Last week we were invited to attend a pre-showing of The Bad Guys, the new Dreamworks and Universal movie hitting theaters today, April 22, 2022! Dreamworks main claim to animation fame is the Shrek and Sing franchises, so I was curious to see if The Bad Guys would give Disney some competition in the animated movie world. We all enjoyed this action-packed mind-control guinea pig heist, and I heard lots of giggles coming from my 5 year old, so I’d say it’s a great family movie to check out!
I’ll admit the first scene with Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake is a little under-whelming, but give it a few minutes and you’ll be hooked! There was some slapstick humor thrown in for the kids, but the story was deep enough that adults will enjoy it as well. It was also fun to hear Awkwafina again as Ms. Spider, since I loved her unique voice in Raya and the Last Dragon!
Plot & Characters
The story of The Bad Guys follows Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, and their gang of criminals, Ms. Spider, Mr. Shark, and Mr. Piranha. Basically, how could you NOT be a bad guy when you’re some of the scariest and most loathsome animals on the planet? They’ve been successfully pulling off robbery heists for years, but when they’re finally put into an impossible situation they must prove that they’re up to the challenge of actually becoming the good guys for once. There are some surprising twists at the end, so you’ll be on the edge of your seat to see how it all turns out for our new heroes.
The movie also give some great talking points on the importance of friendship, redemption, and purpose in life. Should bad guys be given a second chance? Should we stick by our friends side when they make bad choices? There wasn’t anything that bothered me story-wise about the movie, but if you are easily offended by fart jokes you might want to steer clear.
Comic book animation style
One of the first things that caught my eye was the comic book animation style. We’re now so used to seeing such real-looking animation (like the water in Moana) that it was refreshing to see a different style on the big screen. There are movement lines in the action scenes and you almost expect to see “POW” and “BAM!” like in the “olden days”. It really is a beautifully animated movie and a refreshing change of pace in today’s computer animation.
And the animation style comes with good reason, as the movie is actually based on a comic book series of the same name! So if you enjoy the movie enough, you can encourage some summer reading to go along with it! I’m thinking this also means that we may be seeing a sequel movie coming out in a couple years! This could become the next Shrek franchise if all goes well at the box office!
If you’re looking for some indoor family fun this weekend, I suggest giving The Bad Guys a shot! It’s a fun, feel-good family movie that deserves some praise and recognition. A big thank you to Dreamworks for bringing us some more family animated movie options this summer!