- “Good is No Fun at All.”
- ―Tagline
The Bad Guys is a American computer-animated heist comedy film loosely based on The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is DreamWorks Animation's 42nd feature film.
Plot[]
In a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals co-exist, master pickpocket Mr. Wolf leads the Bad Guys, an infamous gang of criminals: his best friend and safecracker Mr. Snake, expert hacker Ms. Tarantula, master of disguise Mr. Shark, and loose cannon Mr. Piranha.
After yet another brazen robbery and police chase, Governor Diane Foxington insults the gang's predictability. Wolf convinces them to steal the Golden Dolphin award, which will be presented to guinea pig philanthropist Professor Rupert Marmalade IV, who has helped rebuild the city from damage by a meteorite. Infiltrating the awards ceremony, Wolf feels good after inadvertently assisting an elderly woman, and his conflicted feelings delay the gang's escape, resulting in their arrest. To avoid prison and steal the award again, Wolf persuades Foxington to let Marmalade change the Bad Guys' criminal ways.
Marmalade's efforts to reform the gang are unsuccessful, culminating in a disastrous attempt to rescue guinea pigs from a research lab. Foxington nearly calls off the experiment but sympathizes with Wolf for acting like the "big bad villain" society expects of him. Wolf finds himself rescuing a cat from a tree, captured by Marmalade in a video that turns the gang's public image around, but Snake fears that Wolf is losing sight of their plan.
At Marmalade's charity gala, the gang execute another heist to steal the award. Wolf, having fallen in love with Foxington, is unable to do it and decides to reform. However, the meteorite is stolen instead, and the gang is blamed and arrested, while a remorseful Wolf gives Foxington the location of the gang's hideout full of stolen loot. Marmalade reveals to the gang that he stole the meteorite and arranged everything to frame them, including posing as the old woman at the awards ceremony.
In prison, Wolf explains that he believes a better life is possible, leading to a fight with Snake, who is convinced that society will always treat them as dangerous monsters. The gang is rescued by Foxington, whom Wolf realizes is the Crimson Paw, a former criminal mastermind. Wolf agrees to help Foxington stop Marmalade from using the meteorite as a hypnotic power source, but the others return to their hideout only to discover their loot is gone. Snake comforts Shark by giving him the last Push Pop, leading them all to realize that Wolf was right about a better life, but an angry Snake storms off in denial to ally with Marmalade.
Wolf and Foxington realize Marmalade is using the meteorite to control an army of guinea pigs, which he sends to rob his charity funds throughout the city. Foxington reveals that when she tried to steal the Golden Dolphin, she realized she was the type of person that society perceived her to be and left her criminal ways behind. Attempting to steal back the meteorite, Marmalade and Snake capture them. The rest of the gang arrives to rescue them, and they race to deliver the meteorite to the police but decide to bring Snake back first. Chased by the guinea pig swarm, Wolf is forced to surrender the meteorite when Marmalade kicks Snake out of his helicopter.
Reconciling with Snake, the police confront the gang, while Marmalade's mind control device is destroyed. Before Foxington can defend the gang by revealing her criminal past, Wolf and the others willingly turn themselves in. Marmalade tries to claim credit for recovering the meteorite, but Snake revealed that he faked his defection and had the meteorite swapped with Marmalade's replica lamp when he had the mind control device. The machine destroys the meteorite, exposing Marmalade as the real thief, while Wolf frames him as the Crimson Paw, leading to Marmalade's arrest. As the police take the Bad Guys to jail, Wolf reveals that he left the Push Pop to prove there was good in Snake, and the gang happily accepts that they are now good guys.
In a mid-credits scene, the gang is released for good behavior after one year and joins Foxington to begin their new lives.
Cast[]
- Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf
- Marc Maron as Mr. Snake
- Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula
- Anthony Ramos as Mr. Piranha
- Craig Robinson as Mr. Shark
- Richard Ayoade as Professor Marmalade
- Zazie Beetz as Diane Foxington
- Lilly Singh as Tiffany Fluffit
- Alex Borstein as Chief Luggins
Production[]
Development[]
Animation, design, and influences[]
Music[]
On June 22, 2021, Daniel Pemberton was signed to compose the score for the film, having previously composed the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. A song "Good Tonight" written by Pemberton and Gary Go was made and released on March 18 by Back Lot Music, performed by Anthony Ramos, who does the additional lyrics with Will Wells. The album was released on March 31 with two other new songs included with "Good Tonight", includes a cover of "Feelin' Alright" by Elle King (released on March 25) and "Brand New Day" by The Heavy. Director Pierre Perifel, producer Damon Ross and composer Daniel Pemberton recorded backup vocals on Brand New Day. Following the release of the film on April 22, a new remix of "Good Tonight" was released by Party Pupils.
Additionally, "Stop Drop Roll" by Can't Stop Won't Stop, "Howlin' for You" by The Black Keys, "Fly Me to the Moon" by Julie London and "Go" by The Chemical Brothers are heard in the film but not included in the soundtrack album. Furthermore, "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish was only featured in the trailers.
All music is composed by Daniel Pemberton, except as noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Big Bad Wolf" | 1:05 | ||
| 2. | "Meet The Bad Guys" | 3:39 | ||
| 3. | "Let's Bounce" | 3:08 | ||
| 4. | "Push Pop" | 3:28 | ||
| 5. | "Step 3" | 3:17 | ||
| 6. | "Security Surprise" | 1:36 | ||
| 7. | "The Dolphin Heist" | 4:38 | ||
| 8. | "Going to Go Good" | 4:07 | ||
| 9. | "Turn on the Charm" | 1:23 | ||
| 10. | "Marmalade Prelude" | 1:32 | ||
| 11. | "A Heist for Good" | 2:28 | ||
| 12. | "The Sharing Laboratory" | 1:51 | ||
| 13. | "Save the Cat" | 1:43 | ||
| 14. | "Good Tonight" | Pemberton, Gary Go, Anthony Ramos and Will Wells | 3:41 | |
| 15. | "So Long Suckers" | 1:56 | ||
| 16. | "The Lair of Loot" | 2:29 | ||
| 17. | "Loot Loops" | 1:08 | ||
| 18. | "Bedtime Story" | 2:06 | ||
| 19. | "Double Crossed" | 4:09 | ||
| 20. | "Tricky Fox" | 1:08 | ||
| 21. | "The Crimson Paw" | 1:51 | ||
| 22. | "Secret Hideout" | 2:19 | ||
| 23. | "Evil Masterplan" | 1:13 | ||
| 24. | "The Sad Guys" | 1:35 | ||
| 25. | "One Last Push Pop" | 1:40 | ||
| 26. | "Finish Them" | 1:45 | ||
| 27. | "Huff + Puff" | 2:07 | ||
| 28. | "Just Robbing This Place" | 1:55 | ||
| 29. | "Freeway Escape" | 2:27 | ||
| 30. | "Who Said It Was the End?" | 2:03 | ||
| 31. | "Redemption" | 2:01 | ||
| 32. | "The Old Switcheroo" | 1:45 | ||
| 33. | "Feelin' Alright" | Dave Mason | Elle King | 4:04 |
| 34. | "Brand New Day" | Pemberton, Daniel Taylor and Kelvin Swaby | The Heavy | 3:45 |
Marketing[]
The film's marketing campaign began on December 14, 2021, with the release of the first trailer, one first-look photo, and a cast table read. The first trailer was also shown during theater screenings of Sing 2. A second trailer, released on February 23, 2022, accumulated nearly a quarter of a billion views by the time of the film's release. Social media analytic RelishMix said the film had a social media reach of 220 million before its debut, which was significantly lower than Sonic the Hedgehog 2's reach of 445 million, though they noted the high subscriber rate of the child-friendly DreamWorks YouTube channel. A television spot aired during the Super Bowl pre-game garnered 8.5 million views when it was released on YouTube. Overall, fourteen promotional YouTube videos attracted 110.1 million views. The Bad Guys also had a tie-in with the 2022 March Madness tournament, featuring a virtual bracket for the film's characters and commercials during pre and post-game coverage on TNT and TBS. A Snapchat AR lens of Mr. Wolf and a TikTok trend set to Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" were used to promote the film. Deadline Hollywood said Universal took advantage of April Fool's Day (April 1), the day tickets went on sale, with the release of another Snapchat AR lens that went viral after it was used by popular influencers such as MrBeast and Michael Le, gaining 21.5 million views and over 1.8 million likes on TikTok.
Release[]
Theatrical[]
On October 7, 2019, it was reported that the film would be theatrically released on September 17, 2021, taking over the release date of Spooky Jack. In December 2020, the film was delayed with The Boss Baby: Family Business taking its original slot, though it was confirmed that it would get a new date "within the coming weeks" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, the release date was rescheduled to April 15, 2022. In October 2021, it was pushed back again by one week to April 22. The Bad Guys had a red carpet screening at the Ace Hotel Los Angeles on April 12, 2022, with Beetz in attendance. On March 1, 2022, Universal pulled the release in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Home media and streaming[]
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released The Bad Guys on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray and for digital download in the United States on June 21, 2022. The film was released on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service on July 1, 2022. As part of their 18-month deal with Netflix, the film streamed on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, then moved to Netflix on November 1, 2022, for the next ten, then returned to Peacock on September 1, 2023, for the next four, and then moved to Amazon Prime Video on January 1, 2024.
A 3D Blu-ray release of the film was released in Australia on May 10, 2023.
Future[]
Possible sequel[]
In March 2022, a month before the film was released, Perifel said that he would love to do a sequel. Two years later, DreamWorks Animation officially confirmed a sequel with a release date set for August 1, 2025. Perifel will return to direct and JP Sans, who served as head of character animation on the previous film, will co-direct, with the cast reprising their roles.
Television special[]
A holiday special inspired by the characters from the film was produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. It was directed by Bret Haaland from Fast & Furious Spy Racers, and executive produced by Haaland and Katherine Nolfi from Abominable and the Invisible City and Spirit Riding Free. The holiday special, titled The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday, debuted on November 30, 2023, on Netflix. None of the film cast reprised their roles. The special takes place before the events of the film and features the titular Bad Guys reluctantly restoring holiday cheer to Los Angeles after Christmas was unexpectedly canceled.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The second DreamWorks Animation film to be released in April, after Trolls World Tour.
- Anthony Ramos' second DreamWorks Animation film, after Trolls World Tour.
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