HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 (2015)

Always nice, when a sequel matches or betters its predecessor - and HT2 is a whole lot of fun.  Set a number of years down the road from the first one, this film finds Vampa ("Grandpa" mashed up with "Vampire") Dracula having made a number of changes to his popular Transylvanian hotel - not the least of which is opening its doors to human clientele - thanks to his toddler grandchild Dennis, who is half-human and half-vampire.  Problems begin when Drac's daughter Mavis, Dennis's mom, wonders if maybe living in a hotel full of monsters might be too much for her very human son (almost five, legend has it that if Dennis doesn't sprout fangs by his birthday, he'll be human forever), and, under the influence of her in-laws, talks of moving to California ... making Dracula sneak behind her back, with the help of his monster friends, to make sure Dennis becomes the vampire child Drac is sure he's meant to be, before the kid turns five.  The film is really funny, with a terrific story and great animation; loved it! (rated PG)  A-