Animal dating antics, high-stakes heists, and lucha libre! The Bad Guys 2 is a satisfying sequel.
Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation
Like a lot of adults, I’ve often been guilty of scoffing at family-friendly entertainment, even though I’m well aware the genre has plenty of well-made entries that appeal across the age spectrum. For every Despicable Me sequel (how many are there now? I forget) there’s a Paddington. For every Spies in Disguise there’s a Lego Movie. I’ve lost count of the number of times I almost missed out on something great because I decided it wasn’t good enough to merit my attention.
For instance, I almost missed the boat on The Bad Guys until a friend insisted I check it out the next time I was on an airplane and needed something to watch. I humored him, and was pleasantly surprised to find a movie that looked great, was written well, and featured a stacked voice cast who seemed genuinely engaged and not just swooping in to snatch up a paycheck. It feels like a family movie from a different era, the kind that were clearly for kids in terms of their characters, cartoonish logic, easy-to-follow plot and occasional over-the-top antics, but never talked down to them.
Instead, The Bad Guys assumes young audiences will keep up with its witty dialogue and more mature-than-usual attitude. Because kids can keep up. They’re young, not stupid. And animation is an art form, after all, not just an excuse for studios to sell plush toys. If you’re going to make something, why not make it well?
The Bad Guys 2 maintains this level of quality by retaining the original cast and crew. Original director Pierre Perifel is back, as well as the first film’s animation head JP Sans — now promoted to co-director. The sequel expands on the original movie’s themes of authenticity and how difficult it is to stay good in a prejudiced world. It also includes a climax in space, and a great big Luchador extravaganza. You know, for kids, obviously!
In the first movie, the Bad Guys crew — Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) — decided to break good with the help of master bandit-turned-governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz). Turns out it’s been rough going straight. None of them can find real jobs (it’s hard to craft a resume when you’ve spent most of your life committing elaborate heists), and just when the gang’s at their lowest point, they’re framed for a new bunch of high-profile thefts hitting the city.
Wolf and his cohorts are determined to clear their names. They go after these mysterious thieves, with help from Snake’s surprisingly savvy new bird girlfriend (Natasha Lyonne), and always under suspicion from old adversary Chief Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein), who sports questionable new bangs and insists everyone call her “Commissioner” now.
The Bad Guys movies suffer from comparisons to Zootopia (even more so now that a sequel is on the way), but while there are similarities, Bad Guys is a little more grown-up and gloriously weird than the Disney movie. These characters don’t live in an animal-only world, for instance. They have to contend with humans, which does a slightly better job of highlighting the characters’ differences and social struggles than Zootopia. It also makes the whole thing stranger, a place where human-sized critters exist, seek employment, and chow down on nachos alongside their human counterparts. The animal characters don’t hide their true, natural proclivities. When Snake and his lady love meet on a city bus, it’s over their shared desire to try and eat the creature seated between them. The differences are subtle, but they’re worth noticing.
The Bad Guys 2 retains much of what made the original movie special, while expanding the story in fun new directions. The cast maintains its warm energy, and plays to the strengths of its performers — Rockwell exudes cool, Maron gets to be grumpy, Robinson goes big, musical and over-the-top when the moment calls for it. In other words, it’s a winner, and hasn’t suffered any diminishing returns. The kids can still keep up, and so can the grown-ups.
