Maybe the secret to making Adam Sandler tolerable these days is to dub his voice into Russian. And while it's still too early to tell if "Hotel Transylvania" will just be an animated version of the usual low-grade Sandler schtick, this new Russian teaser trailer for the film at least promises it will be a helluva thing to look at.
Perhaps that's no suprise given that the beloved Genndy Tartakovsky is at the helm. The Emmy award-winning director behind geek faves like "Dexter's Laboratory," "Samurai Jack," and "Star Wars: Clone Wars" puts his stamp on the work here, with the comic story coming against a delightfully spooky landscape that plays heavily with shadows and shows a tremendous use of space and color. Indeed, just compare this to something like yesterday's "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" and the difference in approach and economy of style is striking.
Of course, how that will play out in a film that features the voice "talents" of Sandler, Kevin James and David Spade remains to be seen. But with Andy Samberg, Cee Lo Green, Steve Buscemi, Fran Drescher and Molly Shannon also along for the ride, the story about a monster resort where ghouls of all kinds escape from humans does boast a pretty great concept. James will star as Frank, aka Frankenstein with Drescher as his larger-than-life Bride. Spade will play Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame who is now a gourmet chef, while Green will play Murray, a singing Mummy. Buscemi and Shannon play Wayne and Wanda, a pair of married werewolves on a family vacation at the hotel, with Samberg playing Jonathan, a 21-year-old regular guy whose world travels land him at the hotel where he takes a shine to Dracula's teenage daughter, Mavis.
Let's just hope this isn't "Grown Ups: Let's Get Animated And Spooky." We'll find out when the 3D film opens on September 21st. Watch below. [Flimz]