Animation is eating the trending charts this May, and ranking these films honestly means separating dazzling visuals from actual storytelling. If you're staring at Swapped, Hoppers, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on your watchlist, the short answer is this: rank by emotional payoff and originality, not by how cute the character design is.

Why Animation Is Dominating May 2026

Look at the trending list and the pattern is obvious. Three of the five biggest films this week are animated: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie sitting at a popularity score of 476, Swapped at 352, and Hoppers at 194. That is not a coincidence. Studios figured out that animation gives them the freedom to do things live action cannot, and audiences are showing up.

But popularity does not equal quality, and that is where ranking gets interesting. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the most popular of the bunch but holds a vote average of just 6.7, while Hoppers trails it in popularity but lands at 7.7. That gap matters when you're deciding what goes into Loved versus Okay on Movi.

What Earns a Loved (6.0 to 10.0) in Animation

A Loved animated film does something the medium uniquely enables. It uses animation as a storytelling tool, not a marketing one. Hoppers is the strongest candidate this week. The premise of hopping human consciousness into robotic animals to communicate with the animal kingdom is the kind of high concept that only works in animation. It blends sci-fi, family, and comedy in a way live action would butcher. The 7.7 vote average backs that up.

Swapped also has a real shot at Loved territory. A small woodland creature and a majestic bird trading places sounds simple, but the 8.1 vote average suggests the execution is sharper than the logline. When an animated film clears 8.0 from audiences, you give it the benefit of the doubt and watch before dismissing it.

What Lands in Okay (4.0 to 5.9)

Okay is where most animated sequels live, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the textbook example. It is competent. It is fun. It will make a billion dollars. But it is also the second movie in a franchise that already established its template, and Bowser Jr. trying to free his dad is not exactly groundbreaking storytelling. A 6.7 vote average is the ceiling for movies that entertain without surprising anyone.

If you walked out feeling satisfied but cannot remember a single specific scene three days later, that is an Okay. Do not let franchise loyalty bump it into Loved. Movi exists precisely because we all need to be more honest about the difference between "I had fun" and "this was great."

What Drags a Movie Into Trash (0.0 to 3.9)

Trash in animation is reserved for films that waste the medium. Lazy animation, recycled jokes, characters with no interior life, and plots that exist only to sell merchandise. None of this week's trending animated titles look like obvious Trash candidates on paper, but watch out for the third act of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Sequels often coast on goodwill until the climax, then fall apart. If a movie cannot stick the landing, it does not deserve a free pass just because the first hour was charming.

The other genuine Trash signal is when an animated film mistakes spectacle for emotion. Big set pieces with no stakes. Characters yelling instead of feeling.

Ranking the Live Action Outliers

Quick note on the non animated trending titles. The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Michael are competing for very different audiences, but both face the sequel-or-biopic curse. Devil Wears Prada 2 sitting at a 6.7 vote average tells you it is probably solid Okay territory: enjoyable for fans, unnecessary for everyone else. Michael at 7.5 has the higher ceiling, but biopics live or die on whether they engage with the real complications of their subject. Track them on Movi and decide for yourself.

Your Ranking Challenge

Here is the assignment: watch any two of Swapped, Hoppers, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie this week. Rank them honestly on Movi. Do not let the Mario nostalgia tax inflate the score. Do not let an unfamiliar title get punished for being new.

Download Movi on TestFlight and start ranking: https://testflight.apple.com/join/5zDgGtnM