Genndy Tartakovsky Talks About Coming Aboard Hotel Transylvania

Sony Pictures Animation's latest film, Hotel Transylvania, directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, is almost upon us. But it wasn't always directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. If you've followed the production of Sony's latest, you'll know it's been a troubled one; Tartakovsky is actually the sixth director to try his hand on the troubled film, one that thankfully seems to have got the job done. The Samurai Jack creator spoke to the LA Times about coming onto production this late on, the hostilities he faced, and the film in general.

Check out some interesting points, courtesy of the LA Times, after the jump break.


Tartakovsky, a CalArts alum who also created Dexter's Laboratory and Star Wars: Clone Wars,  is revered by fans for his brilliant shows and their striking visual styles, Tartakovsky told the LA Times, though, that that seemed to win him little approval early on - that feature films and TV are a whole world apart, saying:

"This movie's been worked for six years already and everybody's kind of bitter.... I've never had so much resistance from everywhere — the studio, the artists. It took me a while to get my feet on the ground and win everybody over.

.... My TV reputation didn't really cross over into feature animation.... There's a level of respect that's not there. It's high pressure, a lot of money and then you have to work with voice actors."

Tartakovsky also spoke of his early reluctance to accept the role - wanting his "first feature to be an original idea", namely, the Samurai Jack film he's been trying to get off the ground - before eventually accepting, and coming onto the project in February of last year.

The article also spoke about Genndy bringing his trademark, 2D, animation style and adapting it for this, 3D, CGI film - specifically to the more Looney Tunes-esque design of Dracula, and the more quirky, cartoony, style of animation. Tartakovsky wanted to embrace the cartoon, and not aspire to realism, which he put best in his own words, saying:

"I don't want to do animation to mimic reality. I want to push reality. You want to have your own identity. You don't want to have an expression that Pixar has. That was super important to me. In 2-D, the way you draw defines you, but in CG the computer takes away your identity. I wanted to make sure the movie had my point of view."

The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania promises to contain wonderful artwork then. The article also says that Tartakovsky is signed on for two more films with Sony, one, we know, is an adaptation of Popeye, the other, LA Times says, is "an original idea of his (a family comedy)" - so presumably not Samurai Jack, although we may still see that film soon enough.

Be sure to check out the full article - it should go some way to convince you of the merit of the film; it certainly got me on-board anyway - over at the LA Times!

Hotel Transylvania premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8th September, and hits cinemas in the US on 28th September, and in the UK on the 12th October - putting it in direct competition with Disney's similarly-ghoulish Frankenweenie.