The Bad Guys Delivers A Fun Animated Heist Experience For The Whole Family

      Creating a family-friendly experience in animated form which the whole audience can enjoy is challening considering that not only must the film boast eye-opening visuals, but also a solid narrative and tone that entertains young children as well as adults. With The Bad Guys, DreamWorks Animation Studios manages to find that right balance in giving audiences a fun and colorful animated crime comedy romp that carries an important message for young children regarding doing what's right and feeling good about it. 

       The Bad Guys plot has a group of notorious animal criminals attempting to avoid a prison sentence after being caught by pulling off their most challenging con yet. With the instructing of their mentor, Professor Marmalade, the dubious gang sets out to mislead the world that they're doing good. For DreamWorks studios who gave audiences animated classics including The Prince Of Egypt, Shrek and How To Train Your Dragon, The Bad Guys represents their strongest work in years with it putting its own fun spin on the heist genre. Although its plot can be seen as being a bit predictable and formulaic, The Bad Guys makes the most usage of its storyline while driving home the message that it's better to be good than bad because of how rewarding it feels. 

      As far as voice acting talents go, DreamWorks assembles a talented cast with everyone delivering fantastic work which brings tremendous amounts of heart and energy to the story. Sam Rockwell is both witty and charming as the gangs leader Mr. Wolf with him convincingly showing his characters steady progression from bad to good. Marc Maron is equally good as the sarcastic and cynical Mr. Snake, whose revealed to be Mr. Wolf's second-in-command and best friend. Maron demonstrates his characters loyalty to the gang, as well as his confusion with seeing Wolf becoming more of a likeable citizen. Awkwafina shines as the sharped-tongue and sarcastic Ms. Tarantula also known as "web". Craig Robinson adding to the casts energy as the childish and sensitive master of disguise, Mr. Shark with Anthony Ramos as short-fused and loose-canon Mr. Piranha, who has a tendency to fart whenever he gets nervous. Outside of Wolf's group, the standout voice acting performances go to pompous philanthropist Professor Rupert Marmalade IV, who suggests that Mr. Wolf's group start doing "good deeds", and the charming Zazie Beetz as Mr. Wolf's love interest Diane Foxington, a fox governor whose later revealed to be a former female thief named The Crimson Paw. Overall, the films immensely talented cast make the most of their roles with everyone proving to be suitably energetic in bringing the story to life in animated form.

      Directed by Pierre Perifel in his feature film debut, he does a fine job of bringing the stories animated world to the screen in a form that's both sharp and colorful visually. The films images shift from looking hand drawn to carrying a natural 2D feel which makes them appear larger-than-life to young audiences. The film takes direct inspiration from the Oceans 11 franchise with its music playing a similar track that drives home the stories heist aspect. The story remains fast-paced with a sizable amount of cartoon violence shown including car chases involving the main characters being pursued by police or moments of peril being executed in a light-hearted tone. In terms of visuals, The Bad Guys stands as DreamWorks most groundbreaking animated work in years with Perifel giving the story a genuine heist feel despite it being aimed specifically towards kids.    

      The script for The Bad Guys consists of themes which include friendship, being bad with a desire to be good, the realization of ones own potential, redemption, forgiveness, changing, sacrifice, and climate change. The heart of the story lies within the transformation that Mr. Wolf's character goes from being a slick con artist to a more redeemable character by the films end. The story is narrated from Wolf's perspective with him stating in the films opening monologue that his animal crew are already perceived as being monsters without people taking the time to understand their perspective. As Wolf states in the films opening sequence regarding his animal gang: "Yeah they're a bit eccentric, but when you're born us, you don't exactly win many popularity contests. Do I wish people didn't see us as monsters? Sure I do. But these are the cards we've been dealt, so we might as well play 'em." In keeping consistent with the heist aspect of the story, the script provides fun twists and turns regarding key characters which shake up things up while making an admirable effort to flesh out Wolf's gang of criminal friends. Themes regarding friendship and loyalty are shown to be tested with Snake's character witnessing the change that Wolf undergoes, and becomes conflicted in his own actions. Though the plot for The Bad Guys can be viewed as predictable, it delivers solid messages regarding the power of second chances and the goodness inside of everyone. Despite Mr. Wolf being a thief, the audiences sees glimpses of the good within him through his loyalty and compassion for others which make them root for his characters change.

      As a story that's meant to represent fighting bias while delivering a heist plot, The Bad Guys succeeds as being a fun-filled experience. Even though it's plot isn't exactly original, it works well enough that young and older audiences can overlooking its shortcomings with children receiving some important takeaways from the films story regarding how change is always possible and that being good ultimately brings greater happiness and riches than being bad. While not the most groundbreaking animated film, The Bad Guys delivers a charming experience which the whole family can enjoy while marking a solid return to form for DreamWorks animation.

Final Verdict: An enjoyable animated experience for the whole family that satisfies both young children and adults.

Images Courtesy Of DreamWorks Animation Studios