The Bad Guys (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Bad Guys (film) |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Pierre Perifel |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Etan Cohen |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Daniel Pemberton |
| Editing by | John Venzon |
| Studio | DreamWorks Animation |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 22, 2022 (United States) |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $69-80 million |
| Money made | $188.9 million |
The Bad Guys is a fun 2022 American computer-animated movie. It's about a group of animal criminals who try to change their ways. The film is based on the popular children's book series by Aaron Blabey.
DreamWorks Animation made the movie, and Universal Pictures released it. Pierre Perifel directed it, and Etan Cohen wrote the story. Famous actors like Sam Rockwell and Awkwafina lend their voices to the characters. The movie tells a story of friendship, change, and what it means to be truly good.
Work on The Bad Guys started in 2018. The creators got ideas from crime movies and anime shows. The animation style was inspired by films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Many voice actors recorded their parts from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bad Guys was released in many countries starting in March 2022. It came out in the United States on April 22. Critics generally liked the movie, and it was a big success at the box office. It earned over $188 million worldwide. This made it one of the highest-earning films of 2022.
Contents
Story of the Bad Guys
The movie takes place in Greater Los Angeles. Here, humans and talking animals live side by side. A famous group of animal criminals called The Bad Guys causes trouble. They are led by the clever Mr. Wolf. They always get away with their crimes because people think they are just "bad" animals.
The Golden Dolphin Heist
After being made fun of by Governor Diane Foxington on TV, Mr. Wolf plans a big heist. He wants to steal a valuable award called the Golden Dolphin. This award belongs to a kind guinea pig named Professor Rupert Marmalade IV. During the heist, Mr. Wolf accidentally helps an old woman. This good deed makes him feel strange. He starts to wonder if being bad is really what he wants.
The gang gets caught and arrested. Mr. Wolf then convinces Professor Marmalade to help them become good. Governor Foxington agrees to this plan. But Mr. Wolf secretly plans to steal the award again later.
Learning to Be Good
Professor Marmalade invites The Bad Guys to his home. He tries to teach them how to be good. But it's hard for the gang to change their old habits. They try a "heist for good" to save some guinea pigs. This plan fails because Mr. Snake eats the guinea pigs.
Governor Foxington almost stops the experiment. But Mr. Wolf admits he hates being seen as bad because of his species. Foxington says she understands and believes in him. Mr. Wolf then saves a cat from a tree. Professor Marmalade records this and shares it. This makes the public start to see The Bad Guys differently. However, Mr. Snake worries that Mr. Wolf is changing too much.
A New Villain Appears
The Bad Guys try to steal the Golden Dolphin again. But Mr. Wolf can't bring himself to finish the plan. Suddenly, a meteorite on display is stolen. The Bad Guys are blamed for this new crime.
When they are arrested again, Professor Marmalade visits them. He reveals that he stole the meteorite. He also admits he was the old lady Mr. Wolf helped. Marmalade tricked the gang to take the blame. Governor Foxington starts to suspect Marmalade.
In prison, Mr. Wolf tells his gang he wants to stop being a criminal. He believes they can be better. But Mr. Snake refuses, thinking the world will never accept them. Mr. Wolf gets angry at Snake's stubbornness.
The Crimson Paw's Secret
Suddenly, the famous criminal, the Crimson Paw, rescues them. The Crimson Paw turns out to be Governor Foxington! She explains that she used to be a thief too. She changed her ways after trying to steal the Golden Dolphin herself.
After they escape, the gang, including a bitter Mr. Snake, leaves Mr. Wolf. They feel he betrayed them. But when they return to their hideout, all their stolen loot is gone. Mr. Wolf had told Foxington where it was to make up for his past crimes.
Mr. Shark then shares his last possession with Mr. Snake out of kindness. The other Bad Guys realize they can truly change. They decide to help Mr. Wolf. But Mr. Snake still refuses and joins Professor Marmalade. Marmalade plans to use the meteorite to control an army of guinea pigs. He wants them to steal charity money.
Saving the Day
Mr. Wolf and Foxington break into Marmalade's home to get the meteorite. But they are captured by Marmalade and Snake. The rest of The Bad Guys rescue them. They take the meteorite and work together to stop Marmalade's evil plan.
After a wild chase, The Bad Guys arrive at the police station. They plan to turn in the meteorite. But they decide to go back for Mr. Snake. During the chase, Marmalade betrays Snake. The Bad Guys risk their lives to save him. They offer Marmalade the meteorite for Snake's safety.
After saving Snake and destroying Marmalade's mind-control helmet, The Bad Guys surrender. They do this to protect Foxington's secret past. Marmalade tries to take credit for finding the meteorite. But it's a fake! Mr. Snake, who secretly changed his mind, destroyed the real one. The real meteorite explodes Marmalade's mansion from afar. This proves Marmalade was the thief.
The fake meteorite falls on Marmalade. A diamond he stole from Foxington falls out. The police recognize it as stolen by the Crimson Paw years ago. Marmalade is arrested, and his reputation is ruined.
One year later, The Bad Guys are released from prison. They have shown good behavior. They team up with Foxington to start new careers as crime-fighters!
Voice Actors and Characters
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Here are the main voice actors and the characters they play:
- Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf: The smart and charming leader of The Bad Guys. He is a gray wolf who drives the getaway car. He sometimes talks directly to the audience.
- Marc Maron as Mr. Snake: A sarcastic and grumpy eastern brown snake. He is Mr. Wolf's best friend and helps crack safes.
- Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula: A quick-witted and sarcastic expert hacker. She is a redknee tarantula, also known as "Webs." She is the smallest and only female member of the gang.
- Craig Robinson as Mr. Shark: A playful and sensitive great white shark. He is a master of disguise and the biggest member of the gang.
- Anthony Ramos as Mr. Piranha: A Bolivian red-bellied piranha. He is short-tempered, strong, and the youngest of the gang.
- Richard Ayoade as Professor Rupert Marmalade IV: A proud guinea pig who is a philanthropist (someone who helps others). He suggests The Bad Guys do good deeds. But he has his own secret evil plan.
- Barbara Goodson voices an old woman. Mr. Wolf tried to pickpocket her. She is later revealed to be an android controlled by Marmalade.
- Zazie Beetz as Diane Foxington / "The Crimson Paw": A red fox governor. She is later revealed to be a former famous thief and Mr. Wolf's love interest.
- Alex Borstein as Misty Luggins: The hot-tempered human chief of police. She is determined to arrest The Bad Guys.
- Lilly Singh as Tiffany Fluffit: A local human news reporter. She tends to make her reports sound more exciting than they are.
Making the Movie
How the Idea Started
In 2017, news came out that many studios wanted to make a movie from Aaron Blabey's The Bad Guys books. In March 2018, DreamWorks Animation announced they would make the film. Etan Cohen was chosen to write the script.
The next year, Pierre Perifel was announced as the director. This was his first time directing a full movie. The film was described as a new take on heist movies. It was like how Shrek changed fairy tales or Kung Fu Panda changed kung fu stories. The team worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The voice cast was announced in July 2021.
Animation and Design Choices
The look of the film was inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This gave DreamWorks a chance to create a more artistic and unique style. The characters' designs were inspired by famous artists like Hergé and Akira Toriyama. They also took ideas from directors like Luc Besson and Steven Soderbergh.
The movie was also inspired by anime and manga, such as Beastars and Lupin III. These influences helped shape how the characters looked and moved.
Most of the animation was done at DreamWorks Animation. Jellyfish Pictures also helped with some parts of the production. They used special software and a new tool called Doodle for 2D effects. The opening scene in the diner is the longest continuous shot in DreamWorks Animation history. It lasts over two minutes!
Movie Music
| The Bad Guys (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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| Film score by
Daniel Pemberton
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| Released | March 31, 2022 | |||
| Studio | DreamWorks Animation | |||
| Genre | Score | |||
| Label | Back Lot Music | |||
| DreamWorks Animation soundtrack chronology | ||||
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| Daniel Pemberton chronology | ||||
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| Singles from {{{Name}}} | ||||
Daniel Pemberton created the music for The Bad Guys. A song called "Good Tonight" was written by Pemberton and Gary Go. It was released on March 18 and sung by Anthony Ramos. The full album came out on March 31. It included "Good Tonight" and two other new songs. These were a cover of "Feelin' Alright" by Elle King and "Brand New Day" by The Heavy.
Other songs heard in the film include "Howlin' for You" by The Black Keys and "Fly Me to the Moon" by Julie London. The song "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish was used in the movie trailers.
Promoting the Film
The movie's promotion started on December 14, 2021. This included the first trailer and a look at the cast reading their lines. The first trailer was also shown before the movie Sing 2. A second trailer came out in February 2022. It got almost a quarter of a billion views before the movie was released!
A TV ad aired during the Super Bowl pre-game. It got 8.5 million views on YouTube. In total, 14 promotional YouTube videos got over 110 million views. The Bad Guys also teamed up with the 2022 March Madness basketball tournament. They had commercials during the games.
A Snapchat AR lens of Mr. Wolf and a TikTok trend using Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" helped promote the film. On April Fool's Day, another Snapchat AR lens went viral. Popular influencers like MrBeast used it. This helped the movie get a lot of attention online.
Release Information
The film was first planned to be released on September 17, 2021. But it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, the new release date was set for April 15, 2022. Then, in October 2021, it was moved back one more week to April 22.
The Bad Guys had a special screening in Los Angeles on April 12, 2022. The movie was available to stream on Peacock starting June 7, 2022. It then came to Netflix on October 7, 2022. Universal also stopped the film's release in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
What's Next?
In April 2022, after the movie came out, director Pierre Perifel said he would love to make a sequel.
Images for kids
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Sam Rockwell
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Marc Maron
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Awkwafina
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Craig Robinson
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Anthony Ramos
See also
In Spanish: Los tipos malos para niños
