What the hell happened to Genndy Tartakovsky? The innovative animator behind
Powerpuff Girls,
Dexter’s Laboratory and
Samurai Jack has now churned out three installments of a premise that was tired at the outset, filled with jokes barely worth an upturned corner of the mouth. This time, Dracula (Adam Sandler), his daughter (Selena Gomez) and monster pals take a vacation cruise, unaware that it has been orchestrated by the descendant of monster-hunter Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan). There’s also a romantic interest for Dracula in the ship’s captain (Kathryn Hahn), with a plot—such as it is—focusing on whether he can find true love again. Tartakovsky and his co-writers keep the pace almost relentlessly moving, and Tartakovsky’s loose-limbed animation style at least offers things that are fun to look at. There’s just nothing actually funny happening here, no innovative spin on classic monster tropes and supporting characters that still manage to be complete blanks even after their third time around. The idea of a silly, likeable vampire is expected to do all the heavy lifting, taking 97 minutes to provide all the laughs of a commercial for Count Chocula cereal.
By
Scott Renshaw