The Hangover franchise is seemingly on hiatus with no new movie in development, but Zack Galifianakis' 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. A roaring success, The Hangover, became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy in the United States.

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' 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 Galifianakis has 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 Trilogy's Critical Reception:

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 global 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).

For The Hangover 4 tor work, 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.

The Risks Of This New Hangover 4 Direction

Fans Might Not Show Up For Such A Drastic Change In The Hangover Franchise

Zack Galifianakis' unique idea for an animated The Hangover 4 is an exciting idea and one that could actually work, but it also comes at great risk for any studio which could prevent it from actually happening. The box office potential of an R-rated animated movie is shaky, even with an existing property like The Hangover. However, the main problem with this idea is that it could strip the sequel of all the built-in popularity most sequels can lean into.

Seeing the main cast of The Hangover back together for a fourth movie would immediately ignite excitement, even with the tepid response to the sequels. However, seeing that the sequel is animated would immediately turn off a portion of that audience that was hoping for more of what the original movie delivered. While there are a lot of complaints about The Hangover 2 being too much of a carbon copy of the first movie, the third movie showed that audiences also don't want sequels that depart too much from the formula.

As much as The Hangover 4 idea might be a brilliant way to evolve the franchise, there are a lot of people who would rather see a franchise end than see it try to become something totally new. The frustration of there being a fourth Hangover movie that isn't live-action could turn off a big portion of the established fans of the franchise.

It's Important To Stay True To The Hangover Tone In Animation

Galifianakis Was Right About The Animated Approach But Wrong About Making It Family-Friendly

While the animated approach with The Hangover 4 is a risky one, one way they can ensure that fans of the original take an interest is if it stays true to what people loved about the first movie. An animated sequel allows for a lot more to be done with the movie and will obviously feel like a very different movie in its filmmaking style. However, the trick is to embrace the animated approach while still making a true Hangover movie.

The Hangover was one of the quintessential R-rated comedies of the 2000s, and when audiences talk about their desire to see a return to these kinds of comedies, it is always referenced as one of the last great examples. An animated sequel will have to maintain that R-rated fun, with humor that is vulgar, raunchy, and boundary-pushing. The animated format might make it easier to lean into a goofier style, but the Hangover movies excelled with a dark edge that needs to be present in any sequel. That could make the animated version even more interesting.

Has Any Franchise Ever Made A Change Like Galifianakis' Idea?

The Hangover Could Break New Ground In Hollywood

The idea of making The Hangover 4 an animated movie is a bold and funny one, but it is also a ground-breaking one that might be worth doing simply because it has never been done before. There have, of course, been plenty of cartoon shows based on live-action movies, including some random ones like The Mask and Rambo. However, a franchise has never made the switch from live-action to an animated sequel.

There have been sequels that have taken the franchise in completely new directions. Aliens is famously an action-packed thrill ride compared to its intense horror predecessor Alien. Thor: Ragnarok turned the MCU franchise into a full-blown comedy. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 even abandoned the found-footage format of the original. However, to make the switch to animation has never been done with a direct sequel.

Perhaps the closest that has come was with the animated Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! which brings the titular heroes from the View Askewniverse into an animated movie, but it was more of a companion piece to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back rather than a proper sequel. With no precedent set for such a movie, it makes the prospect of an animated The Hangover 4 more exciting and something they should try before another franchise thinks of it first.

Sources: The Numbers, Extra TV, Box Office Mojo