Drac’s pack is back! And now that you have had time to enjoy the sequel to 2012’s Hotel Transylvania in theaters, it’s time to get The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2 and learn all about the design process and making of this visually stunning and unique film.

The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2 starts off with a foreword by the film’s director, Genndy Tartakovsky. Genndy talks about the making of the film, his life when he was younger and had just moved from Russia to the US, and some of his experiences working with Mel Brooks in the recording booth. It was great to hear a little bit about the making of this film directly from the director, but most of the foreword was about Genndy’s work with Mel Brooks. I wish we could have learned more about his view on the design process for the film and the film’s unique visual style, rather than his experiences working with the voice actors.

The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2 is divided into three parts. Each part is one of the three acts from the movie and takes the reader chronologically through the scenes from that particular act. In this way, the book really dives into each little detail from each scene. Because most characters and sets, as well as the visual style of the film, were already established from the first film, this book mainly focusses on the different scenes in the film and the design process for everything in those scenes (like clothing, props, color, lighting, and even a ton of storyboards that explore scenes in this manner).

A great addition to the book are the technology spreads. These technology spreads are small paragraphs that talk about the technology in the film and some of the technological difficulties, like the animation of Dennis’ curly hair. These spreads gave a little more information on the making of the film, which I really appreciated. Because this book didn’t have as much visual exploration as the first film, these spreads about the technology added a lot to the overall reading experience.

If you’ve seen one of the two Hotel Transylvania films, then there’s no doubt you’ve noticed these films have an incredibly unique visual style. From the incredibly expressive animation to the designs reminiscent of animation from the 1930s, the Hotel Transylvania films have a visual style all their own. The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2 gives readers insight into the design process for the sequel, but does not give enough insight into the unique style of animation and designs in the film.

If you’re looking for a guide to the visual style of this film, I’d recommend getting the art book from the first film, The Art of Hotel Transylvania, if you already own that book and enjoyed the sequel, The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2, is a great resource for a more in-depth look behind the scenes at the sequel, its technology, and designs of some of the new characters, locations, and worlds.

✮✮✮ 1/2

Purchase: The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2

Amazon: US | UK
Book Depository: US | UK

A special thanks to Titan Books, which provided review copies of The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2.

Will you purchase The Art of Hotel Transylvania 2?  Let us know in the comments!

Edited by: Hannah Wilkes