartakovsky confirmed that he would not return to direct.[12] In September 2020, Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon were announced as directors. Kluska had worked as a storyboard artist on earlier sequels, while Drymon had previously worked on series such as Rocko's Modern Life, CatDog, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Adventure Time. Tartakovsky stayed on as screenwriter and executive producer, joined by Selena Gomez, who also voiced the character Mavis.[13][14] Production was carried out remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
In April 2021, the film's title was revealed as Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, and it was confirmed to be the final entry in the franchise.[16][17] That same month, Sony announced that Adam Sandler would not reprise his role as Dracula.[6] The role was taken over by Brian Hull, who had voiced the character in the short film Monster Pets.[18] Kathryn Hahn, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, and Keegan-Michael Key returned to voice their characters, and in May 2021, Brad Abrell was announced as the new voice of Frankenstein, replacing Kevin James.[5][8] Lynn Hobson served as the film’s editor.[19]
Mark Mothersbaugh returned to compose the score for the film, continuing his work from the previous three installments.[20] The official soundtrack was released by Sony Classical on January 14, 2022.[21] An original song featured in the end credits, “Love Is Not Hard to Find,” was written by Morien van der Tang, Faried Arween Jhauw, Glen Faria, and Jheynner Argot, and performed by Yendry. It was also released on January 14, 2022.[22]
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was released by Amazon Studios on Prime Video on January 14, 2022.[23] In February 2019, Sony Pictures Releasing had originally scheduled the film for a theatrical release on December 22, 2021.[24] The release date was later moved to August 6, 2021, then advanced again to July 23, 2021, and subsequently delayed to October 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25][16][26]
In August 2021, Sony Pictures cancelled the film’s planned theatrical release and entered discussions to sell the distribution rights to a streaming platform, citing rising cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in the United States.[27][28] On August 16, 2021, it was reported that Amazon Studios was negotiating to acquire global streaming rights (excluding China) for $100 million. Under the agreement, Amazon would release the film exclusively on Prime Video, while Sony retained home entertainment and linear television rights.[29][30] On October 6, 2021, Amazon confirmed the release date as January 14, 2022, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the original Hotel Transylvania film.[23]
Although primarily released via streaming, the film had a limited theatrical release on February 25, 2022.[31] It later opened in Chinese theaters on April 3, 2022.[32]
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on August 15, 2023 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[33]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania holds an approval rating of 47% based on 77 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website’s critical consensus reads: “Much like the trio of films it follows, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is middling family viewing — relatively painless, but overall rather uninspired.”[34] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews.”[35]
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, noting that while it offers lighthearted entertainment, it “never gets as complex as its moral center suggests, therefore never really rising above a wholesome, exuberant amusement ride.”[36] Tomris Laffly of Variety offered a more critical take, writing that the film is “yet another wearisome tale that inelegantly depicts themes like acceptance, understanding, and diversity within a saga that has always been rather clumsy with its messaging around such weighty topics.”[37] In a more favorable review, John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter acknowledged the film’s weaknesses in writing but praised its animation and tone, stating, “Transformania remains sufficiently goofy-sweet to please its target demo; those who find the humor toothless should at least appreciate the distinctive animation, which can be as energetically wacky as classic Looney Tunes."[38]
The film was nominated in two categories for "Outstanding Special Class Animated Program" and "Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for an Animated Program" at the 1st Children's and Family Emmy Awards.[39] At the 2023 Kids' Choice Awards, Selena Gomez won the award for "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie (Female)".[40]
Although Hotel Transylvania: Transformania was intended as the final installment in the franchise, a spin-off television series titled Motel Transylvania was announced in June 2024.[41][42] The series, set to premiere on Netflix in 2025, will follow Dracula and Mavis as they open and operate a motel.[43][44]
In September 2024, Genndy Tartakovsky was asked in an interview with Collider about the possibility of a fifth Hotel Transylvania film. While attending the SCAD AnimationFest, where he was being honored with an Award of Excellence, Tartakovsky stated that Sony might consider continuing the series if there is sufficient audience demand. He acknowledged the strong performance of Transformania during its release on Amazon and indicated that further developments would depend on future interest.[45]