Review: Hotel Transylvania “Wendy Big and Tall/Doppelfanger”

Hotel Transylvania the series follows Mavis (Bryn McAuley) and her oddball friends Wendy (Evyn Rosen), Hank (Gage Munroe), Pedro (Joseph Motiki) as they typically wreak havoc at the hotel.

“Wendy Big and Tall” follows Wendy as she deals with her father. Despite his protestations that she’s too small, Wendy desperately wishes to see her ideas come to life. Mavis, battling some daddy issues of her own, attempts to make Wendy’s dream a reality. Her plan involves locking Mr. Blob in the hotel sauna and attempting to operate the blob factory with Wendy. Unfortunately, Mavis makes Wendy an enormous blob. Think Stay Puft proportions. As such, Pedro and Hank must come to the rescue.

“Dopplefanger” sees Mavis in a tizzy over a teen idol staying at the hotel. She aspires to show him her song which she wrote, with the goal to land herself a platinum hit. But what can go wrong does. First there’s a spider in her teeth, then Mavis leaves leeches on her face. Though vampires can’t see their reflections, Mavis learns from Uncle Gene (Patrick McKenna), that there’s a mirror she can use. However, there’s a major catch: the mirror spews forth a clone of whomever looks in. An undead clone at that.

I like the continued learning about the Hotel Transylvania the Series universe. Additionally, it’s refreshing having Uncle Gene back. This round, he plays a bout of pong which further reinforces the retro sentiments. I also enjoy how even in the monster world, there are celebs like pop idols and sports figures. This reinforces the notion that monsters and humans are more alike than different, and fosters a sense of a familiar universe.

But Hotel Transylvania is a pretty safe series. You pretty much know how every episode will end, and at the onset where it goes from the beginning. It’s incredibly formulaic. That’s not necessarily a con. Still, it prevents Hotel Transylvania from becoming a classic. Instead, it’s a fun, endearing show which is perfectly good.