January 3rd, 2022 
Jackson Murphy 
Sony Pictures Animation’s fourth and final film installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise is Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. After multiple attempts to open it in theaters, Sony decided to partner with Amazon, which will release Hotel T4 on Prime Video on January 14th.
In late November, I submitted questions for a virtual Q&A with some of the A-list celeb voice actors of Transformania. Two of my questions were asked — one to Fran Drescher (the voice of Eunice) and the other to Keegan-Michael Key (who voices Murray).
Jackson Murphy: Fran, you certainly found the secret to good live-action comedy through “The Nanny”. What do you think is the secret to good comedy in animation?
Fran Drescher: I think physical comedy is very important. We did quite a bit of it on The Nanny, and I think that in animation it’s absolutely imperative. And you can do so much because it’s such a make-believe world. You can contort characters in ways they could never really do in real-life. Even the best stunt person couldn’t get away with some of the stuff that animated characters can do. That’s a big through theme of doing an animated movie. How far can we physically take these characters to do funny and surprising things?
Jackson Murphy: Keegan, you’ve lent your voice to a number of animated movies, including several on the way. What has been the most rewarding part of the voice acting/animation experience?
Keegan-Michael Key: I would say the most rewarding part… is the concept of not having any limitations, especially in these movies. The look of the characters is so exaggerated that anything you would’ve been busted for on a live-action movie you don’t have to worry about. That is the best, freeing thing. It reminds me of being a kid. When you’re a kid and you play with the other friends, your imagination went everywhere. And there’d be times you’re out at the field and playing and screaming. And all of that abandon… you get to channel that again as an adult when you’re doing animated films. It’s not only not frowned upon, it’s encouraged. That, to me, is my favorite thing about working in this space.
Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska
A few weeks later, I spoke with the film’s directors, Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon, for an in-depth conversation:
Jackson Murphy: The last time we spoke, it was May, and it looked like the film was going to theaters. Jennifer, how did Amazon Prime Video eventually come on board?
Jennifer Kluska: You know what? It was so great because we were at that stage where it looked like everything was shutting down again and we were facing a release date where no one was gonna get to see the movie. When it did get revealed to us that Amazon was coming on board, we were super happy because it’s such a great platform that is gonna reach so many people — probably so many more people than who are comfortable going to theaters at the moment. It’s great.
JM: And Derek, because of the delays in the release date, were you able to… have a little bit of a longer time to finish the movie, or did you stick to a certain timeline?
Derek Drymon: I think we got an extra…
JK: We got two more days in mix!
DD: And we definitely took advantage of it because I remember… that’s why it felt like two weeks… we were so happy to get that time. Two days is a big deal in mix. We were gearing for that moment to release, so in animation: things are done when they’re done. You’re not gonna reopen it.
JM: So how has it been now in these last several months waiting and waiting for January 14th to arrive?
DD: It’s weird. We finished so long ago. In fact, we had a crew screening where we all got to see it [a few weeks ago]. It was like a high school reunion. “I haven’t seen you in years! But it’s only been a couple months!”
JK: Also a high school reunion in which you are meeting people for the first time. A lot of the crew we never met in person.
DD: It’s always interesting to see how tall people are. I’m sure everybody in the world is having that experience when you actually see someone for the first time or see someone after a long time.
JM: True. Jennifer, can you talk a little bit about the growth of these characters over four movies? What have you seen first-hand and what did you want to accomplish in terms of arcs with this final chapter?
JK: [For] the final chapter, I think we really wanted to look to the first movie. Johnny coming into Drac’s life is really the catalyst that changes it. Mavis is at this point where she wants to explore the world. Johnny comes in as this character that represents that — and that completely upends Drac’s world. We wanted to bring those two characters full circle. Johnny sort of fell away a little bit in the second and third movies, and that relationship just seems so core to starting Drac on this journey. That’s the one we really wanted to honor and explore in this final denouement of, “Where has Drac gone as a character?”
JM: You guys make Andy Samberg work because he does a lot of shouting and yelling and screaming. Derek, can you really attest to how much he goes through this?
DD: Yeah. The thing to remember is: we completely changed his design. He went from this average size guy to now a 12-foot walking lizard. The worry was, “The audience loves this character from the other movies. Will they be able to identify with him, or even identify who that is?” Andy’s got this really unique voice. There’s so much charm that comes out of him when he talks that as soon as we put his voice on that giant character, it was like, “Oh. It’s the guy!” That’s him and the work he does that really does so much work for us to tell that story.
JK: I have this memory of him at his house, which we can kind of see through his Zoom link, and he’s under a blanket to try and muffle the screams so they don’t get echo-y and room-y sounds. The making of this movie and seeing Andy embody this story-high monster under a blanket was really charming.
JM: Gotta get some of those bonus features [out there] if you’ve got video of that. And I really like Mavis and Ericka teaming-up this time. Obviously there was some tension in the third movie between the two of them and that relationship. Jennifer, what did you want with that dynamic?
JK: We want to really use them as an example that: yes, Ericka is a new addition to this family but she and Mavis have accepted each other after their initial friction, which allows them to really function as this very emotionally mature team that’s working together and is able to resolve a lot of the physical stakes at the end of the movie.
JM: This franchise has always had energetic music as a core theme and you really bring that in as well. Derek, what do you think the energetic music says about this franchise and when people look back on this franchise 10-20 years from now?
DD: Music is such a big part of when you watch film. When the music is energized, it energizes the audience and creates so much fun and a youthful energy. They’re all tools that we use to help sell this idea and tell the story.
JK: And also… what I like about the franchise and how it keys into these emotions is that it’s very much like a kid’s experience of things. Seeing these characters jump up and physically engage with really fun music — with weird shapes and body sizes and monsters. When you’re a kid, that’s what you want to do: just get up and dance. Seeing the characters do that is fun wish fulfillment.
JM: That’s interesting. I know [the second] “Hotel Transylvania” movie won the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award and the third one was nominated as well. So clearly kids respond to these movies and you guys having that perspective for kids is clearly working and makes a lot of sense. Did you two have to pitch Genndy [Tartakovsky] and say, “We’re the right people to [direct] this?”
JK: I got a call out of the blue, which was, “Would you be interested in Hotel T and talking with us about that?” And that was of course an immediate “Yes.” There were a lot of discussions with Genndy and where the film’s gonna go. It felt like a really good fit.
DD: Genndy… and I have been in animation for years and I think we’ve always heard of each other. We never worked together or have been at the same studio at the same time. I think I met him once or twice before, but really my first time meeting him was when I was moving into my office with a handshake and a “How you doing?” I can’t speak for Genndy, so I don’t know what his thought was with me. (laughs) I got a call from Kristine Belson out of the blue and she was talking to me about maybe coming to Sony and “we have this movie and this movie and that movie… and the Hotel Transylvania installment.” And I was like, “Yeah. Stop right there. I would love to do THAT.” So then I came in and interviewed with Jen and [producers] Michelle Murdocca and Alice Goldstone.
JM: Which character would you two want to transform into for a day?
JK: Out of the characters we have? Johnny Monster all the way! 100% Johnny Monster.
DD: I’ll take Blobby, ’cause then someone gets to carry me around all the time. I hate walking.
JM: (laughs) We’re not gonna spoil the ending for our readers, but I was very surprised by a moment at the end of the film. It legitimately gets you. Did the way we come upon that moment — was that always the way it was in the script? Were there alternate versions?
JK: There was a lot of early debate about that. It’s not prepped. You don’t see it coming.
JM: Correct.
DD: It was a big choice and we went back and forth through the script stage. We proposed that with the writers in a really early stage and everybody’s like, “No. No. No.” It is shocking. But as we were developing it and the story went on and on, it came back. That’s how these stories work: tons of ideas and then things start dropping in. Everybody sees, “That’s the way to do it.” Looking at it now: There was no other way we would’ve done it. I think it’s a really powerful moment.
JM: What doors do you now want to open in the animation world?
JK: Wherever I end up, there are elements of the “Hotel T” franchise that I want to keep with me forever. The idea of how much the “Hotel T” movies embrace what is wonderful about animation and what it is unique about animation — and the physicality and the fun and embracing the joy of watching people behave in these ridiculous ways. It’s so fun. It’s so universal. It’s so appealing. That’s something I want to take with me forever.
DD: I always look for creative partners that I click with. Sometimes you find them on certain projects and sometimes you’re on projects and you don’t really ever click. So this one was a really great fit. Jen and I clicked really well and really enjoyed the time we spent together. If I can find a team that I really click with and like spending the untold hours that animation takes with them, that’s the part I enjoy — the friends you make while you make these things.
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