Based on the children's book series by Aaron Blabey, DreamWorks Animation's The Bad Guys occurs in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, the main leader of the eponymous crime gang being Mr. Wolf, who works with his colleagues, the safecracker Mr. Snake, the hacker Ms. Tarantula, the master of disguise Mr. Shark, and the flatulent psychopath Mr. Piranha. Newly-elected Governor Diane Foxington notes the gang's predictability after another high-stakes heist, with Wolf wanting to steal the Golden Dolphin award to be presented to guinea pig philanthropist Professor Rupert Marmalade IV, trying to rebuild the city from a recent meteorite crash.
After the Bad Guys are caught in their attempt to steal the award, Marmalade offers to rehabilitate them in exchange for avoiding prison time. There are a lot of good twists and actions for the rest of the film, which is mostly enjoyable, with tons of good characters, human and animal, the butch lady chief of police Misty Luggins among the former in addition to the countless latter. The soundtrack and visual style are also superb, the film paying homage to old heist movies, the opening scene in particular paying homage to Pulp Fiction. However, the writing really comes across as childish throughout the film, but I still look forward to the forthcoming sequel.
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| The Bottom Line | |
| A fun homage to old heist films. | |
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