Summary

• Zack Galifianakis suggests that making Hangover 4 an animated, family-friendly film could breathe new life into the franchise.
• The Hangover movies faced criticism for repeating the same storylines and straying from what made the original great, but an animated approach could offer a fresh take.
• The popularity of R-rated animated content, such as shows like Bojack Horseman and Big Mouth, suggests that there is a market for adult animation, potentially making Hangover 4 successful.

The Hangover franchise is seemingly on hiatus with no new movie in development, but Zack Galifianakis's wild Hangover 4 plan could save it. The Hangover was released in 2009 and became a phenomenal hit. It wasn't completely original, as it had the tried-and-true premise of a group of friends who have to retrace their steps the morning after an outrageous night. However, the film was laugh-out-loud funny, featured instantly iconic characters, and a cast that clearly had chemistry. Despite not being influential in many ways, few other theatrically released comedies have had as much impact as The Hangover.

The sequel even became the highest-grossing comedy of all time, and along with The Hangover Part III, the films have grossed over $1.4 billion (via The Numbers). It was almost guaranteed that the original movie was going to get countless sequels following its phenomenal success, but the franchise has been an example of diminishing returns. While they were all box office hits, they were subjects of constant criticism, such as rehashing the same storylines and heavily featuring racial stereotypes. However, Galifianakis has a Hangover 4 idea that could bring the franchise back from the dead.

Zach Galifianakis Wants Hangover 4 To Be Animated

The Rest Of The Cast Reportedly Burned Their Hangover 4 Screenplays

Many critics believe that the Hangover movies got worse with each consecutive release, but Galifianakis' comments are a hopeful update on the franchise. The Hangover franchise has been dormant for a while now, and the last movie in the series was released all the way back in 2013, but Galifianakis's outside-the-box thinking could totally revitalize it. In an interview with Extra TV, the actor was asked what it'd take to return to the Hangover series. The actor explained:

Maybe if they made it a Pixar version… a family-friendly version.

The actor could have been saying that simply because the movie he was promoting during the interview, Ron's Gone Wrong, is animated (though not from Pixar). But he also mentioned that he had been writing the Hangover 4 screenplay himself. It's worth taking that with a grain of salt given Galifianakis's comic background, especially as he added:

"I sent it to the other guys, they sent me videos of them burning it."

However, it's entirely possible that he's been writing down some ideas, even though he didn't have a hand in writing any of the previous movies in the series.

How An Animated Hangover 4 Could Save The Franchise

An Animated Hangover Movie Wouldn't Have Any Limitations

The Hangover Part II was heavily criticized for essentially being the same movie as the original but in Thailand instead of Las Vegas. The Hangover Part III veered too far from its core concept, and a fresh approach like this is what the franchise needs. Given that animated movies can take place anywhere, an animated Hangover Part 4 movie setting wouldn't be limited by its production. Most of Hangover Part III was filmed in North America, but another appeal of the series became the exotic locations, and an animated movie can take advantage of that.

The concept couldn't be more different from the fundamental appeal of the Hangover franchise, but it could work perfectly. The only setback is that Galifianakis mentioned that Hangover 4 should be family-friendly, which would be hard to work around given that even the notion of being hungover is a mature concept. Successful mature animated comedies like Sausage Party have proved that R-rated animated films can work, so a fourth Hangover movie or a reboot in an animated form could resurrect the franchise uniquely, and it could be another huge box office hit.

The Popularity Of Adult Animation Helps The Hangover 4

Big Mouth, BoJack Horseman, & Sausage Party Prove There's A Market

Since Galifianakis mentioned his idea for making The Hangover 4 animated, the R-rated animated genre has exploded. There have been award-winning TV shows like BoJack Horsemen and Big Mouth on Netflix. These two R-rated animated shows are very different, one using adult themes and the other more of a gross-out comedy that lines up well with the humor from The Hangover franchise. Not only that but R-rated animated movie comedies are not new, as raunchy-animated films date back to the 1970s with Fritz the Cat, and movies like Heavy Metal and Sausage Party proved there's still a market.

Sausage Party made $140 million worldwide with a budget of just $19 million (via Box Office Mojo).

The Hangover was a massive success, and other franchises like The Expendables proved in 2023 that there could still be a long wait between installments, and it could roar back for fans. For The Hangover, the movie needs its cast, as they carried it to greatness, but with each of them getting older, it might be easier to bring them back in an animated form. With all genres proving adult animation could work, from comics like Harley Quinn to fantasy shows like Arcane, Zack Galifianakis might not be too far off the path with his Hangover 4 ideas.

Sources: The Numbers, Extra TV, Box Office Mojo