Who knew that a bunch of bad guys - or, well, heist-crazed critters, at least - could make for such great family entertainment?
Dreamworks Animation’s The Bad Guys, now playing in theatres, is as wickedly clever and engaging as it is creatively animated and snort-soda-out-your-nose funny. This family-friendly animal heist caper comedy is the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year.
There hasn’t been a hit franchise from this studio since the Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon movies, but this is going to be the next big thing. In my screening earlier this week, all the adults, including the childless ones, were having as much fun as the kids were.
All of the scenes are great - there are action-packed car chases, great scenery and locales, bubbly and colourful character designs, and moments of real sweetness that makes these animal bad guys easy to love and root for them to pull off the heists.
The premise is the Big Bad Wolf is actually Mr. Wolf (Oscar winner Sam Rockwell), the co-leader on a team of animal robbers who love causing trouble in the city. But after a big job goes wrong, he and the team consider a change of heart, and learn that maybe instead of stealing and being feared, there’s a chance they could be good guys after all.
Director Pierre Perifel, a 20 year veteran of Dreamworks Animation staff, is making a smashing director debut with The Bad Guys. His vision is slick, bright, colourful, fun, expertly timed and cohesive. Hopefully we’ll get to see more work from him in the future.
The humour throughout the film, both written and visually, are gut-busting. The situational comedy of dressing Mr. Wolf as grandma (like in Red Riding Hood) or in fuzzy sheep pyjamas (so he’s a literal wolf in sheep’s clothing) is simply genius.
But the real scene-stealer again and again is Craig Robinson as Mr. Shark. His collection of disguises (that everyone inexplicably falls for) and Robinson’s one-liners had children and parents alike in stitches the entire film.
Both the lead and supporting voice cast are great, showing off their comedic prowess and skills. Yes, the titular gang is great (especially Rockwell and Marc Maron as friends Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake), but so is Emmy winner Alex Borstein as Misty, chief of police, and Canada’s Lilly Singh as news reporter Tiffany Fluffit.
The only real downside comes from the predictability of its storyline. Most of the plot plays out as you expect it, however polished the storytelling is. Aside from one truly great twist at the end, the redemption arc and character changes from Mr. Wolf and the gang go the way anyone age 12 and up can see coming from the start.
Yet it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment one bit. The execution of the script is so good and so warm (never has a L.A. crime heist looked so bright and charming!) that it overcomes its small predictability problem.
In a weird way, The Bad Guys’ script (by Etan Cohen in his career-best work) is in many ways an homage to the work of Hollywood legend Quentin Tarantino. All the criminal characters are named by their species as a hat tip to 1990’s Reservoir Dogs. But that’s only one of several references to Tarantino’s filmography.
For example, the opening diner scene pre-crime? That’s the opening to Pulp Fiction. The suit of character “the Crimson Paw”? That’s an inverse of The Bride’s iconic costume from Kill Bill. Kids (hopefully) won’t understand any of these references, but parents will, and it’s a treat to discover more of them.
Dreamworks is on a four-film streak of sub-par sequels, and The Bad Guys breaks that trend as its first original movie in almost three years. Since the pandemic began, the studio has released:
- Trolls: World Tour (sequel to 2016's Trolls)
- The Croods: A New Age (sequel to 2013’s The Croods)
- Spirit Untamed (sequel to 2002’s Spirit)
- The Boss Baby: Family Business (a terrible sequel to 2017’s The Boss Baby)
The Croods 2 was mediocre at best, and it was the best of that collection. My big point is that when Dreamworks makes an original product, it’s almost always a far superior movie. It creates edgier, funnier and more unique cinema than its animation rivals can.
The Bad Guys has the same razor-sharp moxie, humour and heart that made Shrek a runaway success for the studio over 20 years ago and has defined their filmography since. It’s Dreamworks best new movie in years and an incredible amount of fun.
Kids, teens, adults, parents, and grandparents; no matter what your age, everyone will have a great time at The Bad Guys. Go see it this weekend - it would be a crime to miss it.
The Bad Guys
8 out of 10
PG, 1hr 40mins. Animated Family Crime Comedy.
Directed by Pierre Perifel.
Starring Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos and Zazie Beetz.
Now Playing at Film.Ca Cinemas, 5 Drive-In, Cineplex Winston Churchill and Cineplex Oakville & VIP.
