The Bad Guys is a 2022 American computer-animated heist comedy film loosely based on the children’s book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Pierre Perifel (in his feature directorial debut), written by Etan Cohen, and stars the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh. It tells the story of a criminal group of anthropomorphic animals who, upon being caught, pretend to attempt to reform themselves as model citizens, only for their leader to find himself genuinely drawn to changing his ways as a new villain has his own plans.
In Greater Los Angeles where humans and anthropomorphic animals co-exist, The Bad Guys, a gang of infamous criminal animals led by the cool-headed Mr. Wolf, commit brazen thefts and successfully evade the authorities due to the public’s interpretation of them as inherently “bad” animals.
After being insulted by Governor Diane Foxington on live television, Wolf convinces his gang to pull off a heist to steal a valuable award called the Golden Dolphin from guinea pig philanthropist Professor Marmalade, during his inauguration at a gala. During the heist, Wolf inadvertently helps an elderly woman and is praised for the good deed, leading to Wolf becoming afflicted by his wrongdoings. After the gang is exposed and arrested as result of a failed attempted escape, Wolf persuades Marmalade with Foxington’s approval to reform them, planning to take advantage of the pretense to steal the award again.
Marmalade invites the gang to his home, but they struggle with his lessons, unable to adapt to good behavior. After a “heist for good” to rescue a herd of guinea pigs from a research lab fails due to Wolf’s second-in-command, Mr. Snake, eating them, Foxington decides to call off the experiment but relents when Wolf confesses that he despises being hated for his species; she admits she understands and has hope for him. Wolf contemplates the matter and finds himself rescuing a cat from a tree, which Marmalade records and publishes, turning the public image of the gang around. However, Snake fears that he is losing touch with his friend.
When the gang execute a new heist to steal the award again during a gala, Wolf cannot bring himself to finish the plan. Suddenly, a meteorite on display is stolen, causing the gang to be blamed for its theft. When they are arrested, Marmalade meets them in private and reveals that he stole the meteorite and had planned for the gang to take the blame (he was the old woman that Wolf had helped). In prison, Wolf explains to his gang that he doesn’t want to be a criminal anymore and that they can be better, but Snake refuses, believing that the world will never see them as anything other than monsters. Their fight is interrupted when the Crimson Paw, a notorious criminal, rescues them, revealing herself to be Foxington, who reformed when she attempted to steal the Golden Dolphin herself.