The Bad Guys (2022) Review – At the start of “The Bad Guys,” the jokes are easy and breezy, and the animated comedy’s sun-baked mood exudes Southern California charm.
Sometimes a wolf doesn’t want to hide in a sheep’s skin and prefers to be alone, but the world isn’t ready to accept that kind of story. They have a set of preconceived assumptions that every beast with a ferocious appearance is the bad guy. Some creatures reject the stereotype, but many succumb and become “The Bad Guys,” as people want them to be.
It tells the narrative of five infamous robbers who have accepted the truth that, no matter how hard they try, mankind will never recognise their nice side due to their imposing physical appearances. As a result, they turn to crime and seek to leave a legacy by becoming the worst criminals of their time. After all, why not? No matter which road the ladder leads to, one must climb it.
“The Bad Guys,” directed by Pierre Perifel, is an animated film that will leave an indelible impression on you. It’s full of cliches, yet it strives to defy stereotypes in the most amusing way possible. The film is about camaraderie and finding comfort in one’s own skin, as well as the resurrection arcs of five criminals who, after years of denial, decide to ultimately explore goodness within themselves.
Last but not least, there is a spectacular theft with many twists and turns that keeps the audience interested. So, without further ado, let’s dive five levels deep into the bad guys’ universe.
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‘The Bad Guys (2022) Plot Summary
Mr. Wolf, a cunning grey wolf, and Mr. Snake, a grouchy eastern brown snake, are two best friends seated in a café in Los Angeles, celebrating Snake’s birthday. Snake despises birthday parties, and as the screen expands, it becomes clear that the entire population inside the café is terrified of these two anthropomorphic beings. Wolf and Snake rob a bank without wasting any time, and as they try to flee the cops, Wolf breaks the fourth wall and introduces his entire gang to the audience.
Snake, a safe cracker, Ms. Tarantula, aka Webs/Mata Hairy, the gang’s in-house hacker and travelling tech wizard, Mr. Shark, aka Jaws/Surf Snacker, an apex predator and master of disguise, and the fifth and most lethal member, Mr. Piranha, who is a loose cannon willing to scrap anyone or anything except farts under stress, make up his team.
These Wolf’s gang misfits attempted to integrate into human society, but were dismissed as monsters. As a result, they decided to take on the role of the terrible individuals that they physically resemble.
Misty Luggins, the police chief, has been attempting to apprehend these prominent criminals for a long time, but they have always eluded her, putting them at the top of their criminal records. The gang makes it to their hideout, which is an underground facility near the closed sewer lines, after eluding the police vans.
They celebrate Snake’s birthday and rejoice in their success. Still, as soon as Wolf turns on the television, the newly elected governor, Diane Foxington, a red fox, dismisses the gang as amateurs and second-rate has-beens searching for some validation. Wolf’s ego was bruised by her words, so he resolved to steal the Golden Dolphin trophy, which was to be handed to the city’s best citizen.
Wolf believes that snatching the trophy will solidify their reputation. However, Snake reminds him that any criminal who has attempted to take it thus far has failed spectacularly, even one of their time’s most famous thieves, “The Crimson Paw,” who has not been apprehended but vanished shortly after her Golden Dolphin crime.
When Wolf has his heart set on something, he can’t control himself and convinces his gang to steal the trophy in order to show the governor what “The Bad Guys” gang is capable of. Wolf devises a big scheme to steal the trophy from backstage. The gang travels to the Museum of Fine Arts, where the trophy will be presented to Professor Rupert Marmalade IV, the city’s most cherished philanthropist, as a guinea pig.
Wolf, disguised as Oliver Poodleton, approaches Diane at the ceremony and introduces himself, while his gang arranges the required codes and keycards to take the prize. Wolf even comes across an elderly woman on the stairwell and tries to steal money from her purse; when the woman slips and Wolf saves her life. Still, as soon as the woman hugs Wolf in gratitude, he feels a tingling in his heart, and his tail begins to wag, indicating that he has probably committed his first good deed.
Wolf snaps out of his stupor, and the gang carries out the robbery, but they are unable to flee the premises. Before Chief Misty can take them away, Professor Marmalade intervenes and requests that the governor grant them a second opportunity. He decides to take them under his wing as an experiment, and he will do his best to transform their persona before his upcoming Gala for Goodness, a charity event. The governor agrees after some hesitation, and the gang is relocated to Marmalade’s safe house, where he begins training his new students.
Wolf and his crew, on the other hand, are only biding their time until they can take the Golden Dolphin trophy that will be on display during Marmalade’s charity event. But, before the gang can pull off the perfect theft, Marmalade connives them into taking the famed Love Crater meteorite that landed into the city some time ago. But what did Marmalade have in mind?
What Was Professor Marmalade’s Nefarious Scheme?
The movie attempted to explore the subject that people and things are not always what they appear to be at times. Wolf and his crew may appear nefarious, but they were kind at heart and only committed crimes because they were shunned by human civilization as dangerous and frightening. Professor Marmalade, on the other hand, was concealing a huge heist behind his humanitarian deeds and concealing a grand heist behind his charming physical appearance.
Scientists discovered that the Love Crater meteorite generated an electromagnetic frequency when it hit the city. Marmalade grabbed the meteorite and used its energy to power a mind control gadget, possibly a brain-wave helmet, with which he entranced all of the city’s guinea pigs and used them to pull out the greatest theft the world has ever seen. Marmalade’s Gala for Goodness had raised over a million dollars in charity, which he committed to a number of children’s schools and hospitals.
However, perpetrating a charity fraud would have harmed his good public image, so the whole scheme to take the money was devised. He even devised his own nefarious scheme and brought Wolf and his gang under his protection so that he could ingeniously blame them for stealing the meteorite, and no one would suspect him because a guinea pig is not an evil creature in anyone’s book.
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‘The Bad Guys’ (2022) Movie Ending Explained
Wolf attempted to persuade governor Diane and chief Misty that he or his squad did not commit the robbery after the meteorite was stolen, but who would believe a ferocious-looking creature with a criminal past? As a result, Chief Misty sent Wolf and his gang to the Super Ultra Crazy Max (S.U.C.M.) jail facility on a deserted island without more ado. Snake blamed Wolf for their imprisonment and failure to steal the Golden Dolphin in prison, claiming that his willingness to help others undermined their entire operation.
Wolf ultimately admitted that he felt a stirring in his heart when he saved the old woman, and that perhaps he didn’t want to be terrible anymore, which resulted in a brawl between Wolf and Snake. The Crimson Paw invaded the premises and assisted the gang in escaping the prison. Crimson Paw finally revealed her true identity to Wolf, revealing that she was none other than Governor Diane.
The latter had a change of heart while taking the Golden Dolphin and so chose to leave the criminal underworld. She began assisting others rather than harming them, and she wished for Wolf to follow suit. However, Snake, as well as the rest of Wolf’s gang, did not agree with these ideals, and the two groups split off.
Diane brought Wolf to her secret facility, and with the help of her hi-tech gadgets, they decided to steal the meteorite in order to stop Professor Marmalade, while Snake and the gang arrived at their hideout only to discover that Wolf had given in their location and that everything they had ever stolen had been taken away. However, Wolf had forgotten to put a push pop in the freezer, which Snake handed to Shark without hesitation.
The group thought it was strange because Snake never discussed anything with his teammates, and Webs finally suggested that they were slowly drifting back to their good sides. In denial, Snake fled the hideout and teamed up with Professor Marmalade to get vengeance on Wolf. Marmalade kidnapped Diane and Wolf with the help of Snake, but luckily, Webs, Shark, and Piranha arrived and saved them.
Before the trucks carrying the stolen charity money arrived to Marmalade’s facility, the new gang halted them and gave the funds to their rightful owners. Diane and Wolf had also taken the meteorite, and she offered Wolf a chance to redeem himself. However, Wolf opted not to complete his resurrection arc without his closest friend Snake, and so he drove fast towards the chopper carrying Marmalade and Snake.
Marmalade proposed a deal in which Snake would be released in exchange for the meteorite, which Wolf eventually accepted. As soon as Marmalade saw Wolf’s automobile was heading towards his cliff, he kicked Snake out of the helicopter, while Wolf, on the other hand, opted to risk his life to save Snake.
Snake and Wolf finally made up in the air, and the gang was soon holding hands. To save the gang, Wolf used his grapple gun again, this time successfully, and returned them to safety. Chief Misty and her entire police team, on the other hand, were waiting for “The Bad Guys.” When Diane got on the scene, she tried to persuade Misty that Wolf and his gang were not the ones who stole the meteorite.
When Wolf intervened and took full responsibility for his crimes, including those he didn’t do, she was about to reveal her true identity. Diana, he believed, was doing good for the community and was apparently outside the prison rather than within. Marmalade’s chopper with the meteorite was suddenly discovered by the news reporter, who assumed Marmalade was transporting it back to safety.
Marmalade, succumbing to his arrogant public image, ordered his butler to land the helicopter, where Misty realised that it wasn’t the genuine meteorite. Snake finally revealed to his team that he only joined with Marmalade to stop him, and that he swapped the meteorite at Marmalade’s facility while turning the machine to overdrive mode, resulting in the meteorite exploding at the end of the film, sabotaging all of Marmalade’s future plans to commit the world’s greatest heist.
Marmalade had taken a Zumpango diamond from Diana when he captured her in his facility, and Misty had recovered it from him. Misty came to the conclusion that Marmalade was the Crimson Paw, who had vanished without a trace, and threw him into the police van without hesitation.
While a police van was transporting Wolf and his gang to the prison, Snake explained to Wolf that he had cunningly planted the push pop in the freezer so that Snake would be able to recognise the flower of virtue within himself and allow it to bloom.
Mid-Credits Scene in ‘The Bad Guys’ (2022) Movie
Because of their good behaviour in prison, Wolf and his gang were released only a year after their arrest. They talked about Snake’s birthday as they walked out of the prison, trying to figure out what they were going to do with their lives. Snake was standing on the desolate road, wishing for a ride, when Diana appeared, driving Wolf’s prized automobile, and sped off into the distance, promising a brighter future with no or less crime.
Diana will most likely assign them some civil service work or use their expertise to assist those in their immediate vicinity. But, whatever the nature of the job, Wolf has made it clear that he would not return to the world of crime. Or perhaps not.
