The Bad Guys

Some film adaptations of books (ex. The Great Mouse Detective, Ernest & Celestine) have gotten me interested in checking out their source material right after, but rarely has it occurred where I was interested enough in a movie to look at its source material before seeing the movie. The Bad Guys is one such film, being based on a popular series of children’s books by Aaron Blabey about a group of bad guys who want to turn their reputation around, often with humorous results. In anticipation of the film, after finding out what it was based on, I was curious enough to read the first three books in the series through a collection so that I would have some idea of what they were working with, and found said books enjoyable to read even as an adult. After deciding to take the risk to see the movie in a theater, while I did not expect to see a 1:1 translation of the books, I thought it was a good adaptation and a well-made film in its own right.

Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) are a known band of criminals collectively known as The Bad Guys, whom everyone fears. Following a botched heist, Mr. Wolf makes a deal with governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) to go through Good Guy training with Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), where if they succeed, she will grant them a clean slate. This is actually a trick by Mr. Wolf for the Bad Guys to pretend to go clean so they can complete the heist, though Mr. Wolf gradually wonders what life would be like if the Bad Guys were loved and not feared.

On its own merits, the story is well-written with a clear character arc, especially for Mr. Wolf. There are also a number of twists and turns that work well for the story without overcomplicating the plot, as well as a good deal of emotional depth. The characters are likeable, with the Bad Guys themselves having clear and believable character dynamics, and there’s some well-paced laugh-out-loud moments that work with their character development and blend naturally with the action scenes. There is a clear influence from heist films that works in its favor, though it also seems to have a touch of Lupin III, with at least one scene that seems inspired by The Castle of Cagliostro and the police chief Misty Luggins (Alex Bornstein) serving a similar role to Inspector Zenigata from said series, complete with a similar dynamic with Mr. Wolf in the place of Lupin.

As someone who only read the first three books, I wholly expected that changes would be made to work with the new medium, however I found it interesting how much of the first three books was actually kept in. Entire character personalities, including quirks such as Mr. Piranha getting gassy when he’s nervous, and dynamics are translated faithfully from the source material, making them more familiar to those who are already fans of the books. Entire scenes from the books, such as the Bad Guys trying to save a cat from a tree, were also adapted, if recontextualized, and an entire sequence more or less adapts the entire second book, Mission Unpluckable. Though most characters are familiar to their book counterparts, the two most noticeable spoiler-free differences are reporter Tiffany Fluffit (Lilly Singh) being a human rather than a cat (and so the name pun is lost) and Ms. Tarantula originally being a male with the nickname “Legs” rather than “Webs”, however these changes don’t detract from the experience.

The Bad Guys have a very believable dynamic.
From left: Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Snake
(Marc Maron), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson)

In addition to solid writing, the animation is one the movie’s biggest strengths, with very dynamic action scenes and highly expressive character designs. Though animated in CG, the animation was designed more after traditional animation in an effort to stand out, which paid off very well in the end and serves as a great example just what the medium can be capable of with a willingness to experiment. While the designs are obviously different from the books, they are still familiar and the main characters feature unique silhouettes and designs to help them stand apart from each other.

The voice acting is also very well-cast, perfectly matching their respective characters and the chemistry between them. The Bad Guys themselves have a great emotional range tying in with their character growth, while Zazie Beets brings out the emotional depths of Diane Foxington and plays well off of Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf. From my understanding, Misty Luggins is a character original to the movie, however Alex Bornstein’s humorously serious performance makes her feel like part of the world.

Even if you haven’t read the books, The Bad Guys is an excellent movie in its own right. With a well-written, emotional plot and some of the most stunning and expressive animation in recent memory, you can’t really go wrong with this one, especially if you’re a fan of the heist genre.