When I first watched Hotel Transylvania the movie, I fell in love instantly. I related to Mavis quite a bit, introverted, overly attached to her paternal and overly protected inside a home.

The Original Summary!

Then, when the series came out, I had to watch, and I fell for that refreshing world even more! So, Hotel Transylvania The Series, Nose Picker – Hide and Shriek the review we go!

SPOILER ALERT!

Right before a visit from an influential hotel reviewer, Mavis lures an unwanted guest into the hotel. Second Act, Mavis finds her childhood doll, Demented Debbie, who continues to be her best friend forever.

The Dark Baroness

The viewers are introduced, as the song of the cartoon is played, to the character taking charge of the hotel while Dracula is gone, his older sister, Lydia The Dark Baroness and therefore Mavis’ aunt.

The animation is very refreshing, well done and quite enjoyable to appreciate. We recognize the hotel very well in all its details. The usual characters in the background are quite the same as we have come to know from the movie franchise. Some characters were removed, such as Wayne, however, the wolf pups are present, and sometimes we can see Wanda.

 

Nevertheless, the main change remains Aunt Lydia who becomes a significant part of the series. She is a beloved character and to me, replaces Dracula so well, that we don’t miss him in the series. She is the opposite of her little brother; thus her individual and that alone is quite refreshing.

Enter The Nose Picker

Quickly, we are introduced to Mavis’ best friend, Wendy, who is NOT Blobby’s daughter, but Mr. Blob’s daughter – a millionaire character who is a permanent resident of the hotel in the penthouse.

Then, we have our first peek at Quasimodo as the chef in the kitchen, while Wendy was stuck in the ketchup bottle and Mavis helps her get out. We then see two new characters, Hank N. Stein – Uncle Frank’s son and the mummy Pedro who is, again, NOT Murray’s son, but his friend. At the exception of Wendy, the trio works at the hotel and are permanent residents.

 

When it is revealed by one of the shrunken heads that Gretchen Squid from Screamcation is coming to review the hotel, Mavis is determined to make the hotel perfect for a 5 Skull review.

Despite being reminded by her best friend that all of her “great ideas” often gets her in trouble, the stubborn teen vampire Mavis doesn’t listen and frees the wolf pups from their room. The door falls on her, when she removes it, little Winnie is propelled the opposite way of her brothers.

“Young lady, Hotel Transylvania has a disturbing reputation for a thousand years. Lose wolf pups it upset orders, secrets upset order, teenage vampires upset order!” — Aunt Lydia, Hotel Transylvania The Series

We are then finally introduced to the first scene in the entrance before the front desk with Aunt Lydia who had commissioned a statue from Zombie Da Vinci of herself. The viewer also meet Lydia’s minion, a chicken named Diane. When all is going well, the wolf pup gang strolls into the hallway and destroys the statue, Mavis running after the pups with Winnie.

 

Aunt Lydia shows her superiority with her vampire abilities and freezes everyone in place at the exception of Mavis ordering her to find the wolf pup missing and maintain order in the hotel.

“Holy rabies! She went into the hotel; Aunt Lydia will freak! And Winnie is following her.” — Mavis Dracula, Hotel Transylvania The Series

Long story short, Mavis succeeds at finding Winnie who brings along the Nose Picker, a two-year-old human girl who belongs to the human couple living across the bridge, the Cartwright, Donald, and Kitty. Of course, the human smell spreads around the hotel and forces Mavis to come up with original ideas to hide the fact that because of her, a human came inside.

 

In the end, the hotel looks like a tornado got through, but the Nose Picker is gone, and the hotel gets a 5 Skulls from Gretchen Squid until she sees Aunt Lydia’s statue and takes half a skull off her rating.

The Nose Picker Rating

My overall experience watching that first half of the episode was great. I enjoyed the way they were able to introduce new characters organically. Nothing seemed forced or out of place. Mavis is entirely different, but that goes with the fact that she is a teenager, 114, and also it is “inspired” by Hotel Transylvania and not “based on” the movie franchise itself.

So, first episode and effort, 3.5 Skulls out of 5 Skulls.

Hide And Shriek

The episode starts, and Mavis is running around trying to get all of her work appropriately done enumerating her chores. She is then abruptly stopped by Wendy to take a “smellfie” with an old vintage looking polaroid camera which gives the picture – with Mavis invisible, a smell of “bloberry.”

The first appearance of Aunt Lydia in the episode is with a nice sarcastic humor line. We then see Diane, Aunt Lydia’s minion, painting her in recognizable painting masterpieces.

“Mavis! Stop posing for scientifically impossible photos and get back to work!” — Aunt Lydia, Hotel Transylvania The Series

Hank and Pedro show up admitting having opened a box they were told never to open releasing a giant monster that we only see the tentacles. Mavis on break, she retreats to the attic where she falls into her old toys. A crack at Disney is made when we see the skeleton of a rotten and she says a pun that had my husband, and I laugh.

“The first mouse I caught! Stuart, you were so slow!” — Mavis Dracula, Hotel Transylvania The Series

Mavis then opens up a book with folding images and releases a ghost that appears like a doll. The young girl looking doll reveals that she has been hiding for ninety years waiting for Mavis to find her.

The doll is presented as a demented character, evil and reckless. She is meant to be your best friend forever; even when you won’t desire to play, she will be ready for more and chase after you. Fake commercials with a wolf-girl are shown, afraid and terrified of the doll.

The company producing Demented Debbie, aware of the evil they have released upon the monster world, mentions in their commercial that there is no possibility of return, double locked and they are not responsible for any dolls tormenting the owner until the end of time. Now, that should’ve been a warning to Dracula!

The quartet, Mavis, Wendy, Hank and Pedro are then the victim of Debbie’s torment and are continually harassed by the doll. Mavis tries to have Debbie understand that she has work around the hotel to do and cannot play with her all the time and so Debbie kidnaps Mavis’ friends and hold them hostage in Victorian costumes around a table with and a tea party setting.

To save her friends, Mavis think of the only way Debbie would be busy until the end of time. She walks into the tea party and gives Debbie a gift wrapped in a coffin-shaped box. A Demented Debbie Doll comes out, and all is back to normal!

Hide & Shriek Rating

The Demented Debbie Doll is a compelling character. I enjoyed the ride and wondered how Mavis would get out of that one! The supporting cast is just as funny as in the movies, and the friends become quite likable.

So, the second half of the first episode is a 4 Skulls out of 5 Skulls for me!

Until next time!
The OCD Vampire
Arielle Lyon