Selena Checks into Hotel Transylvania

By: Lynn Barker

Selena Gomez does it all; music, TV and film but she had the most fun and a big challenge voicing Dracula’s daughter Mavis in the new animated romp Hotel Transylvania. It’s a dad/daughter story at the core, about a dad who needs to learn how to let go and trust that his child will be okay out in the world and that, as a parent, he’ll always there for her. Of course her falling for a human complicates matters.

Let’s get Selena’s take on her experience.

Kidzworld: There are a ton of classic movie monsters in this film. Which monster from movies is your favorite?

• Selena: If Freddy Kruger or Jason qualifies as classic, then Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers (from the Halloween films). That’s my thing. I love being scared. I go to Knotts’ Scary Farm at Halloween every year.

Kidzworld: So are you drawn to the supernatural, having been a wizard, now a monster’s daughter?

• Selena: I guess so. Never thought about that. With the show we were able to kind of bring kids’ imaginations to life. We could be invisible and fly and walk on walls and that’s what every kid wishes they had the ability to do. With this movie we are bringing that imagination alive too with Frankenstein and Dracula and new characters like his daughter.

Kidzworld: You work in music, TV and films. How important is it to work in all those genres to keep the creativity going?

• Selena: I just change my mind so much. It’s not even about me wanting to make sure I’m fulfilled in each of those. I just change my mind. It’s always like “Okay, I feel good about this movie. Now I really need to go into the studio and record” or go on a tour and do something else. Sometimes, my mom is like “You should just stop doing stuff”, because I want to do so much.

Kidzworld: You have been doing more grown up roles. Is doing a voice for this, for families a way to keep working for your core audience?

• Selena: Yes. That’s one of the reasons I did it. To be honest, I’m not really that great with animation because I feel like sometimes, it’s harder to act with your voice than to act with your (whole) self but this was such a great experience. This was a great thing for me to do for that (fanbase) because I was doing a couple of movies that were a little out of my comfort zone so it was nice to go back to that.

Kidzworld: Did you ever try a Transylvanian (Dracula) accent?

• Selena: (laughs) No but they tried to get me to make fun of my dad and that was hard. I’m definitely not as good as Adam (Sandler) when it comes to that.

Kidzworld: What was it like working with Adam Sandler who plays Dracula?

• Selena: He’s awesome. He’s really cool. He was there for almost all of my sessions and he was really nice. You could see that he’d be a cool dad; someone who is really funny and just makes everybody laugh.

Kidzworld: So any pressure playing Dracula’s daughter?  There is friction but mutual respect between them.

• Selena: Yeah. There’s never really been a story that’s been about that and their relationship so I do think the way she was structured and the way I read her was exactly what I thought it would be. I thought it was perfect so I hope we don’t disappoint anybody.

Kidzworld: Everybody says it’s fun to record a voice role because you can just work in your comfy, crummy clothes and, they also use some of your mannerisms in the character.

• Selena: (laughs) I did come in in my sweats the first couple of times and see everybody else’s part in the film and get a feel for it. I do see some of my mannerisms a little bit and the way she talks and mumbles a little bit. I’m a little guilty of that with my parents.

Kidzworld: So are you personally anything like your character Mavis?

• Selena: I’m in that place a little bit. I’m 20 (Mavis is 118..or 18 to us) so it’s fun for me to grow up and want to see places too. I get to travel and I’m lucky to do that but I’ve never gotten to go places alone or with my friends and I’ve never had that. I’m doing things more on my own now and have that freedom that Mavis wanted. I’m kind of quirky. I relate to her.