Voice cast: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Andy Samberg
Running time: 88 minutes

In the past few years animated movies have been having the traditional bad guys as the protagonist to give stories a new twist and show a gentler and nicer side to the “bad guys”.

Remember Megamind and Despicable Me? While this movie is nowhere as refined in its animation and plot as those movies, it is nonetheless an interesting watch.

The DVD is about Dracula (Sandler) and his daughter Mavis (Gomez). After his wife died, Dracula built Hotel Transylvania to keep Mavis safe and away from humans whom he thinks only wants to kill monsters. The hotel is a safe haven for monsters – Frankenstein and his family, werewolves, mummies and all manner of scary ghouls.

The hotel is situated in the thick of the forest and surrounded by a cemetary, zombies and everything else to keep humans away.

On the eve of Mavis' 118^th birthday, all the monsters arrive at the hotel for a great party.

Mavis' great wish is to see the world, visit “paradise” and meet others her age. Trying to keep her safe, Dracula devises a plan – he allows Mavis to go out to the neighbouring “town”. The “town” is actually a set and its “humans” are the staff from the hotel who stage a scene to frighten Mavis into believing that all humans are mean and just want to kill her.

Mavis believes it and returns to Hotel Transylvania, vowing never to leave again.

But, Dracula's plan goes awry when a young human named Jonathan (Samberg) finds his way to the hotel. Initially thinking it's a costume party, Jonathan thinks Hotel Transylvania is great. But realising there is a human in his hotel, Dracula dresses Jonathan to look like one of Frankenstein's relatives.

They manage to con everyone. There is only one problem – Mavis meets Jonathan and starts developing feelings for him.

The plot after Jonathan steps into the hotel is predictable. You know where it's going and how it's going to end.

That said, your kids will nonetheless enjoy the DVD and the fun that the monsters have. There's music, dancing and jokes – all of which make this a fun watch for the kids. – Review by S.N.