EXCLUSIVE: David Spade Talks Griffin’s Transformation in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
David Spade’s Griffin has spent the past three movies in the Hotel Transylvania series as the Invisible Man, no more than a pair of glasses and a voice. Now in the fourth movie in the series, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, his character comes to life and we got the chance to hear from Spade regarding his character’s transformation and what it has been like being apart of this animated series.
What was your reaction when you saw the new design for Griffin?
“I play Griffin, the Invisible Man, who is sort of a bit of a scene stealer. Griffin, they showed me during and I was a bit surprised because they put out some pictures of Griffin, and I guess it wasn’t what people thought because they wanted Griffin to be better looking like Bradley Cooper or something. I’m like, Griffin’s this goofy ding-dong that hangs out with the monsters. A little out of shape, red hair. They were looking for more of a Prince Harry or something. I think it’s funnier that Griffin looks funnier, because it’s for kids and families, and I think cartoons should be funny-looking. So, I’m 100% into my Griffin.”
What has it been like for you filming these four movies?
“I love that I got to do these four movies with all these people. It was such a fun time. I get so many nice comments from so many different older/younger people about watching them together. It’s been a blast. I just wanted to get that out there because it was a really cool thing to be a part of.”
You can read the rest of our interview under the jump! Hotel Transylvania: Transformania will be released to Prime Video on January 14.
Photo credit: Amazon Studios
This is the first time that your character Griffin has actually been seen. What do you think that symbolizes in a movie like this that’s all about transformation?
“Having Griffin be not seen was kind of interesting the whole time, because I’m just floating glasses. It was nice to be a full on character that was relating to other people. I think that’s going to be really fun for kids. It was a great hooky fourth idea because then it’s a switcheroo and everyone gets different. It’s just a fun, visual thing. When you see these jokes and you see them written on the page and then when they add the animation to them, the jokes are three times better because there’s a joke behind you, there’s a joke over here. It just flushes it out so much that the movie turns into just more and more fun. It’s just so clever when you can see what they can do. It’s really not us. We’re adding one layer, and then what they do to it makes it even better. So, they just really know what they’re doing and that’s why these are so fun, and I’m proud to be a part of.”
What will you miss most about this series?
“I like when they come out. We did one year waiting for it to come out to see if it worked, and it’s nice to be a part of something that works. When it worked, it was fun. Then they’re already talking about another one. So, it’s kind of fun. People are like, ‘Is there going to be another one?’ You go, ‘Yeah, yeah we’re working on it. It’s coming out soon.’ Then that comes out and you see it, and you go, ‘Oh good, it’s funny again.’ Then there’s like, ‘Oh, there’s going to be another one.’ To have it stop is kind of a bummer, but I’m glad seeing the fourth one, I’m glad they all were good quality and if that’s where they have to stop, that’s where they have to stop.”
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity