The Bad Guys

I didn't have much interest in Dreamworks's animated slate for the last few years. I almost forgot Abominable was the last new one I saw in theaters. It's time to get reacquainted with the studio with The Bad Guys.

Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) and his fellow critters, Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), are The Bad Guys, the most notorious gang in Los Angeles. They decide to steal the coveted Golden Dolphin award from its latest recipient, the guinea pig Prof. Marmalade (Richard Aoyade). They get caught and thrown in jail. They avoid the last part when Wolf "pleads" for clemency. At least, until they get another chance for the award. The Professor agrees to turn them into The Good Guys.

Their attempts to turn good initially go hilariously wrong. But it all goes wrong when they get it right. Wolf decides he wants to be a real Good Guy; the others don't want to quit. All the while, Marmalade plots to use them as scapegoats for his own evil scheme. The Good Bad Guys have to get together to stop him.

It's a slick crime thriller for kids scripted by Etan Cohen, directed by animator Pierre Perifel and based on Aaron Blabey's book series. The opening perfectly establishes the crew as they rob a bank, make a getaway and try to get Mr. Snake to celebrate his birthday. We get to see these likable misfits act and interact within the first ten minutes. We're told that they turned bad because society treated them like it. But we don't get much backstory than that. A few flashbacks could have developed that portion better. Snake's obsession with guinea pigs doesn't pay off against an actual guinea pig villain. Still, the scheme to bring down Marmalade (and turn Snake good) is a clever one.

The Bad Guys are a likable crew of criminal misfits. Wolf is a delightfully smooth operator who gets his best moments with Gov. Foxington (Zazie Beetz), who has a secret of her own. Snake tries his best to the baddest guy, but his friendship with Wolf shows him wonderfully failing. Shark's obvious, yet fool-proof, disguises are a good running gag. Tarantula is perfectly sarcastic and crafty, as shown when she hacks through the extremely well-prepared security system guarding the Golden Dolphin. Piranha is ferocious and gassy, a weird combination, but it pays off near the end. 

Meanwhile, Marmalade is believably nice even though the film purposefully telegraphs his true colors. The main humans, Chief Luggins (Alex Borstein) and reporter Tiffany Fluffit (Lily Singh), are quite amusing Bad Good Guys.

The animation is a superb 3D approximation of 2D aesthetics. It's easy to picture the movie in cel animated form. There's some Looney Tunes zaniness with anime-styled character designs and effects. They're generally too cuddly to be threatening bar a few moments. A standout sequence is a swarm of guinea pigs in the finale. They look like a singular creature. Daniel Pemberton's score fits right in with anyone of the movie's live action inspirations. 

The Bad Guys are good; not just the characters, but the movie. Its story is not as profound as it could have been. But it's a silly enough crime film for kids. It'll keep them busy until they're old enough to see Tarantino, et al's output. It's a good way to spend a slow afternoon. It'll come to Peacock around June in case you can't see it now. I might just give it a go there, too.