Initially I sat down to watch the 2022 animated movie "The Bad Guys" with very little expectation. Why? Well, because I wasn't sure what I was getting into here, aside from it being an animated movie that my son wanted to watch. But with it being an animated movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to watch it with my son.

I will say that writers Etan Cohen, Yoni Brenner and Hilary Winston actually put together a good storyline. Now, I am not familiar with the books that the movie is based on, so how true it is to the source material, I cannot tell you. But I found the storyline in "The Bad Guys" to actually be well-written and enjoyable, as well as being entertaining.

The character gallery is what worked so well for me here. I really took a liking to the characters in the story right away, and they are as colorful as they are memorable. Not only did they manage to paint a gallery of interesting characters, but they definitely also had a great voice acting cast ensemble to bring the characters to life.

The animation and art style used in director Pierre Perifel's 2022 animated movie "The Bad Guys" was good. I liked the drawing and art style quite a lot, as it was very dynamic, and had a slight comic book feel to it.

The voice cast in "The Bad Guys" was nicely cast with some great voice actors on the cast list, with the likes of Awkwafina, Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos and more.

If you enjoy animted movies, then you certainly should sit down to watch "The Bad Guys". I was genuinely entertained by this animated movie, and it one that I will warmly recommend.

My rating of "The Bad Guys" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

LIKES:

The Pace: Kid's movies are always entertaining and this movie has all the engaging pieces I like at the speed that is entertaining. Kids will surely love the hasty pace of the film, dazzling you with all the quick paced adventure and comedy that comes with it. Yet, the pace is not breakneck, capable of still giving plenty of time to storytelling and allowing the older audience members to enjoy the movie as well. It really is a fine-balanced movie on this part and wins points for me.

The Voice Acting: These actors give me chills at what they can pull out of their vocal patterns, and The Bad Guys crew is loaded with wonderful performances that fit the bill quite well. Sam Rockwell nails the lead role well, and I feel he did a great job playing the conflicted "hero" who has a lot of soul searching to find. Marc Maron as Snake is stellar, another loaded gun that has his own turmoil to face, but yet holds the sass and vigor of someone who is ingrained in his ways. The two feel very much like the best friends they portray, and I love the ribbing and vigor they have. As for Awkwafina, a bit more of the prop character, the actress normally loaded with comedy craziness, was actually toned down and respectable, still not too out of her comfort zone, but a much more well-rounded performance. Others hit their marks quite well, and if I had more room, I would go into everyone, but the chemistry between them all is fantastic and really a solid pillar to which this group works.

The Character Balance: You've got at least five characters to work into a crime/comedy, and that's not counting a few other characters that have their own involvement in the film. And like a good book, this film does it super well with the characters that they promoted. Each of the animals may not have all the equal time, but they stand out in unique ways, bring their gifts to the table, and provide a meaningful contribution to the film. You, and the younger audiences, will find a character that they absolutely enjoy, and you will get your fill of them in almost every way. The use of each group is fantastic for me, and I appreciate how just about every character had that purpose and meaning to their inclusion.

The Comedy: While a bit juvenile at times, the movie's humor is very fun and appropriate for the family. A witty phrase by a guinea pig, the fickle nature of human trends, even just a perfect phrasing that is comedic gold. The Bad Guys uses it all well and mixes things up to stay fresh, exciting, and filled with variety, all while baking it in naturally and not trying to force it in your face. That's right, you don't have to worry about a catchphrase being repeated like crazy, well mostly, and for that, DreamWorks wins the victory for me on the comedy, even if it is not the most mature, clever, or downright unique.

' The Plot: Much like a good book, The Bad Guys wins points again for a book adaptation that felt fleshed out, complete, and again fun. The Bad Guys starts off in the simple aspect you expect it to, high adrenaline comedy crime, and boasting about it afterwards. Soon, the plot starts to dig into deeper into other elements, trying to give more insight into the morals and characters and trying to twist the plot into new directions. And yet... they never drop the foundation of the movie, keeping those involvements and making the story wrap together nicely and feel organic. It's engaging, it's fun, and again it works on multiple levels, with a great performance to again amplify the tale to a quality I like.

It's Adventure: What do I like highly about this film? It's that it's an adventure film that finally goes back into escaping from the reality of the world, but still teaches a moral lesson. Like the animated films I grew up with, The Bad Guys finally takes me on the adventure and story I like, instead of getting stuck in check boxes and personal issues to make a realistic story. By finally taking a detour back into the world of fun and adventure, the excitement and entertainment stand strong and I had fun watching an animated film. Sure, it's no Oscar tear jerker, but given the style and escape from all the political stuff that's in your face, it excels amazingly in this aspect.

The Animation: I know, it does not look real, it does not look fully fleshed out, and you probably have other CGI focused movies that do things better. However, the Bad guys has a nice unique modality that stands out from the usual manners of making animation come to life. The kids book style is really popping, and the way they make the group come to life is sensational for this reviewer. The theft scenes are just an opening, and the movie does a great job pushing the limits of this style and really giving you a comic book meets story mode and I loved almost every second of it. In fact, this might be one of the best action scenes I have seen in a long time, proving again with imagination, some guts, and some balance, you can get excitement back in these movies. Nice work on the style and pizazz with your animation my friends, for it succeeded big time for this reviewer.

DISLIKES:

Predictable: I did not even know the movie series was based on books, but I have not read them and was still able to decipher all the twists within the first twenty-five minutes. Sadly, the book is not geared for major surprises, it could have used them to spice things up. At the least, they could have avoided the obvious set up that they did, instead of just giving everything away.

More Action: With all the things this movie did, I had hoped to see a little more of that factor I really loved. The Bad Guys could have used a few more crime attempts, maybe some plans, or adding a little more of the Ocean's 13 element they were going for. Even some of the less violent oriented moments could have used some more time, but this is relatively minor to the other two elements I wanted in this movie.

More Time with Some of The Characters: As I said, the cast of characters have their inclusion, but there seemed to be more they could have done with them in the final project. Perhaps this problem is addressed in the books, but several of the other characters needed time to get their own edge and quirks out, other than just being comedic ploys. Shark in particular was funny and has some moments, but there was a lot more potential to work with to make him more than just the comedic punching bag he is. Piranha and Tarantula have a little more ironing out, but again, there is more there, which might be addressed in future installments.

Too Much Revealed in The Trailers: Modern day advertising is both impressive and destructive at the same time. The Bad Guys is one of those moments that gives a lot of the plot away second to the copious number of things they give in the trailer. Though it does not dilute the fun, it did cost me several laughs at the jokes they wanted to hold and in all honesty the surprises they wanted to share. This is probably the biggest thing to take away from the movie for me, but if you avoid the trailers then you are good.

The VERDICT:

In this case, being Bad is so Good and I really had a wonderful time with this movie and the endeavors they built for us. With great cast, music and voice acting the movie already had the elements to be a decent film, however making a story with good animation really sent this movie to new heights for me. It's got pizazz, it breaks from the realistic movie moments that are the hot trend, and it does it so in a natural style that again was just fun. It's totally worth the trip to the theater to see, or at least to enjoy when it arrives on streaming in a few weeks. Sure, the movie is predictable, lots of things ruining from the trailers and still has some smoothing out to do. Overall, though, I definitely give this movie a big thumbs up and approve the film for so many.

My scores are: Animation/Adventure/Comedy: 8.5 Movie Overall 7.5.

Low expectations were what I had when the trailer first appeared on my phone screen. I wasn't even interested to watch it 'till the end. I would roll my eyes on the animation style, it's not eye-catching nor it is impressive.

But damnnnnnnn! I wasn't expecting it to be good. It's a feature animated film filled with genuine laughter, comical characters and an above the par plot.

The caper team consists of Wolf, Tarantula, Piranha, Snake and Shark, all of which play a different archetype from one another. This team of 5 is evil and yet, you might find that their personalities are very likable, charming and even approachable. This is the heart of the film, the element that keeps the audience entertained aside from its narrative.

Ocean's 8 meets Zootopia, this is what The Bad Guys is. You may find the first heist somewhat similar to the all-women Ocean's. There's the restrooms, kitchen tray trolleys, red-carpet staircases, hackings (pretty much every heist film), red laser traps, all of which resemble strongly with the mega heist of the Met Gala in the said film. I found TBG better than Zootopia, which I PERSONALLY found it to be overrated. However, those who love Zootopia will also enjoy TBG as it implies similitude to it.

Running for over 100 minutes, The Bad Guys never stops with its steady pacing, putting audience in an enjoyable ride from start until the end.

Lo and behold, you wouldn't expect how many twists they are in this. It's a plot twist on top of another plot twist. Just when you thought, there you go, they have revealed all the twists, the film comes in with another unexpected twist , showing that you have also been deceived by The Bad Guys. When you look back at it, it's amazing that all the twists don't come as a force, but rather it oozes naturally, making it a perfect fit to the whole story.

The animation style is better than what I had visualized in my mind. Looking at the trailer, I thought it was mehh, but the pencil-like motion drawings got better as time went on. It took a bit of time to adjust but eventually, I liked it.

On the other side of the cell, I believe that TBG should offer a larger team than mere 5 animals. It would have been so much fun, exciting and the stakes would be even higher!

All the animal outlaws are excellent however, I must say, I'm a little disappointed with their back stories, because there is almost none to begin with. They did introduce each member in the beginning, but I wanted to know where all of them came from, how they can coexist and walk the earth with humans, and how the group was formed in the first place. I know, I'm aware this is an animated film but what a solid story they could have to an already excellent plot.

Rounding up, The Bad Guys is definitely in my top 5 films of 2022 as we almost end the quarter of the year. Let's see what the future has in store for animated films!

Verdict: If there is one thing The Bad Guys taught us, it's to never judge a film by its trailer.

This is fun light hearted animation. The story is entertaining and adorable at times. The humor is to my liking: even though some jokes are predictable, they're still well placed and executed well. I personally enjoyed the art style combining 3D animation with comic style 2D drawings. Kudos to the animators, the faces of the characters were very expressive.

Great characters, some real LOL moments, and a nice, fun and cohesive story. Great animation and sound. It felt a little long for 100 mins, probably due to the predictability, although there was a fun twist.

So, it looks to me that the Bad Guys was influenced by the anime Lupin the third. Makes perfect sense, so many animated movies and series are. Sam Rockwell's Big Bad Wolf is a total play on this. Although I did notice that Disney's Seeing Red has a similar look so it looks like anime is getting even more intergraded in everything. I'm good with it!

The actual story is by the numbers. These animated features love the idea of teaching children to think outside the box and rising above what the world thinks you are, in a movie that's story arch could not have been more obvious if they tried, but that animation was so good that I'm too focus on it to care.

It's a good ensemble cast of characters. The Wolf, the Shark, the Tarantula (Played by Awkafina, a fav in this movie, just really cute), the Parana, and the Snake. It was a good crew and it's kind of great how the character and the voices all gel together.

But really, I can't stop talking about the animation. Its realty worth it to watch things unfold. Lots of good kinetic energy, the moving pictures never slow down and consistently lively throughout. Flawless.

Thumbs up.

I completely agree with the first reviewer: I had low expectation after seeing the trailer, too. But "The Bad Guys" turned out to be a very clever movie, well-made, with a sophisticated script, and fast-moving. Most importantly: It's not taking itself too seriously. I mean: A shark as a master of disguise!?

I don't know (yet) the books on which this movie is based. Oviously the story is also inspired by the various Ocean's 8/ 11/ 12/ whatever-movies, but it is definitely an over-the-top-version of these caper movies. These movies always tried to be believable; "the bad guys" tries to be fun. And it succeeded in that!

I'll be honest, The Bad Guys is far from masterpieces like Pixar's Up, Wall-E, and the plot is rather predictable. But who am I kidding, almost all animations are predictable since they're made for kids so that shouldn't be a problem, as long as they're enjoyable. Fortunately for The Bad Guys, now I wouldn't say the movie 'nailed it', but it turned out to be pretty decent.

So the main characters are really likeable (pretty cute I would say), the voice acting is great (Sam Rockwell is wonderful, his voice is just so magnetic. Beetz's Diane is wonderful too.) Wolf and Fox have an amazing chemistry (I love the pair), and the characters' interactions are executed rather well, the storytelling pace is smooth and the motives are clear and believable, so there won't be any scenes that feel off, forced or awkward (Except for the opening car chase, that part is over the top, that I agree with Foxinton. And personally I hate this 'talking to viewers' thing, movies should be immersive! 'Show, not tell.' Isn't that what you writers prefer?) (I do like the opening scene though, kinda like Pulp Fiction, but in a reletively-terribly-written way. But I don't blame the writers for this, I mean, they're not Quentin, are they? It's just an animation.) Hats off to the writer/director, they've done a great job on this.

Now what I like most about The Bad Guys is that it doesn't try to give a lecture, it doesn't try to convey any messages (not anything big or meaningful at least, heh.) Disney and Pixar would be like 'Ohh! We should add messages into animations, we should teach kids about what's right and wrong, we should use animations as a way to express our political beliefs.' No, The Bad Guys just tries to entertain people, and it did rather well. I'm not saying that I hate messages in an animation, I love meaningful and educational animations, but only when the story is great. It seems to me that some animations focus on 'the big message' so much that they forget the fact that a well-written story should come first. No matter how true or how important your message is, nobody would like your animation if the story is bad. The Bad Guys does a good job on this by not giving any lecture. It knows what it is, it knows it can't be as good as animations like Inside Out, which is both entertaining and educational, so it chooses to only entertain. And judging by the result, it really did a good job.

Highly entertaining villain/good guys story that is lovable for all ages! The colors are so vibrant throughout and heartwarming character driven great time; I bet the actors involved had a lot of fun. The Bad Guys are great thieves for good or bad reasons with the encouragement of push pops and life long friends. I loved this more than I could've imagined! The soundtrack is amazing and the story flows very well, I'd recommend to anyone.

Of course the animation is a massive highlight, and I also enjoyed the story, characters, and some of the plot twists. It's a tad predictable and not incredibly funny but hey! I had a really good time.

Already one of the best films of the 2020 decade and one of Dreamworks' best films in a long time.

The animation is beautiful, the characters are all likable and the message is a good one. Dreamworks should use this style more often for more variety in their content. Which already fit w/ their style of humor.

This is a movie Free Birds and The Emoji Movie should be like.

While it feels like it was made for children and the plot is rather straightforward.. this movie has style in spades. Choreography, Camerawork and Visuals are simply the best part! With action scenes that are worth repeat-watching, and a touch of hand-painted flare here and there to bump it up a notch. I was impressed with how creative it gets.

While lagging a tad behind, the execution and development of the story is what makes it worth watching. It's energetic, has good pacing, sound mixing/editing, and a decent message. Though, in the hands of a different studio, and with lesser action.. I can see the movie not working.

The dialogue in particular, and some characters feel lacking and undercooked.. Doesn't help that I, personally, didn't quite feel the Talent behind voices. Aside from Richard Ayoade, Marc and Zazie.. what you hear didn't really match the movie, and it felts a little awkward. As if you can constantly notice the layer on top, like you would a dub. It's not bad, it's just not good. Maybe I'll check the Spanish version later. Anyway, Awkwafina in particular! Who continues to get roles where her "talent" is wasted and someone else (if given the chance, considering the "small" role, ha) would do a MUCH better job.

But very importantly.. the start and ending are great. They pay off what they presented, and in a good way.

Watch for the kids, watch for the action.. and enjoy.

PS: I can already see the sequel, with a certain Foxy character.

Same ole same ole story of bad guys being used a by a so called good guy who just so happens to be just another bad who sets them up and frames them for a crime they didn't commit and in the end, the bad guys redeem themselves and are hailed as the true good guys yada yada yada. Whether animated or film, the story premise is predictable and cliche but a solid one time family been there and done that watch. Hey Hollywood....it's time for some fresh material. Enough of this recycling.....😴😴😴

Remember the end of "Return of the Jedi" where Darth Vader simply gives up his evil life and redeems himself with the son he abandoned? It's exactly what we see in The Bad Guys. Where a group of extremely cute and dangerous crooks decide to leave the life of crime behind (or maybe not).

DreamWorks hasn't been doing good animation for a while, but just like our protagonists and Luke Skywalker's absent father, they redeemed themselves. The story, despite being simple and clearly aimed at children, is very efficient and dynamic. The plot twists, the progression of the story and the characters development are super predictable, anyone who has seen a couple of heist movies in their life can see the twists from miles away. But the story is based on a series of children's books, this predictability is completely understandable.

The visuals and action scenes are the high point of the film, the voice work is also great, everyone clearly having lots of fun here. It's a movie to have a good laugh, fun and remember to separate the trash correctly, because even garbage can be recycled and become something beautiful. ;)

With some impressive voice talents and stylistic animation that suits the Bad Guys is certainly a fun-time that takes the conventional heist/caper genre and spins it on its head.

I went in to this movie with very little expectations, however to my surprise I found it very enjoyable, funny and engaging.

The voice cast do a great job, with plenty of interaction and back-and-forth between the characters which made their dyanmic not only funny but also believable. With stand-outs being Sam Rockwell, Zazie Beetz, Awkwafina and Alex Borstein.

The art style too works well in this movie's favour, its easy on the eyes while offering symplistic designs that suits the fast-paced energy of the story. Character designs suit the voice actors portraying them and the character's personalities are be displayed in how their animated.

The actual heists are very well constructed, with each member of the Bad Guys playing their own part and working as a team, splitting the action to their own perspectives. With exciting scenes of planning the heists, improvising when things go wrong, each character playing their own part and scenes of genuinely nail-biting suspense.

Like most heist movies, this one has many twists, turns, double crosses and surprises that keep you on your toes. And while at times it was a tad predictable, the story was still funny, engaging and heartfelt.

While most animated movies these days can seem pandering or lackluster, The Bad Guys is not one of them. Ultimately this movie is a really fun time with clever writing, unique art style and an impressive voice cast it'll keep you entertained and guessing throughout its runtime, no matter your age.

Recommended.

Step aside Turning Red! This is the best Furry movie of 2022! Stylish animation and a good Ocean's Eleven-esque/heist family friendly tone to it. Got a good set of characters, action, quirkiness, humour, and heart. Perhaps the film is a little predictable, but it stays engaging so I don't think it's too much of a problem. Seemed to be well liked by both kids and adults. Better than some of Pixar's latest stuff honestly.

6.5/10.

This one, as another reviewer has already said , has wonderfully written characters (obviously - written and performed). It's not original - I couldn't care less - once again: originality as is, is overrated in my personal book. So despite obvious similarities with Zootopia I still enjoyed it wholeheartedly. Some of the plot twists can be spotted miles ahead - it doesn't matter. Once we got to know and like these lovely characters we just want to see the story through and know how it all ended for them. Only problem is - most of the climax of the movie doesn't really make sense. Or to put it simply, think it out carefully and you'll realize - it couldn't happen the way the movie explains it. I'd give it 10 stars if it was making sense. And then again - it's not as important as it could be in other movies.

Must add some words regarding the cast. They're all wonderful but I can't avoid special mention for Sam Rockwell, it's not the first time I see him but I can promise from now on - I'll make it my business to notice him; Marc Maron is also superb as snake; Zazie Beetz is always unforgettable, and she does it again, and the exact same thing can be said of Awkwafina.

To some it all up - if you don't have a special agenda against fun movies - you'll love this one.

Please forgive that terrible joke. This is a pretty good family movie with a great cast and fun story. I love the animation style, it's almost like a combination of realistic and cartoonish. Some aspects look hand-drawn while others look like real photos with a cartoon effect. I don't think I've seen anything like it.

Sam Rockwell is one of my favorite actors and he oozes cool in this role. I kept imagining him in the sound booth just having a blast with the performance. The supporting cast all bring something to the table. Awkwafina continues to shine as a voice actor, although with a much smaller role (she killed it in Raya and the Last Dragon).

The only reason I didn't like this more is the comedy. It's not bad. It's mostly amusing. But I only laughed out loud a few times. By contrast, Sonic and Sonic 2 are PG family movies that had me cracking up, although it might not be fair to compare when they had GOAT Jim Carrey.

I had a decent time with this movie although I don't see myself revisiting it. I think most families and kids will really like it. (1 viewing, 4/22/2022)

I remember watching the trailer to this movie back in 2021, back then, I said "A DreamWorks movie? That will be mediocre", and I'm glad to say that I was very wrong; The Bad Guys is a fun, fast, and very uniquely animated movie, it's consistent without being boring, this movie is a lesson on how to do animated movies in a time where all of them lack the creativity the 2000s had, this movie never plays it safe, the plot itself is sometimes predictable but there's a lot of twists you weren't expecting, this movie gives twists after twists, some of them are very predictable, others aren't, this is my only complaint about this movie.

Now the Holy Grail of this work is definetly its characters, all of them are so memorable, comparing The Bad Guys characters to this year Encanto and Turning Red it really shows that Pixar should invest more on how they are creating their characters; Mr. Wolf, Diane Foxington, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, Professor Marmalade, all of this characters with its excellent voice-acting bring so much life to The Bad Guys, they manage to accomplish someting lacking on today's animated-movie industry, not making the characters the most annoying idiots that you wish all of them die in a car fire because they make the movie boring.

Overall, the best Dreamworks movie since How to Train Your Dragon.

The Animation Style was so good i really love it 2D but it's 3D if im not wrong its called 2.5D, i like The story to, not to fast and not complicated and... i like The plot twist it has a twist and a twist again. All the Best about this movie is the Animation Style i like the new Dreamworks Style i think like every production House of animation Try a new Style like Pixar did after "Soul". You should Watch this with your family now on Cinemas.

I love the animation and the music. Reminds me of Mitchells and the Machines and Into the Spiderverse. The first few minutes was fun and so good. The plot is bad guys turn to good guys with a very predictable villain. The were moments that I didn't expect though, like the one character that was revealed to be someone else and the twist at the end. It was fun and I didn't feel bored because the pacing was great.

5/10 straight to stream quality starring overqualified actors for a mediocre and predictable story even for the kids. Awkwafina needed a much bigger role. Her energy is off the charts but terribly limited dialogue. Ramos is a welcome surprise and the fart and butt jokes got the theater full of kids into an uproar.

Liked: soundtrack was great!

Not so much: first act dragged a bit.

Loved: The training montage. Helping that little old lady cross the street killed me ha!

This is more of a 7.5. At times I forgot this was a kids movie. The reference to Pulp Fiction in the beginning was done very well. Didn't think I'd be seeing that in an animated movie. The animation was a little different than what I'm used to but I actually liked it. It popped out a bit more and looked very fresh. The movie takes off Once you get into the second act. Third act was crazy fun. I hope this is the start to a new franchise. It's based off a book series so there's plenty of material available. Good flick!

The first act is INCREDIBLE!!! The pacing, the dialogue, the clever use of the characters and the world. It's crisp and clean and gorgeous. The film loses a bit of this luster towards the end of the second act heading into the third, spelling out the twist and leaning more corny than clever. I'm all for tropes being played straight, as long as it doesn't depart from the tone, and most of the stuff with the main antagonist did. I fully understand the production process, test screenings might have come back with younger children not being able to follow the story and adjustments were made. Fully understandable, fully valid, and the movie doesn't suffer harshly from it, but it's certainly a noticeable departure from how quick and fun the first act felt. A 7/10, an excellent film for the whole family, definitely a good watch for anyone with an interest in heist movies.