“Hoodwinked too” (above) debuted last week to less than stellar numbers. (Photo Courtesy of Weinstien Entertainment)

With the record-breaking opening of almost $90 million dollars, the uber-succcessful series, “Fast and the Furious: Fast Five,” started off the first weekend of May at full throttle; however, before this surprising start, it was the animated films that were making headlines.

For a time, it seemed as if the only movies making any buzz at all featured colorful wild animals doing things like dancing and singing. In fact, the demand for animated features has so high, the whole month of April saw the weekly box office champion come from an animated film. For the first half of April, Universal Picture’s “Hop” reigned on top, while the second half, 20th Century Fox’s ‘ “Rio” saw great success.

If we look even earlier in the year, “Rango,” the animated film from “Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski, debuted at number one on its opening weekend, and had pretty good legs going into the following weeks.

Who are we to deny films like “Rio,” Hop” and Rango,” their successes? With a massive amount of starpower behind the films formulaically, there were bound to be blockbusters.

“Rango,” which follows a chameleon with identity issues, starred perhaps Hollywood’s biggest box office draw, Johnny Depp.

“Rio” was no stranger to stars as it compiled the voices of celebrities like Jamie Foxx, Wanda Sykes, Anne Hathaway and Jessie Eisenberg.

“Hop” too had its fair share of famous voices as Russell Brand, Chelsea Handler and Hugh Laurie voiced its characters.

What makes these animated films so peculiarly successful, is that usually, films like these are released in the early summer season, not late spring. Studios are obviously hoping for their films to have strong legs as the younger audience ends school and attend theater more often.

It won’t be terribly surprising to see “Rio” go on to stay in the top three earners for weeks to come.

What does this mean for the future of filmaking?

Obviously, studios will continue ordering animated fare, hoping to profit off the tickets sold to the kids and their parents.

Better get used to talking animals, they’re here to stay.