Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (also known as Hotel Transylvania 4) is a 2022 American computer-animated monster comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation. Intended to be the fourth and final installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise and the sequel to Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018), it is directed by Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon from a screenplay by Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo, and Genndy Tartakovsky (who directed the prior three films and co-wrote the third film), and starring the voices of Brian Hull (replacing Adam Sandler), Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez (who also served as an executive producer alongside Tartakovsky), Kathryn Hahn, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Asher Blinkoff, Brad Abrell (replacing Kevin James), Fran Drescher, Jim Gaffigan, and Molly Shannon with Chrissy Teigen.
After originally being intended for theatrical release on October 1, 2021, it was instead sold to Amazon Prime Video, who released it on January 14, 2022.
Plot[]
During Hotel Transylvania's 125th anniversary celebration, Dracula is planning to retire and leave the hotel to Mavis and Johnny. Mavis overhears this and tells Johnny who excitedly tells Dracula his plans to renovate the hotel. Worried about Johnny ruining the hotel, Dracula lies to him saying that there is a "monster real-estate law" which only lets monsters own the hotel and instead falsely announces the expansion of the hotel with an extra bathroom.
Van Helsing decides to help Johnny by using a ray powered by a crystal that turns humans into monsters and monsters into humans. After testing it on his guinea pig Gigi, he uses it on Johnny who turns into a dragon. Learning about Johnny's monster form, Dracula tries to turn him back to normal but accidentally turns himself into a human and breaks the ray's crystal. Van Helsing tells Dracula and Johnny that they can turn themselves back to normal by getting another crystal in the Cave of the Reflexión in South America, so Dracula and Johnny set off to do so.
Dracula's friends Frank, Wayne, Griffin and Murray end up becoming humans as well, as a result of drinking from a fountain that was contaminated by the ray. After learning about Dracula and Johnny's whereabouts on the news, Mavis and Ericka confront Van Helsing, but they are attacked by Gigi, where Van Helsing discovers that the effects of the ray are unstable, as the monster transformation will keep mutating until the subject becomes a mindless beast. The rest of the gang head to South America to find Dracula and Johnny.
While traveling through South America, Dracula and Johnny begin to bond. During a camp-out, Johnny teaches Dracula about how if he only sees the worst in things, he’ll miss out on the best parts. Dracula begins to confess that he lied about the monster real-estate law, but the rest of the group finds them. Things turn sour when Dracula admits his deception regarding passing over the hotel to Mavis and Johnny. This prompts Johnny to believe Dracula doesn’t consider him family and to mutate further before running away.
Mavis goes to find Johnny while Dracula and the rest of the gang go to the Cave of the Reflexión. Mavis finds Johnny, but the transformation has turned him very volatile. She leads him to the cave where they finally find the crystal. When Mavis tries to turn Johnny back to normal, nothing happens. Dracula lets himself get captured by Johnny and makes a speech about how he now sees him as family. This brings Johnny back to his senses, and he is returned to normal.
With Dracula and his friends back to normal, they return home only to find the hotel has been destroyed by Gigi. After turning Gigi back to normal, Dracula decides to let Mavis and Johnny rebuild the hotel to their liking. One year later, Mavis and Johnny have rebuilt and modernized the hotel.
Voice Cast[]
- Brian Hull as Dracula, the founder of Hotel Transylvania and Mavis' father, Johnny's father-in-law, Vlad's son, Ericka Van Helsing's husband, and Dennis' maternal grandfather. He replaced Adam Sandler, who previously voiced the character in the first three films. He can transform into a goodie.
- Andy Samberg as Jonathan "Johnny" Loughran, Mavis' husband, Dracula's son-in-law, and Dennis' father. He can transform into a dragon.
- Selena Gomez as Mavis, Dracula's daughter, Ericka's stepdaughter, Johnny's wife, and Dennis' mother.
- Kathryn Hahn as Ericka Van Helsing, Dracula's wife, Mavis' stepmother, and the great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing.
- Steve Buscemi as Wayne, a werewolf and Wanda's husband.
- David Spade as Griffin, an invisible man. He can be visible and show off his naked body.
- Keegan-Michael Key as Murray, an ancient mummy. He can transform into a human form.
- Asher Blinkoff as Dennis Loughran, the son of Mavis and Johnny.
- Brad Abrell as Frankenstein, Eunice's husband. He replaced Kevin James, who previously voiced the character in the first three films. He can transform into a human.
- Fran Drescher as Eunice, Frankenstein's wife.
- Jim Gaffigan as Professor Abraham Van Helsing, Ericka's great-grandfather and Dracula's lifelong former nemesis who invented the "Monsterfication Ray".
- Molly Shannon as Wanda, a werewolf and Wayne's wife.
- Chrissy Teigen as Crystal, Griffin's girlfriend. She can be visible and show off her naked body just like her boyfriend.
Production[]
In February 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that a fourth film had been in development. In October 2019, Genndy Tartakovsky confirmed that he would not direct the film. In September 2020, Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon, a storyboard artist on the first two Hotel Transylvania sequels and a former crew member of SpongeBob SquarePants and Adventure Time, respectively, were confirmed to be the film's directors, while Tartakovsky would write the screenplay and serve as an executive producer alongside Selena Gomez, who voices Mavis in the series. Production took place remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April 2021, the film's title was revealed to be Hotel Transylvania: Transformania and was confirmed that it would be the final film of the series. That same month, Sony confirmed that Adam Sandler would not return to voice Dracula. The role was given to Brian Hull after voicing the character in the short film Monster Pets, while Kathryn Hahn, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, and Keegan-Michael Key were confirmed to reprise their roles. It was announced that Brad Abrell had replaced Kevin James as the voice of Frankenstein. Mark Mothersbaugh returned to score the film, having previously scored the first three installments, while Lynn Hobson served as editor.
Release[]
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is scheduled to be released by Sony Pictures Animation on Amazon Prime Video, on an undetermined date worldwide. The film was originally set to be released theatrically on October 1, 2021, by Sony Pictures Releasing. In February 2019, the film was scheduled to be released on December 22, 2021. In April 2020, the film was pushed forward to August 6, 2021. In April 2021, the film was pushed up again to July 23, 2021. In June 2021, the film was rescheduled to October 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, Sony was in discussions to cancel the film's theatrical plans and release it direct-to-streaming, in response to the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant surges in the United States. On August 16, Amazon acquired the distribution rights to the film for $100 million from Sony Pictures Animation and will release it exclusively on Amazon Prime Video worldwide, excluding China, where Sony will release it theatrically on a undetermined date.The film also currently doesn’t have a release date for when it will release on Amazon Prime Video.