‘Hotel Transylvania’ is a popular animated franchise that revolves around the adventures and misadventures of Count Dracula and his daughter Mavis as the two run a hotel for monsters. The movies have it all; they are funny and family-friendly and feature some of the most iconic monsters in fiction. It’s now wonder then that the franchise has seen incredible success and spawned several installments. ‘The Hotel Trasylvania’ franchise currently consists out of 4 animated movies, a TV Show, and 3 Short films, and today, we’re going to tell you how to watch them in order.
Editor’s Note: This watch order was updated in November 2023.
All 4 ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies, shows & shorts in release date order
The franchise started back in 2012 with the release of ‘Hotel Transylvania’ the reception of the movie was generally favorable as the movie was clearly aimed toward children. The franchise turned out to be so successful that it quickly expanded to various forms of media. Here’s the release date order for the entire franchise:
- ‘Hotel Transylvania’ (2012)
- ‘Goodnight Mr. Foot’ (2012) – Short Movie
- ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ (2015)
- ‘Puppy!’ (2017) – Short Movie
- ‘Hotel Transylvania: The Series’ – Shorts (2017)
- ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ (2018)
- ‘Hotel Transylvania: The Series’ Season 1 (2018)
- ‘Hotel Transylvania: The Series’ Season 2 (2020)
- ‘Monster Pets’ (2021) – Short Movie
- ‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ (2022)
Are all ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies, seasons & shorts connected? What’s the best way to watch them in order?
All the “Hotel Transylvania” movies, as well as any associated seasons and shorts, are connected within the same animated universe. The franchise follows the adventures and comedic situations of Count Dracula, his daughter Mavis, and other classic monsters living in and around Hotel Transylvania. The narrative continuity is maintained across the films, creating a cohesive and interconnected storyline.
The best way to watch the franchise is in release date order; however, if you’re re-watching the franchise, then I would recommend a chronology approach to the franchise.
‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies, seasons & shorts in chronological order
‘Hotel Transylvania’ has a simple chronological order, but it doesn’t correspond to the main release order. There’s also a question of series of short films that are part of the same Universe and have their specific place in the timeline. Here’s the chronological order of the entire franchise:
- ‘Hotel Transylvania: The Series’ (2017-2020)
- ‘Goodnight Mr. Foot’ (2012)
- ‘Hotel Transylvania’ (2012)
- ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ (2015)
- ‘Puppy!’ (2017)
- ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ (2018)
- ‘Monster Pets’ (2021)
- ‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ (2022)
1. ‘Hotel Transylvania: The Series’ (2017-2020)
‘Hotel Transylvania’ is a prequel to the franchise and unfolds four years before the events of the original movie. It centers around Mavis and her close friends embarking on entertaining adventures at the hotel while Dracula is away on business with the Vampire Council.
2. ‘Goodnight Mr. Foot’ (2012)
‘Goodnight Mr. Foot’ focuses on Bigfoot, a character from the original movie, and takes place sometime before the events of the first movie.
3. ‘Hotel Transylvania’ (2012)
In 1895, grieving the death of his wife, Count Dracula builds a monsters-only hotel in Transylvania to provide a safe haven for monsters, including his daughter Mavis. On Mavis’s 118th birthday in the present day (2012), she expressed a desire to explore the human world. Dracula concocts a plan to scare her away but inadvertently allows a human named Jonathan to enter the hotel, leading to comedic chaos and a budding romantic connection between Mavis and Jonathan.
4. ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ (2015)
Takes place some years after the events of the first movie. After Mavis and Johnny’s marriage, they have a son named Dennis. Concerned that Dennis might not develop vampire powers, Mavis contemplates moving to California for a more “normal” life, leading Dracula to attempt to keep her distracted and prevent the relocation while looking after his grandson.
5. ‘Puppy!’ (2017)
The second short film on this list features Dennis and a monster-sized puppy named Tinkles. It takes place shortly before the events of the third movie and kind of served as a sneak-peak for it.
6. ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ (2018)
In 1897, Dracula and his friends face the threat of Professor Abraham Van Helsing on a train to Budapest, with Dracula ultimately outsmarting his nemesis. In the present day, one year after the second film, Dracula, Mavis, and their family take a cruise for a break, where Drac unexpectedly falls in love with the human captain, Ericka, challenging his belief that he had already experienced love.
7. ‘Monster Pets’ (2021)
‘Monster Pets’ deals with Dracula trying to find a companion for Tinkles, a monster puppy he gave to Dennis during ‘Puppy!’ short film.
8. ‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ (2022)
During Hotel Transylvania’s 125th-anniversary celebration, Dracula plans to retire and leave the hotel to Mavis and Johnny. To prevent Johnny from renovating the hotel, Drac lies about a “monster real-estate law,” but complications arise when Van Helsing’s ray accidentally turns Drac into a human, and they embark on a journey to retrieve a new crystal to reverse the transformation.
Where to watch the above-mentioned movies?
‘Hotel Transylvania’ (2012) can be rented on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube, while the short films can only be watched on YouTube because no major streaming services have them in the library.
The animated series can only be bought on Amazon, Google Play, and Apple TV stores. ‘Summer Vacation’ can be streamed on Fubo and DirecTV, while ‘Transformania’ is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Will there be more ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies?
‘Transformania’ was always marketed as the finale movie in the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ franchise, so it doesn’t seem likely that we will get more installments. We will update you in any case if anything new comes up.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!
