Goodness.
Bear with me, while I catch my breath.
If this isn’t the most frantically paced animated feature ever made, it’ll certainly do until I can recall a wilder one.
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| Nobody else shares Johnny's excitement at becoming a monster; sweetie-pie Mavis, at his immediate left, is particularly horrified. |
That said, first-time feature directors Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska could have slowed things down a skosh; the sight gags and one-liners erupt with a fury reminiscent of Drymon’s work on Nickelodeon’s CatDog shorts. And it isn’t merely the gags; the characters here seem to be in a constant state of pell-mell anxiety.
It’s almost overwhelming.
But, happily, not to the point of hampering our enjoyment.
We’ve moved beyond the first film’s crisis of Drac’s 118-year-old daughter Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) falling in love with (gasp! shock!) the very human Johnny (Andy Samberg). In the third film, Drac became an item with the similarly human cruise ship captain Ericka (Katherine Hahn), despite the fact that she’s the great-granddaughter of his mortal enemy, Abraham Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan).
Each of these core plotlines has included a warm subtext that focuses on families, and family dynamics … including highly unusual ones.
This fourth entry is no different. Events kick off as Drac (Brian Hull), weary of hotel management, contemplates retirement. Although far from a fait accompli, Mavis excitedly realizes that she and her human hubby Johnny will wind up in charge … which sends Drac into a tizzy.
Although he has learned to accept Johnny’s presence — recognizing that the excitable young fellow makes Mavis happy — Drac has never fully accepted him as family … or, more crucially, as a son. Ergo, Drac doesn’t want Johnny co-managing the hotel. Desperate for a way out, Drac invents a “rule” stating that all hotel personnel must be monsters.
Is Johnny majorly bummed? Absolutely. Does he give up? Absolutely not.
When he learns that the reformed Van Helsing has developed a new “monsterfication ray,” Johnny eagerly accepts a zap and winds up as a scaly green dragon-esque beast with claws, spikes and his characteristic flaming-orange hair. Alas, the process also accidentally is unleashed on Drac, Frankenstein (Brad Abrell), werewolf Wayne (Steve Buscemi), mummy Murray (Keegan-Michael Key), invisible man Griffin (David Spade) and the massive oozing green Blob.
And what would a monsterfication ray do to a monster? Turn him human, of course.
(The Blob becomes a Jell-O mold.)
At which point, the ray ceases to function.
Considerable humor can be — and is — mined from this delightful premise. Much of the ensuing chaos revolves around attempting to conceal this transformation from all the other monsters, along with the frailty of these human forms, with their susceptibility to everything from mosquito bites to clothing chafe.
But some of the gags are more subtle, as with — at one point — Drac’s panicked effort to duck away from direct sunlight, before realizing he need no longer fear it.
Van Helsing’s ray gun requires a replacement crystal, in order to be repaired: an exceedingly rare gem that can be found only deep in the Amazon jungle. Undertaking such an expedition in frail mortal forms proves … well … hilariously difficult.
Nor is that the only problem. Back in the hotel lab, Van Helsing discovers that his test-subject hamster — first to be zapped with the ray — has continued to change. And not in a good way…
This prompts a rescue mission by Mavis and Ericka, who hope to reach the others before, ah, things turn dire.
Comedy aside, this becomes an important bonding opportunity for Drac and Johnny, now literally walking in each other’s shoes. Drac, accustomed to being a control freak, is powerless and incapable of such authority; Johnny, by nature recklessly impulsive, must more wisely employ his monsterfied strength.
Given the nature of vampires, the three previous films mostly took place at night. Making Drac human allows the filmmakers to exploit light and color, hence the lush setting of the Amazon jungle, which gives this film an atmospheric palette wholly unlike its predecessors.
Several of the series’ running gags return, most notably Frankenstein’s snarkily superior wife, Eunice (Fran Drescher), with her constant complaints and insults; and the ever-expanding brood of young werewolves spawned by Wayne and his wife Wanda (Molly Shannon).
The result is just as entertaining as we’ve come to expect from this series, allowing for one disappointing note: For reasons unknown, Adam Sandler and Kevin James — who voiced Dracula and Frankenstein, respectively, in the first three films — didn’t return for this one. Both are missed, although — in fairness — Hull and Abrell ably step into their shoes.
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