I’m probably preaching to the choir, as anyone reading this site is probably already a fan of Hotel Transylvania, but in case you’ve been putting it off because it’s a ‘kids movie’ or something, go watch it now. I’ll wait.

See? Wasn’t that worth it? Don’t you wish you’d watched it sooner?

…

You didn’t go watch it right then and you’re still reading this post…?

Wow. I thought I knew you better than that, but it’s about Dracula, who, after having a terrible time with humans, built an hotel for monsters (the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Werewolf, etc, but also myriad monsters of stripes I’ve certainly never seen). He’s dreaded the day his little girl turns 118 because then she’ll be old enough to go out into the world that he knows wants nothing more than to harm her. But she’s turning 118 at the weekend and all the monsters in the world are invited to her party.

Not the pouty bat face! Right in the feels!

After cooking up a plot to scare her off the human world forever, the worst possible thing happens. An American tourist shows up. Dracula knows that if all the other monsters find out the most terrifying thing they can imagine (humans tend to kill monsters, after all) has invaded their safe haven they’ll flee and never return. So Drac gets the young man up in a costume to make him monster-y and he becomes a huge hit at the party. A huge hit with everyone, including Drac’s daughter, ifyouknowwhatImean.

It’s the sort of animation where if you blink you miss five sight gags. The sort you can watch multiple times and be delighted every single time.

The website is great fun, as well. There are games, wallpapers, Facebook covers and Twitter skins, and a downloadable activity book.

And if you’ve already seen Hotel Transylvania (and loved it), I highly recommend Mad Monster Party , which is about a similar situation, but was made in the 60s. And it was TRIPPY.

Please Say Something by David O’Reilly

JO JO IN THE STARS from STUDIO AKA on Vimeo .

Jo Jo in the Stars is a haunting new school animation with an old school feel. With tinges of Metropolis and Freaks, it’s the story of a robot/creature (that somewhat resembles Eve in Wall-E) forced to perform in a freakshow. One fan decides to rescue her and when his attempt doesn’t go as planned, he devises a much more heart-rending way of being with his love. Though it has very little dialogue, the piece conveys a great deal about sacrifice in the name of devotion.

Saturday next is the 204th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth so this week’s posts will be focusing on Mr Poe, the person who first opened my eyes to the wonderful darkness within.

Today, animations.

First up, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, narrated by James Mason, released in 1953.

Next is the trailer for a stop-motion animation of ‘The Pit and Pendulum.’ The full film can be purchased here .

An animation of the Alan Parson’s Project song ‘The Raven’, which uses some of the poem as its lyrics.

Another Alan Parson’s Project song. This one is for ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’ (It’s a little annoying that they mispronounce ‘ Amontillado ,’ but the song is still good and the animation is nice.)

This is ‘The Raven’ read by James Earl Jones, set to ‘Moonlight Sonata’ and includes evocative photography as a slideshow.

Tim Burton’s ‘Vincent’, which references several of Poe’s works and is narrated by Vincent Price, who was an enormous fan of Poe.

And finally, this clever animation of Poe, attempting to shoot the introduction to his show ‘Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination.’

Stop motion, face paint: Each frame was hand-painted on the model’s face.

Rot from Erica Luke on Vimeo .

Le Taxidermiste from Le Taxidermiste Team on Vimeo .

Hotel Transylvania First Official Trailer