This new animated “relaxed heist” movie from Dreamworks is a Noah’s car of animal characters in need of coverting from their wily ways. The gang uses every means to steal and stockpile what doesn’t belong to them – and sometimes they do it just for the rush of a good car chase. Their motto is, “We might be bad but we are so good at it!”
“The Bad Guys” is entertaining, if not a tad too long and over complicated. The good news is that the story is about leaving the stereotypes about who we are behind and risk becoming someone who cares about others while signaling to others that stereotyping harms our ability to live together in harmony. People and other animals are afraid of each of these “characters” because they don’t know them. When we know one another, we can live together in peace. Conversion from being a bad guy to being a good guy is not an overnight process, as we can see in the film. It takes time and patience.
I really like the voices of each of the animal characters, especially Sam Rockwell as “Mr Wolf” and Awkwafina as “Webs” the tarantula. She’s the techie who makes everything happen – and the only female character in this charming crew of crooks.
My longer review will come out in St. Anthony Messenger in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, due to dealing with the aftermath of Covid, I will keep this short.
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