The Bad Guys movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Bad Guys

This fast-moving, joke-flying animation is now in theaters.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 40 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

In the new action-comedy from DreamWorks Animation, based on the New York Times best-selling book series, a crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws are about to attempt their most challenging con yet–becoming model citizens. Never have there been five friends as infamous as The Bad Guys–dashing pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Academy Award® winner Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), seen-it-all safecracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron, GLOW), chill master-of-disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson, Hot Tub Time Machine franchise), short-fused “muscle” Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) and sharp-tongued expert hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians), aka “Webs.” But when, after years of countless heists and being the world’s most-wanted villains, the gang is finally caught, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal (that he has no intention of keeping) to save them all from prison: The Bad Guys will go good. Under the tutelage of their mentor Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade, Paddington 2), an arrogant (but adorable!) guinea pig, The Bad Guys set out to fool the world that they’ve been transformed. Along the way, though, Mr. Wolf begins to suspect that doing good for real may give him what he’s always secretly longed for: acceptance. So when a new villain threatens the city, can Mr. Wolf persuade the rest of the gang to become… The Good Guys?

The film was directed by Pierre Perifel.

As Wolf says, “Let’s do this!”

THINGS I LIKED:

The cast of voice talent is impressive and includes Sam Rockwell, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, Alex Borstein, Lilly Singh, and Richard Ayoade. We even get to hear Anthony Ramos sing! I loved him in Hamilton and In The Heights.
The clearly-defined characters are hilarious and endearing. They also represent 5 different archetypes and cliches.
The visual gags and spoken humor will entertain viewers of all ages. Everyone is going to laugh. Guaranteed. Some of the humor is pretty clever. For example, Mr. Wolf is told to put on a Onesie, which happens to be a sheep design…a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Lots of action. Even during the quiet moments of relationship building, the energy is high-octane.
Twists! I love twists!
Kudos to the creative writing team of Aaron Blabey, Etan Cohen, and Yoni Brenner. The film is based on the children’s book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey.
Fun fact 1: The $100 bills show the face of Margie Cohn, who is the president of DreamWorks.
Fun fact 2: A professional choreographer actually created the dance scene with Mr. Wolf and Diane.
Fun fact 3: This is the first DreamWorks movie to show the words “Universal Pictures presents” at the beginning of the film.
Poppin soundtrack.
Parents are going to love the positive messaging.
Totally adorable.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The plot is a little bit overly-complicated.
Lots and lots of exposition.
The trailer was definitely not as good as the actual movie. In fact, Germans protested the trailer that played there.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

As a mom, I’m worried that kids will want to be like these criminal characters. As a mom of 4 sons who would have absolutely loved this movie…me too!
It’s kid’s animation, so yeah…there are fart jokes.
Parents will love the positive messages.
Animated violence and destruction.

THEMES:

Teamwork
Good vs. bad
Kindness
Good Samaritans
Friendship
Loyalty
Doing what’s right

FUNNY LINES:

“I can taste air.” – Snake (Marc Maron) (Snakes actually CAN “taste” air!)
“We may be bad, but we’re so good at it.” – Wolf (Sam Rockwell)
“The only one I self-loathe is you.” – Snake (Marc Maron)
“I can’t resist a photo with the governor and a pile of trash.” – Wolf (Sam Rockwell)