We live in strange times. The animated movie The Bad Guys hit theaters not that long ago and, as near as I can make out, was something of a hit. But it was available for digital rental fairly quickly, and as of right now,. it’s streaming for free on Peacock. Oh, and last I checked, it was still in theaters. There are so many ways to see this movie.
I mean, I saw it on Peacock.
Master criminal Mr. Wolf (voice of Sam Rockwell) and his gang are the Bad Guys, the most wanted criminals in the city. They routinely steal all kinds of stuff and get away in incredibly elaborate heists Wolf’s crew includes his best friend and righthand man Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), tech whiz Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), master of disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), and crazy scrapper Mr. Piranha (original Hamilton cast member Anthony Ramos, and he does sing at one point). The group get it into their heads to steal the Golden Dolphin, a valuable statue given to a great philanthropist every year. This year it’s going to the adorable guinea pig philanthropist Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade) to be presented to him by the governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz). However, something strange happens: Wolf manages to prevent a little old lady from falling down a staircase, and the result makes him feel…good. So, when the robbery actually goes wrong, just as the overzealous police chief (Alex Borstein) is finally arresting the group, Wolf attempts to appeal to Marmalade and Foxington’s better natures and propose they could go straight with the right guidance.
Marmalade does in fact take on the challenge, but the Bad Guys aren’t very good at being good, particularly since Wolf might be the only one interested in being good. He also is using this whole thing as a chance to once again steal the Golden Dolphin, but when things start to go right, will the group stay committed to being bad?
Honestly, this was a lot more fun than I was expecting it to be. It had the aura of a good heist movie with the jazzy soundtrack, and even the general design of the characters, whether it was Wolf’s white leisure style suit or Snake’s Hawaiian shirt and hat combo. The heists were clever, the jokes were actually pretty decent, and the voice cast may not have been the biggest stars in the world, but they were all appropriate for their respective characters. About the only thing that I didn’t quite get was why most of the characters in the movie were humans. Aside from the Bad Guys, Marmalade, and Foxington, none of the other animals in the movie could talk.
So, should I be surprised that the Bad Guys really did like being good? Of course not. But the journey there, one that got a little crazier as it went along, particularly when the biggest obstacle to the Bad Guys’ reformation appears. There might be some subtext there about judging a book by its cover, how the Bad Guys are only seen as bad because of their species, but quite frankly, Zootopia did that much better. This one was just fun. Not everything has to be deep.
Grade: B+
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