By John Corrado
The titular “Bad Guys” are back in The Bad Guys 2, only now they are trying to be the Good Guys after doing time and swearing off a life of crime. This sequel to the 2022 DreamWorks Animation film finds the ragtag animal crew being pulled back in to do one last job.
If it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the first film, it’s goofy and fun, with director Pierre Perifel (and new co-director JP Sans) finding that sweet spot between action, humour, and character dynamics.
The sequel opens with a kinetic action sequence that makes full use of the stylized animation; it’s a flashback to a car heist in Cairo, that is right out of a Fast and Furious movie. It sets the stage for another enjoyable ride with this anthropomorphic gang of con men and thieves.
In present day, Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) and his crew – Shark (Craig Robinson), Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Tarantula (Awkwafina) and Snake (Marc Maron) – are now struggling to get real jobs, with many employers not wanting to take a chance on these ex-cons. There’s a very funny sequence early on where Wolf botches his job interview at the bank he used to rob.
Wolf still has his fling going on with the governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), while trying to gain brownie points by helping police chief Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein), now the commissioner. Then they meet a crew of female baddies – snow leopard Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), raven Doom (Natasha Lyonne) and wild boar Pigtail Petrova (Maria Bakalova). These Bad Girls rope them in to a plan to steal an element called “McGuffinite.”
In terms of animated franchises, The Bad Guys 2 plays like a cross between Zootopia and Despicable Me, mixing the anthropomorphic animals of the former with some of the cartooniness of the latter. The film is able to mix character beats and double crossings that riff on classic heist movie tropes, but also farting in a spacesuit jokes. The balance works thanks to the hyper pacing, stylized look, and appealing characters that make up the film. It’s a good time for viewers of all ages.
Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)
Bonus Features (Blu-ray):
The Blu-ray also includes about an hour of bonus material. The package ships with a slipcover.
• Little Lies and Alibis (5 minutes, 42 seconds): The bad guys go on a crazy misadventure on the way to their parole hearing in this amusing midquel sequel.
• Deleted Scenes (Play All – 5 minutes, 56 seconds): With introductions by director Pierre Perifel and co-director JP Sans.
- Lowrider Chase (2 minutes, 18 seconds)
- Crime Sisters (3 minutes, 34 seconds)
• Bad Guys: Out of Line (2 minutes, 6 seconds): A highlight reel of the main actors in the recording booth.
• Double Jeopardy: The Making of The Bad Guys 2 (4 minutes, 46 seconds): The filmmakers and cast talk about how they approached making a sequel, and building off the first film.
• Meet the Gang (7 minutes, 37 seconds): New and returning cast members discuss their characters.
• Double Trouble: The Animals Behind The Bad Guys 2 (9 minutes, 2 seconds): Bakalova, Brookes, Lyonne, Awkwafina and Beetz meet with real life animals that inspired their characters.
• Causing a Scene (5 minutes, 16 seconds): The filmmakers discuss pushing the stylized animation even further for this sequel.
• Planning the Heist (10 minutes, 8 seconds): A very fun piece showing Perifel and Sans developing the film’s Lucha Libre heist sequence, spitballing ideas that they sketch out on a whiteboard.
• Sketching The Bad Girls (Play All – 10 minutes, 49 seconds): A playful bit with the directors drawing police sketches of the three female baddies.
- Kitty (3 minutes, 32 seconds)
- Doom (3 minutes, 49 seconds)
- Pigtail (3 minutes, 26 seconds)
• Feature Commentary with Director Pierre Perifel, Co-Director JP Sans, Head of Character Animation Benjamin Willis, Head of Story Katherine De Vries, and Head of Cinematography, Layout Théophile Bondoux
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