The Bad Guys (2022)

“Good is no fun at all”

Directed by Pierre Perifel (feature debut)
Starring Sam Rockwell (JoJo Rabbit), Marc Maron (Joker), Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Craig Robinson (Dolittle), Anthony Ramos (In the Heights), Richard Ayoade (Soul), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Alex Borstein (Paranorman) and Lilly Singh (Riverdance: The Animated Adventure)

Ahe Bad Guys are a notorious criminal gang, made up of the most hated ans despised species in a world of humans and anthropomorphic animals: smooth-talking thief Mr Wolf (Rockwell), curmudgeonly safe-cracker Mr Snake (Maron), super-hacker Ms Tarantula (Awkwafina), master of disguise Mr Shark (Robinson) and wild-card muscle Mr Piranha (Ramos). Goaded by the dismissal of Mayor Diane Foxington (Beetz), the Bad Guys plan a heist to steal the Golden Dolphin, a philanthropic award due to be given to Professor Marmalade (Ayoade), and a prize that has eluded even the legendary Crimson Paw.

The heist starts well, skirting the gang’s constant bugbear, Chief Misty Luggins (Borstein), but hits a snag when Wolf accidentally saves an old lady from a fall and is struck by the delights of being good. When the gang is caught, Wolf appeals to Marmalade to reform them, pitching a cunning gambit to the gang even as he is increasingly tempted to actually make the face turn.

Ultimately, Wolf sabotages the heist only for the gang to be betrayed and framed by Marmalade. Arrested and sent to prison, they are rescued by the Crimson Paw, aka Mayor Foxington. The rest of the gang, especially Snake, reject any thought of reform, but when Wolf and Foxington are captured by Marmalade, who plans to use a stolen meteor to control an army of his fellow guinea pigs, all come to their aid except Snake, who betrays them to Marmalade, unless it is all more complicated than it seems.

What’s wrong with it?

The world of The Bad Guys is frankly confusing. Some animals are anthropomorphic and those are judged by their species, but does that mean Mr Wolf is the only anthropomorphic wolf in the world? Are all wolves looked at like that? Is this really, really about racism, and if so, why aren’t there any other wolves in the film? Also, are the lab guinea pigs sentient?

The heel turn is a little bit predictable. Marmalade is just too clean, and too British, not to be a badun on the inside.

What’s right with it?

The beefy police chief, in a shock twist, is an actual character.

The Bad Guys is a lively, visually appealing movie with a genuine family charm.

The plot is complex, but not too much so, making good use of flashbacks to explain the various twists and doublecrosses.

I mean, they had me at heist.

There’s a real depth to the characters, well beyond the average kids movie, and all of the non-threatening, ethnically-diverse gang get a crack of the whip.

How bad is it really?

The one thing you can definitely say for the art style here is that it doesn’t look quite like anything else.

The Bad Guys is a fresh, fun animated picture with plenty of energy. It lacks the crisply crafted script of something like Shrek, instead rolling with an almost improvisational banter, and makes excellent use of the framework of the heist movie with its twists, betrayals and complex manipulations played out in flashback.

Best bit (if such there is)?

Being a toothachingly sweet character with a creepy butler would be suspicious enough, but Marmalade is also *British*. His heel turn is about as surprising as Eddie Izzard’s in *Cars 2*, but with slightly less actual murder.

The Crimson Paw’s barnstorming, non-lethal prison break is a corking action scene.

What’s up with…?

The guinea pigs? Are the many, many laboratory guinea pigs that are briefly swallowed by Snake and then mind-controlled by Marmalade actually sentient? If not, how distantly are they related to him? How many anthropomorphic animals are there?

Ratings

Production values – The Bad Guys departs significantly from Dreamworks’ house style, opting for more stylised colours and a more hand-drawn aesthetic to the CG animation, and that makes it stand out and fits well with the feel of the action, even while it is more ostentatiously an animated feature. 4
Dialogue and performances – The script lacks significant zingers, opting instead for a constant stream of banter between absurdly confident comic performers. 6
Plot and execution – The heist structure is challenging enough in a movie for grown ups, but The Bad Guys applies it with great aplomb to a family caper. 4
Randomness – How many animals are sentient in this world? 8
Waste of potential – On the one hand, Dreamworks has a strong reputation, on the other hand, an animated family heist movie has just so many places it could go wrong, so this is another solid showing from animation’s second family. 4