A Film Directed by Pierre Perifel
It has been three years since DreamWorks released The Bad Guys, which became a surprise animated hit that blended heist movie style with family-friendly humor. It continued the trend DreamWorks had been building in recent years, moving past their history of (in my opinion) producing very inconsistent films that often felt corporate in nature, toward more impressive efforts like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The Bad Guys is based on the popular children’s book series by Aaron Blabey, which I haven’t read myself, but it seems very beloved by its fans. This was one of those movies my son wanted to see that I tagged along to, but it actually turned out pretty good.
“Reformed criminals Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark and Ms. Tarantula are trying very hard to be good. However, they soon find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes heist that’s masterminded by a new team of delinquents they never saw coming — the Bad Girls.”
In the first film, the story followed a group of animal criminals, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, Mr. Piranha, and Ms. Tarantula, who, after being caught, pretended to reform in order to avoid prison, only to slowly discover that maybe being “good guys” wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Now, with The Bad Guys 2, DreamWorks continues the story, introducing a new villain who knows all about their criminal pasts and forces them into a situation that threatens to upend their rehabilitation for good.
Much like the first movie, the animation here is stylish and energetic, clearly drawing from comic book influences and heist films, and the voice cast once again delivers. Sam Rockwell once again voices Mr. Wolf, joined by Marc Maron as Mr. Snake, Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula, Craig Robinson as Mr. Shark, and Anthony Ramos as Mr. Piranha. Zazie Beetz also returns as Governor Diane Foxington, while Danielle Brooks debuts as Kitty Kat, leader of the new “Bad Girls.” finally, Alex Borstein returns as Misty Luggins, now Police Commissioner. The Bad Guys 2 doesn’t quite reach the level of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, but to be fair, that movie came out of nowhere for a lot of people, tapping into some of the groundbreaking CGI animation styling of the Into the Spider-Verse films.
What makes this sequel work is that it doesn’t just retread the “can bad guys be good?” question but instead explores what it takes to actually live with that choice day-to-day. The Bad Guys all have trouble adapting to a world outside of crime, with Mr. Wolf especially feeling ground down as he struggles to find fulfilling work and settle into a humble life he can be content with. Getting back into his glamorous past would be easy and satisfying – but for all the wrong reasons. These themes fit well alongside sharp action scenes and surprisingly well-written comedy for a kids’ film. I usually can take or leave some of the movies I see with my son, but I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit.