Having liked the first Hotel Transylvania, I’ve been looking forward to this sequel.  It’s cute and clever, though not as good as the original.  It also seems to abandon its major theme at its action-packed climax.  Par for the course as far as most sequels go.

Genndy Tartakovsky’s film continues the saga of Dracula’s unorthodox family.  Daughter Mavis marries human Jonathan and they have a baby, Dennis, who shows no penchant for neck nibbling whatsoever.  Dracula desperately attempts to turn the boy into a full-blooded vampire while Mavis and Jonathan are in California, seriously considering a move away from Dracula’s castle.

Laughs are present, and frequent, as Dracula and his monstrous friends take a wild road trip with young Dennis.  I especially enjoyed how the whole summer camp experience was lampooned.  And yet the film pretends to be building toward the idea that Dracula will finally have to accept Dennis as a human boy, when it is obvious that the youngster’s innate vampirism will simply have to be triggered.

Instead of creating a complex family arrangement with all sorts of future ramifications and story possibilities, Hotel Transylvania 2 settles firmly into Dracula’s comfort zone.  Every conceivable thing works out in his favor — but this happy ending, while convenient, is hollow and unsatisfying.  This is a prime example of not allowing a promising premise to develop and blossom into something special.  And yet, I still enjoyed the film that was produced.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  8 October 2015.