“Hotel Transylvania” 4-Movie Collection – DVD Review

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released the Hotel Transylvania 4-Movie Collection on DVD for fans to own. The latest home release comes with a bunch of extra content.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with the Hotel Transylvania 4-Movie Collection DVD for free for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

The first Hotel Transylvania animated film was released back in September 2012. And I think it’s safe to say that it was enjoyed by everyone. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the narrative did an impressive job of blending supernatural comedy with young romance while also exploring parental relationships.

A sequel followed in September 2015, with a third movie being released in July 2018. The fourth and (as of now) final movie titled Hotel Transylvania: Transformania skipped a theatrical release (due to the pandemic) and instead debuted on Amazon Prime Video in January of 2022.

So, it’s a good thing that Sony Pictures decided to release the fourth installment on Blu-ray and DVD this August along with the complete 4-Movie DVD version. I’m all for allowing people to expand their collections. And with how things sometimes go with streaming services, it’s best to have access to physical media. 

I watched Hotel Transylvania: Transformania on Amazon Prime Video when it debuted. And surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it. Reversing the roles during the fourth chapter made narrative sense. The film transformed Dracula and his friends into humans and Johnny into a monster. With Drac and his friends going on a mission to reverse their new state of being before it became permanent, the story also addressed Drac wanting to hand the hotel over to Mavis and the continuing friction between Johnny and Drac as the vampire got ready to start a new journey in his life. 

It took him four movies, but it was nice to see Drac fully accepting Johnny as part of his family and being more accepting of Johnny’s uniqueness as a human being.

And while Adam Sandler couldn’t reprise his role due to reported scheduling issues, I think Brian Hull did a good job filling up Sandler’s shoes. There are quite a lot of emotional scenes in the fourth movie, including Drac’s apology to Johnny. And Hull delivered.

If I were to rank the Hotel Transylvania movies, my list would go… 1, 3, 4, and then the 2nd.

Speaking of ranking the four movies, we are currently doing a Hotel Transylvania 4-Movie Collection Digital Code Giveaway over at The Geekiary YouTube channel.

You should go enter!

Coming to the DVD release itself, the front of the cardboard slipcase had four images showcasing Drac, Mavis, Dennis, and Blobby. I would have put Johnny on the cover instead of Blobby, but oh well. The back listed the four animated movies along with a short synopsis for each installment.

Sliding away the cover, the plastic case had the same imagery and details about the four films. Opening the plastic case, you’d get to see a single disc on the right and a piece of paper with four digital codes (one for each movie) on the left. The disc featuring a bunch of characters from the series was a nice surprise.

The four movies are rated PG and include cartoonish horror, action, and rude humor. Take note; Hotel Transylvania: Transformania has cartoon nudity in it.

The video presentation via the DVD was 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. I mean, it didn’t offer the same depth as I would suspect the Blu-ray release of Hotel Transylvania 4 brings to the table, but it’s still nice. In a way, you’re getting a similar video presentation as one would get from the usual streaming services. So, no major video or audio issues were present on the DVD, as far as my experience goes.

Coming to the extra content, the DVD includes:

• Goodnight Mr. Foot – Short Film
• Hotel Transylvania Puppy! – Short Film
• A Hotel Transylvania Mini-Movie: Monster Pets
• Monster Mash-Up: Making Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
• Selena vs. Andy: A Hotel Transyl-Trivia Quiz
• “Love Is Not Hard to Find” by YEИDRY – Lyric Video
• “Problem” Music Video by Becky G Featuring will.i.am
• “I’m In Love With A Monster” Music Video by Fifth Harmony

Combine the list above with the deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and even a filmmaker commentary, and you are getting quite a lot to enjoy in the Hotel Transylvania 4-Movie Collection.

Granted you can find a majority of the extra content (including the short films) online for free, but hey! I think it’s still nice to get them as extra content when you buy the DVD.

All in all, I’m glad that all four movies in the Hotel Transylvania animated series can be collected, especially after the fourth installment debuted on a streaming service.

And while the subsequent sequels couldn’t completely capture the vibe of the first movie, I think the 4-Movie Collection on DVD will make for a fun family-friendly marathon with Halloween around the corner.

Are you a fan of the Hotel Transylvania franchise? Do you want it to continue?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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