THE ART OF HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2
Published by Titan Books
Written by Brett Rector
Available from Book Depository
To coincide with the release of animated sequel HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 in UK cinemas, Titan Books have released this beautiful hardback book of THE ART OF HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2.
Measuring at 11.25″ x 10.25″, the book is of exquisite quality with a creamy-beige matt effect cover, something which you’d most likely see used with watercolours. Inside, the book contains over 156 pages of colourful artwork split into three chapters, or in this case ‘acts’.
Act 1 focuses on the marriage between Dracula’s beloved daughter Mavis to human Johnny with the book detailing the design of the wedding reception at the castle to the bride’s dress and the outfits of the many monster guests at the hotel. Huge images take over most of the pages, quite often with a double page spread, whilst a segment of a page is dedicated to accompanying text which explains the thought and execution process behind the ideas and imagery shown and used in the movie. Act 1 also shows the character design of Johnny’s parents with various sketches and also the full colour final version of the couple. After the wedding, Mavis becomes pregnant and it’s here where we see stunning artwork of baby Dennis who’s thick ginger curls must have been inherited from his father rather than his raven vampire lineage. Quite a few pages are dedicated to Dennis’ locks with sketches and full colour artwork alongside the commentary on how difficult it was to get Dennis’ hair just right. It really is a sight to behold and the final imagery produces curls of ginger red hair that look so real it’s hard to believe it’s artwork for an animation.
Act 2 follows Mavis and Johnny’s visit to Johnny’s parents. The artwork seen in the human world is a vast contrast to that in the monster world with bland, pastel colours used and horizontal lines compared with the bright and exciting gothic architecture of the monster world. Mavis does find some excitement in the human world, albeit from a slushy machine at a mini-mart, but as a whole the human world pales in comparison to its monster counterpart. There’s plenty of images and detail showing the houses and characters, including props inside the houses of the Johnny’s parents such as the interiors of the living room and Johnny’s bedroom. You really get a feel for the amount of work that is put into an animated film such as this with the artists and designers building layers, even right down to the interior of the ‘sets’ for their characters. The second act also follows Dracula’s roadtrip with Dennis with spooky imagery of Camp Winnepacaca, the log cabin and the vampire kids attending the camp.
Act 3 sees the introduction of Dracula’s father, Vlad the vampire, and his second-in-command, Bela, an intimidating muscular bat creature. There’s plenty of sketches here of both characters as well as digital imagery. The accompanying descriptions provide context as to where the story heads from this moment onwards with the artwork, comprising of sketches, storyboards and full colour graphics, following suit.
For someone who’s a fan of the Hotel Transylvania films, is an admirer of animated films in general or is an art student, THE ART OF HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 offers plenty that will captivate the reader with an abundance of imagery that will keep you engrossed for quite some time. With this book, Titan Books have produced, and continue to produce, such a premium work that will appeal to all ages though the older reader will appreciate the craftmanship, layout and the content more than a child would.
THE ART OF HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 is a perfect accompaniment for the film and would make a great gift for anyone who’s into the behind-the-scenes craft of a modern animation such as this.
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