Review: The Bad Guys (2022)

While Pixar has become a kind of genre to itself, non-Disney animated movies today tend to be filled with aggressively banal jokes, self-aware banter that goes above kids’ heads, and a hyperactive pace that barely ever settles down to allow you to realize how flimsy the plots are. Think Despicable Me, Sing, or the most recent animated Grinch cartoon from Illumination as key aspects. The Bad Guys avoids the worst tendencies of the genre and has a fairly unique visual style, but it doesn’t quite separate itself from the rest of the pack.

The Bad Guys is based on a popular series of graphic novels for older kids, and tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic predator animals—Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos)—who have been ostracized and treated with suspicion and fear at every turn. Turning to a life of crime, they put together one last heist that will cement their legacy as beasts to be feared, but little do they count on the seeming goodness of the adorable guinea pig, Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), in foiling their crowning moment and raising the question of whether it might be better, and feel better, to do good.

The film opens with narration by Rockwell’s Mr. Wolf sitting in a Los Angeles diner and chatting with Mr. Snake about their life of crime. From the LA setting to the opening diner moment, it’s a clear reference to the early films of Quentin Tarantino—Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. After robbing the bank across the street, Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake lead the police on a wild car chase through Los Angeles that recalls some of the more outlandish moments in the Fast and Furious franchise. But don’t get me wrong, these allusions are vague enough that even most of the audience who might be old enough to appreciate such things might miss what they’re aiming for. It reminds you slightly of something you liked elsewhere, but it’s not enough to really reward your noticing it, nor does it really add to the experience for the kids who are likely to just laugh at the fart jokes and be thrilled at the cartoonish car chases.

Between his line delivery, his smartly-cut suit and open-collar, and the fact that he runs a team performing high-stake heists it is clear that Mr. Wolf is meant to evoke George Clooney in the Ocean’s films. At one point, commenting on Mr. Wolf’s ability to smooth talk the enigmatic new governor, Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), Mr. Snake notes that he’s gone “full Clooney.” In The Bad Guys any reference is either vague enough to overlook, or underlined and pointed so there is no chance you will miss the allusion.

This uneven use of allusion impacts the film’s tone, which like the film’s world, is kind of all over the place. Anthropomorphic animals share a world with more realistic non-talking pets, but some of the citizens of this fictional Los Angeles are normal looking humans, like the hyperactive newscaster voiced by Lily Singh. It doesn’t really make much sense, but the film manages to avoid being completely off-putting through having an actual distinct animation style, evoking the illustrations in the original comics with a touch of cell-shading and faux brush marks. Additionally, some of the vocal performances, especially Sam Rockwell’s as Mr. Wolf attempts to evoke actual character and personality, not just a series of personality quirks.

The Bad Guys has a decent idea at its heart—essentially a children’s storybook version of The Suicide Squad—where storybook villians have to grapple with their badness and consider what it might look like to work for good. But like the filmic allusions above, the “badness” of the animals basically boils down to them being predators who are a bit scary, aside from Mr. Wolf, the “big bad wolf” of storybook legend. I guess he just needed a team of friends, but the difference in presentation between the legacy of the wolf and the randomness of the other animals (is a Piranha really a top five scary animal or is the film leaning into stereotypes in its desire for cultural diversity?) makes for uneven storytelling and muddled allegory.

Despite its central theme about looking past the surface labels we attach to individuals, there is nothing surprising or original about what we ultimately discover about The Bad Guys or even who the ultimate villains and heroes are. The goodness of some is never in doubt, and seeming betrayals are sure to be smoothed over and explained by the film's end. Maybe that’s not fatal for a children’s film, a genre in which clichés and simple fables are par for the course. However, the lack of originality wins out in the end, as the nods to pop culture and current trends overwhelm some moments of poignancy and a couple of solid voice performances.

4 out of 10

The Bad Guys (2022, USA)

Directed by Pierre Perifel; screenplay by Etan Cohen, based on the books by Aaron Blabey, with additional screenplay material by Yoni Brenner and Hilary Winston; featuring the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lily Singh.

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