The Bad Guys » J-Movies

The Bad Guys is a 2022 American animated heist comedy film^[6][7][8] loosely based on the children’s book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Pierre Perifel (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Etan Cohen, and stars the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh. It tells the story of a criminal group of anthropomorphic animals who, upon being caught, pretend to attempt to reform themselves as model citizens, only for their leader to find himself genuinely drawn to changing his ways for good as a new villain has his own plans.

Work on the film started in March 2018, with Cohen writing the screenplay; the characters and themes drew inspiration from various crime films and anime series such as Pulp Fiction (1994), the Ocean’s film trilogy, Lupin III, and Sherlock Hound, while the inspiration for the film’s animation style came from Sony Pictures Animation‘s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Production began at DreamWorks Animation’s Glendale campus and some additional production assets were borrowed from Jellyfish Pictures, with voice acting being done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bad Guys was released theatrically in several countries beginning March 16, 2022, and in the United States on April 22, in 2D and RealD 3D formats. It received positive reviews from critics for its animation, screenplay, humor, and voice acting. It was also a box office success, grossing $250 million worldwide. A sequel is in development and is set to be released on August 1, 2025.

The Bad Guys Plot

In a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, pickpocket and robber Mr. Wolf leads The Bad Guys, a gang of infamous criminal animals known for their thefts and escapades. His gang consists of his best friend and safecracker Mr. Snake, expert hacker Ms. Tarantula, master of disguise Mr. Shark, and loose cannon/muscle Mr. Piranha.

After being insulted by Governor Diane Foxington on live television for their predictability, Wolf convinces his gang to pull off a heist to steal a valuable award, the Golden Dolphin, before it is awarded to guinea pig philanthropist Professor Marmalade. At the awards ceremony, Wolf inadvertently helps an elderly woman and feels good for it, which arise conflicted feelings on him and delay their escape, resulting in their arrest. Secretly planning to steal the award again, Wolf persuades Foxington to let Marmalade reform them.

Marmalade’s initial attempts to reform the gang are disastrous due to the gang’s nature, and an attempt to rescue guinea pigs from a research lab goes awry due to Snake eating them. Foxington initially decides to call off the experiment, but relents when Wolf confesses that he became a criminal because it was easier to fall into the villainous role society expects of him due to his species; she admits she understands and has hope for him. Wolf then finds himself rescuing a cat from a tree, which Marmalade records and publishes, turning the public image of the gang around. However, Snake fears that Wolf is losing sight of the plan.

At a charity event set up by Marmalade, the gang execute another heist to steal the award, but Wolf, having been convinced by Foxington that he and his gang could actually go good, ultimately decides to take the offer of a fresh start. In sudden poor timing, however, a meteorite which was on display is stolen, and the gang is blamed and arrested. Marmalade meets them in private and reveals that he stole the meteorite and had planned for the gang to be framed. He also reveals that he was the old woman Wolf had helped at the awards ceremony. Enraged over being manipulated, Wolf lashes out at Marmalade in front of everyone, reinforcing their negative opinion of them.

In prison, Wolf tells his gang that he does not want to be a criminal anymore and that he believes a better life is possible for all of them. Snake rejects his proposal, adamant their public perception cannot be turned, which causes the two to fight. Their fight is interrupted when a mysterious person, soon revealed to be Foxington, rescues them. Wolf identifies her as The Crimson Paw, a former criminal mastermind. Once free, the gang still blindly reject Wolf, who goes with Foxington. Upon returning to their hideout however, they find it wholly emptied of their loot, as Wolf had revealed its location to Foxington earlier to atone for his crimes. After Snake willingly gives Shark his last Push Pop to comfort him, they realize that Wolf was right and set out to help him. However, Snake continues to deny it and leaves to ally with Marmalade, who plans to use the meteorite to power a device to hypnotize an army of guinea pigs into stealing his own charity funds. Foxington reveals to Wolf that she reformed when she was about to steal the Golden Dolphin, realizing that she was not being anything more than what everyone saw her as.

Wolf and Foxington break into Marmalade’s home to steal the meteorite, only to be captured by Marmalade and Snake. The rest of the gang rescues them and steals the meteorite while foiling Marmalade’s heist. But just as they are about to turn the meteorite over to the police, they decide to try and bring Snake back. During a harrowing car chase, Marmalade kicks Snake out of his helicopter to blackmail Wolf to give him the meteorite back. The gang manage to rescue Snake and make up with him once more, incidentally destroying Marmalade’s mind control helmet in the process. The police then show up to arrest the gang while Foxington tries to defend them, but just as she’s about to reveal her criminal past, the gang willingly turn themselves in to take responsibility for their past actions, believing she has already made up for hers with the good she does as governor.

Marmalade attempts to take credit for recovering the meteorite, but it is revealed to be a fake planted by Snake, who had faked his defection and secretly switched it for a meteorite-shaped lamp in his manor and rigged the real meteorite to explode, blowing up Marmalade’s manor and exposing him as the thief. When the lamp falls on Marmalade, a diamond that he stole from Foxington falls out of his suit (which Wolf had originally stolen from her when they first met, but then returned to her), which police chief Misty Luggins recognizes as having been stolen by the Crimson Paw years ago. With his true nature exposed, and implicated as the Crimson Paw, Marmalade is arrested. As the gang celebrates Marmalade’s defeat, Wolf then reveals to Snake that he deliberately left behind the Push Pop, much to Snake’s shock.

The gang is still sent to prison for their former crimes but released for good behavior after one year, and join Foxington to begin their new lives.

The Bad Guys Voice cast

Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf, a witty, charming, pickpocket wolf and the leader of “The Bad Guys” gang, who also acts as the gang’s getaway driver.

Marc Maron as Mr. Snake, a grouchy and cynical safe-cracking snake, Wolf’s second-in-command, as well as his best friend.^[9]

Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula, a sharp-tongued and sarcastic expert hacker tarantula also known as “Webs”.

Craig Robinson as Mr. Shark, a childish and sensitive master of disguise shark.

Anthony Ramos as Mr. Piranha, a short-fused, loose-cannon piranha and the “muscle” of the gang.

Richard Ayoade as Professor Marmalade, a wealthy guinea pig philanthropist and scientist who mentors Wolf’s group with doing “good deeds”, but is secretly an evil and greedy individual intending to steal from his own charity.

Zazie Beetz as Diane Foxington (a.k.a. The Crimson Paw), a red fox serving as the state governor; a former master thief turned good as well as Wolf’s love interest.^[10]

Alex Borstein as Police Chief Misty Luggins, the hot-tempered human chief of police who is determined to arrest The Bad Guys at any cost.

Lilly Singh as Tiffany Fluffit, a local human news reporter with the tendency to exaggerate her reports.

Frank Welker (uncredited) as the Kitty, an orange tabby cat who befriends Wolf after being rescued from a palm tree.

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