May Animation Preview: Anime Re-Releases and Peppa Pig

May marks the beginning of the summer movie season, but animated movies tend to join the fray starting in June, when schools are all out and families are more likely to have time to get to the theater. But May has some solid animated action in store for us.

In Theaters

May 11 brings the re-release of Mamoru Hosoda's Wolf Children, courtesy of GKIDS. Later in the year, they'll also be bringing Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time back to the big screen for limited releases. These are well-timed, as Hosoda's new movie, Scarlet, will be hitting theaters this December. I haven't seen Wolf Children, but I'm going to get to it this year, although sadly not in theaters, as I'll be out of the country during this limited release. The movie follows a woman raising her half-human, half-wolf children following the death of her werewolf lover. Once I get around to it, I'll probably write a bit about it here. I definitely need to fill all of my Hosoda blindspots, especially considering how much I love Belle and Mirai.

On May 14, Demon Slayer - Kimestu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train returns to theaters. After more than a year of not going to the movies during COVID, this was the movie that brought me back to the theater. So it has a special place in my heart. It's also the only theatrical release from the franchise so far that really was a movie, rather than just a bunch of episodes (though it was later broken up into episodes for the sake of airing on TV/streaming). That's because this release comprises an entire arc, and a really good one. This time around, the movie will be playing in 4K, and will be on some premium screens, which will be a treat for fans. Think of it as an appetizer while we wait for the Infinity Castle trilogy to start later this year.

The cinematic event of the year comes to theaters on May 30. I'm talking, of course, about Peppa Meets the Baby Cinematic Experience, the ten-episode theatrical event following Peppa Pig as she meets her new baby sister. There was a similar theatrical release for the popular series last year, which I sadly missed, but I plan to catch this one if I can. I don't know Peppa Pig beyond the memes (my niece is a Bluey girl, because she's awesome), so it'll be a fun introduction for me.

At Home

On May 6, the utterly charming The Sloth Lane gets its digital release. This is still one of my favorite animated releases of the year so far. It's a lot of fun, super cute, definitely worth a watch. You can check out my review here.

May 13 marks the digital release of Mulan Princess Warrior, originally released in 2020 but just now making its way to the US. I reviewed this one the other day and sadly found it to be a pretty lackluster affair, with poor animation and awkward storytelling. But if you want to check it out, you'll be able to soon.

The most notable animated release of May is arguably Lost in Starlight, a Korean movie that follows a pair of (literally) star-crossed lovers, one of whom is an astronaut that heads to Mars. The animation looks gorgeous, and even the brief teaser that Netflix released (see below) brought me to tears. I think it's going to be a really special one, and I can't wait to check it out when it hits the streamer on May 30.

Also on May 30, Dog Man makes its way to Peacock. This was a fun, great-looking little movie that got the year in animation started off right back in January. You can check out my review here.