Plot
In 1895, after his wife Martha was killed by an angry human mob, Count Dracula commissions and builds a massive monsters-only hotel in Transylvania, in which he raises his young daughter, Mavis. The hotel also serves as a safe haven and a getaway for the world's monsters from fear of human persecution. Famous monsters and friends of Dracula such as Frankenstein and his wife Eunice, Wayne and Wanda Werewolf and their massive immediate family, Griffin, and Murray often come to stay at the hotel.
In 2012, on Mavis's 118th birthday, she wants to finally see the human world. Dracula allows her to leave the castle, but he sets up an elaborate plan using his zombie bellhops disguised as humans to make them seem intimidating, and frighten her home. The plan works, but on their way back the zombies inadvertently lead a human, Jonathan "Johnny" Loughran, back to the hotel. Drac frantically disguises him as a Frankenstein-esque monster and passes him off as Frank's cousin "Johnnystein" so that he could lie about his arrival. Jonathan soon meets Mavis and the two "zing". Unable to get Johnny out of the hotel without notice, Drac quickly improvises that Johnny is a party planner, brought in to bring a fresher approach to his own traditional and boring parties. Johnny quickly becomes a hit to the other monsters, but this worries Drac, who is both envious of Johnny's popularity and afraid that his friends will never return to the hotel if they find out the truth about him. Drac coerces Johnny to leave, but he is brought back by Mavis, who is unaware of Johnny's real species and feud with her father. After being shown the beauty of a sunrise by Johnny, Mavis is inspired to give humans another chance.
Meanwhile, the hotel chef Quasimodo, with the help of his pet rat Esmeralda, learns that Johnny is a human and kidnaps him to cook him. Drac intervenes and magically freezes Quasimodo to keep him from telling anyone that Johnny is human. Drac leads Johnny to his quarters and shows him a painting of Martha, allowing Johnny to realize why Drac built the hotel, became overprotective of Mavis, and his hatred for humans. Johnny then agrees to leave for good, but Drac, noticing that Mavis and Johnny's feelings for each other are real, persuades him to stay for the time being to avoid ruining Mavis's birthday. Drac and Johnny begin to bond and have fun together.
The party becomes a great success the next night and Mavis looks forward to opening a gift from Martha. However, when Johnny and Mavis share their first kiss, Drac overreacts, and in his outburst, inadvertently confesses to deceiving Mavis with the town. A still-frozen Quasimodo bursts in and Mr. Fly reveals from his frozen speech that Johnny is a human disguised by Drac, who is guilty about his lie. The guests are shocked and outraged by the deceit at play but Mavis is undeterred and wants to be with Johnny. Johnny rejects her out of respect for her father and leaves the hotel. A heartbroken Mavis flies onto the roof with her mother's gift, and Drac follows in hopes of comforting her. He learns the present is a book about how he and Martha "zinged" and fell in love, and realizes he no longer knows mankind's true tolerance of monsters. After apologizing to the patrons, Drac persuades Frank, Wayne, Griffin, and Murray to head out into the human world to help him find Johnny, and with the scent-tracking ability of Wayne's daughter, Winnie, they learn that he is about to catch a flight back to the United States.
The five head to the airport, but are held up in a town celebrating a Monster Festival along the way. Frankenstein attempts to scare away the assembled crowd of humans with a loud roar but instead receives wild applause and adoration. He then gets the humans to agree to help, and a team of men dressed as vampires provides Drac shelter from the sunlight while he rushes to the airport. Drac arrives to see Johnny's plane taking off, and he gives chase in bat form, burning in the sunlight. After getting Johnny's attention, Drac makes his way to the windshield of the plane and uses his mind-controlling power on the pilot to help him apologize over the plane's PA system, stating that Mavis has grown up and can make her own decisions. Johnny accepts his apology, and Drac manipulates the pilot to return to the Transylvanian airport. Drac returns Johnny to Mavis, announcing that he approves of Johnny. Johnny confesses to Mavis that their "zing" was mutual and the two kiss. The monsters finish celebrating Mavis's party, impressing the hotel guests.
