After the huge buzz Hotel Transylvania created back when it was released in 2012, it was no surprise that a sequel would follow, and it exceeded my already high expectations.

The movie starts by introducing Dracula’s grandson, Dennis, who doesn’t seem to have any vampire qualities. The toddler doesn’t fly, have fangs, or even appreciate “real” monsters, focusing instead on educational monster cartoons. Dracula’s patience starts to run out, so he sends his daughter Mavis and her completely human husband Johnny, to visit her in-laws in California, while he babysits Dennis.

While his daughter is gone, Dracula takes Dennis and his monster crew on a “monster boot camp” that’s supposed to awaken Dennis’s inner-monster and get his fangs out. Everything they try fail and Mavis is adamant about moving to a more human-friendly place for Dennis to grow up. Eventually, Dennis grows out his fangs at his birthday party and Mavis decides to stay in the hotel, where Dennis’s real family is.

The sequel is more action-filled than the first movie, although not quite as funny. It’s more exciting to older audiences, as it’s more intense, but I think children would like it just the same as the original movie, if not more. I loved the underlying message about accepting others the way they are, especially loved ones. One can even say that the movie could be spreading a message about the widespread racism we see everyday because of Mavis and Johnny’s monster-human relationship and the distance the families keep from each other. Dracula definitely loved Dennis, he just wished he was different, however, Johnny’s parents treated Mavis as a freak for being a monster.

Overall, I loved the film and would recommend it to all people, of all ages as it provides the action, comedy, and heart-touching aspects a movie should have.