The Bad Guys (2022)

March 16, 2022 (Israel)April 12, 2022 (Ace Hotel Los Angeles)April 22, 2022 (United States) — March 16, 2022 (Israel)
April 12, 2022 (Ace Hotel Los Angeles)
April 22, 2022 (United States)

The Bad Guys is a 2022 American animated heist comedy film based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Pierre Perifel in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Etan Cohen, and stars the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh. It tells the story of a criminal group of anthropomorphic animals who, upon being caught, pretend to attempt to reform themselves as model citizens, only for their leader to find himself genuinely drawn to changing his ways for good as a new villain has his own plans.

Work on the film started in March 2018, with Cohen writing the screenplay; the characters and themes drew inspiration from various crime films and anime series such as Pulp Fiction (1994), the Ocean's film trilogy, Lupin III, and Sherlock Hound, while the inspiration for the film's animation style came from Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Production began at DreamWorks Animation's Glendale campus and some additional production assets were borrowed from Jellyfish Pictures, with voice acting being done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bad Guys was released theatrically in several countries beginning on March 16, 2022, and in the United States on April 22, in 2D and RealD 3D formats. It received positive reviews from critics for its animation, screenplay, humor, and voice acting. It was also a box office success, grossing $250 million worldwide. A sequel, The Bad Guys 2, was released on August 1, 2025.

Storyline

In a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals co-exist, master pickpocket Mr. Wolf leads the Bad Guys, an infamous gang of criminals consisting of his best friend and safecracker Mr. Snake, expert hacker Ms. Tarantula, master of disguise Mr. Shark, and loose cannon Mr. Piranha.

After yet another brazen robbery and police chase, Governor Diane Foxington insults the gang's predictability. Wolf convinces them to steal the Golden Dolphin award, which will be presented to guinea pig philanthropist Professor Rupert Marmalade IV, who has helped rebuild the city from damage by a meteorite. Infiltrating the awards ceremony, Wolf feels good after inadvertently assisting an elderly woman, and his conflicted feelings delay the gang's escape, resulting in their arrest. To avoid prison and steal the award again, Wolf persuades Diane to let Marmalade change the Bad Guys' criminal ways.

Marmalade's efforts to reform the gang are unsuccessful, culminating in a disastrous attempt to rescue guinea pigs from a research lab. Diane nearly calls off the experiment but sympathizes with Wolf for acting like the "big bad villain" society expects of him. Wolf finds himself rescuing a cat from a tree, captured by Marmalade in a video that turns the gang's public image around, but Snake fears that Wolf is losing sight of their plan.

At Marmalade's charity gala, the gang execute another heist to steal the award. Wolf, having fallen in love with Diane, is unable to do it and decides to reform. However, the meteorite is stolen instead, and the gang is blamed and arrested, while a remorseful Wolf gives Diane the location of the gang's hideout full of stolen loot. Marmalade reveals to the gang that he stole the meteorite and arranged everything to frame them, including posing as the old woman at the awards ceremony.

In prison, Wolf explains that he believes a better life is possible, leading to a fight with Snake, who is convinced that society will always treat them as dangerous monsters. The gang is rescued by Diane, whom Wolf realizes is the Crimson Paw, a former criminal mastermind. Wolf agrees to help Diane stop Marmalade from using the meteorite as a hypnotic power source, but the others return to their hideout only to discover their loot is gone. Snake comforts Shark by giving him the last Push Pop, leading them all to realize that Wolf was right about a better life, but an angry Snake storms off in denial.

Diane and Wolf realize Marmalade is using the meteorite to control an army of guinea pigs, which he sends to rob his charity funds throughout the city. Diane reveals that when she tried to steal the Golden Dolphin, she realized she was the type of person that society perceived her to be and left her criminal ways behind. Attempting to steal back the meteorite, Marmalade captures them and reveals that Snake is working for him the whole time as a double agent. Tarantula, Shark, and Piranha arrive to rescue them, and together, they race to deliver the meteorite to the police but decide to bring Snake back first. Chased by the guinea pig swarm, Wolf is forced to surrender the meteorite when Marmalade kicks Snake out of his helicopter.

Reconciling with Snake, the police confront the gang, while Marmalade's mind control device is destroyed. Before Diane can defend the gang by revealing her criminal past, Wolf and the others willingly turn themselves in. Marmalade tries to claim credit for recovering the meteorite, but Snake revealed that he faked his defection and had the meteorite swapped with Marmalade's replica lamp when he had the mind control device. The machine destroys the meteorite, exposing Marmalade as the real thief, while he inadvertently frames himself as the Crimson Paw after the diamond he took from Diane falls out of his pocket, leading to his arrest. As the police take the Bad Guys to jail, Wolf reveals that he left the Push Pop to prove there was good in Snake, and the gang happily accepts that they are now good guys.