The Bad Guys review: an animated heist movie that steals from the best

Two major signatures of DreamWorks Animation productions are frenetic action sequences and “adult” pop-culture references. Not all their movies heavily feature both, though many do — this is a studio that turned The Boss baby, a fanciful children’s picture book about sibling rivalry, into a yammering, scattered comedy with Glengarry Glen RossRefer to the previous sequel and an explosive-laden, destructive chase of a vehicle.

DreamWorks’ new cartoon The Bad Guys is also based on a series of children’s books, and it seems to follow a similarly noisy pattern: It has an opening scene derived from Pulp FictionOr something from Steven Soderbergh. This leads to a wild car chase. Sam Rockwell (Mr. Wolf) introduces the audience to Mr. Wolf by speaking directly to them: How would DreamWorks films be without the narrated explanation in the first 10 minute?

And yet, since this is a heist movie, director Pierre Perifel knows it’s the details that matter. That opening scene, where Mr. Wolf and his best friend Mr. Snake (Marc Maron) chat in a diner about Mr. Snake’s hatred of birthdays and why guinea pigs taste so good, doesn’t reference Pulp Fiction by whipping out “Misirlou” on the soundtrack or mentioning the Royale with Cheese. Instead, the scene takes its time, letting the characters banter before revealing, in a single animated “take,” that the diner staff’s and patrons have all been cowering off-screen as the fearsome bad guys finish eating. Following Mr. Wolf as Mr. Snake down the street, the virtual camera knocks over a bank.

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Intentionally choppy animations mix and match add a little humor to the car chase. The characters’ designs look vaguely three-dimensional, but with simpler, flatter eyes; a more paint-like texture for skin and fur; and comic book-esque graphic accents on their more extreme motions. The characters look more drawn than costlyly rendered.

Like the mature-minded heist movies before it, this style adds a lot of life to an otherwise familiar story. Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake are part of a notorious criminal gang — also including Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) — that eventually attempts to go straight. These are bad men who unexpectedly get the chance to make a difference (like in Despicable MeThey can also break free from the negative role society has placed on them (like in Ralph Wreck-ItBased on harmful stereotypes about their animal traits (like in), Zootopia). This isn’t even the first time DreamWorks has gone to this well; its movie Megamind This video features a supervillain finding his inner good.

All you have to do is remove The Bad Guys from a superhero/supervillain context, however, helps distinguish it from its many predecessors. Perifel seems to be interested in making an accessible heist/caper for children, with all of the twists and turns that comes along. Although Mr. Wolf is unsure if he wants to continue his criminal career, Governor Foxington (Zazie Betz) agrees to let him and his gang go to Professor Marmalade, an eminent philanthropist. He has plans for future heisting opportunities. Some characters may have other agendas.

This bizarre environment is where animals and humans interact in equal ways, and there are many double-crosses and reversals. (There are still smaller animals, like guinea pigs and kittens, who don’t speak or walk upright.) It is a not completely realized world where the side characters barely seem to exist in any context other than various capers. The Bad GuysIt is a wild and wonderful creature that adapts to heist roles for animated animals. Some innovations are smart (Mr. Snake shaves his skin in order to swap outfits), while others are funny (Mr. Shark who is largest and most discreet among the group is designated master of disguise).

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The Bad Guys’ imitation of grown-up movies isn’t always pitch-perfect. The attempts at sly banter between Mr. Wolf and Governor Foxington are just OK — more theoretically cute than conversationally sharp. It goes down easy, though, with the playful insinuation of Rockwell’s distinctive vocal tones. His dexterous, real-life moves survived the animation transition. Maron is also a fine actor as Mr. Snake, a gruff and misanthropic character.

It’s all pretty lightweight stuff, and after recent mainstream triumphs like The Turning of the Red EncantoFrom two distinct Disney arms The Bad Guys may well shore up DreamWorks’ status as the B-squad of contemporary American animation, where spectacle is the default and emotional growth is a little pat. But the better DreamWorks cartoons come alive when they’re liberated from Disney formulas, rather than chasing after or self-consciously spoofing them. Even when The Bad Guys resembles other movies, it’s stealing from them gracefully, with its own sensibility and energy.

The Bad GuysOn April 22, the film will be released in theatres.