The Bad Guys (2022) is an animated comedy movie by Dreamworks and directed by Pierre Perifel. It features five criminals, Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mrs. Tarantula (Awkwafina), and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos).

The Plot

They perform robberies and heists and call themselves The Bad Guys. However, things change when they’re caught during the Golden Dolphin heist, one every criminal before them failed to do. They’re about to be taken to prison when Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade) approaches them and the governor, Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), and makes a deal. Marmalade, the guinea pig named the best person of the year, proposes that he’ll rehabilitate the bad guys to become good. Diane allows this chance for the bad guys to change their ways,

However, the crew is only pretending as a means to get out of trouble. Things change when Wolf goes along with the plan, but decides he wants to genuinely become good. The bad guys, after some time, attend a show with Marmalade declaring them good guys, but the plan is to steal the Golden Dolphin Award. At the last minute, Wolf doesn’t go through with the plan, but another object of importance is stolen, the love meteor. They get framed for this heist and thrown into prison. 

Diane then shows up at the prison, dressed as the notorious criminal whose identity has never been revealed, The Crimson Paw. Wolf sides with her once they break out, planning to retrieve the meteor from Marmalade, who was the mastermind behind the heist. The others go against Wolf, not understanding why he wants to be good, and part ways. 

Most of the gang has a change of heart, but Snake goes to team up with Marmalade. It’s revealed later that Snake was tricking Marmalade in order to foil his plans. The gang stops Marmalade but still goes to prison to honestly rehabilitate and come out as better people. Marmalade tries to expose Diane as the Crimson Paw but is implicated as the infamous criminal himself and taken away to prison. 

The gang spends a year in prison and comes out making an honest change to their lives. Diane picks them up and they ride off into the sunset.

Thoughts on the Film

I had meant to get around to this movie, seeing how much praise it received when it first came out. I thoroughly enjoyed it once I finally did! It’s a funny family-friendly film that anyone can enjoy. It even has a thoughtful message about preconceived notions about people. It’s a good ol’ ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ type of tale. It reminded me of Disney’s Zootopia in 2016. Even so, it’s a great standalone movie despite some plot similarities with Zootopia, like the bad guy turned good, a usually docile animal turned into the main villain. 

The animation is also fun and eye-catching. While not as stylized as another Dreamworks movie that came out the same year, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, it still stands out. The fight and heist scenes are fun, the characters are interesting enough to follow and display real growth. The soundtrack and music are a great time as well. 

My one complaint and it’s simply a nitpick, but I don’t find fart jokes to be very funny. They’re an outdated comedy crutch that some family-friendly movies still cling to. However, it’s only a few and doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the film. 

The Bad Guys is a fun movie that any family can sit down and enjoy together, with good messages for children to take away and good action. I recommend you check it out with your family or even by yourself. It reminds me of movies I enjoyed as a kid where it’s good fun, and I think we need more of those in the media again.