Don’t you love it when Nature v. Nurture arguments are made in cartoon form? This seems anathema to the cartoons of my youth where animals had their set roles – the cat is an inept predator; the turtle neither has speed nor agenda; the owl is a brainiac as one can tell from its constant accessorizing of a mortar board, etc, etc. Getting people to re-examine set roles is a big step and a tribute to a more-enlightened age. Have we gotten to the point yet where the wolf advocates on behalf of the three pigs against predatory lending and unsafe living conditions? Perhaps not yet.
Speaking of wolves, Mr. Wolf (voice of Sam Rockwell) has accepted his villainous role in society and traveled well beyond it. He heads a unique syndicate of villains; in his crew are Mr. Snake (Marc Maron) a safecracker, Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) a computer hacker – tell the truth; whom do you respect more? A computer hacker who only supports evil causes or a troll?-, Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) the muscle, and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) a loose cannon. Shark and piranha out of water? It’s a cartoon; don’t ask.
The cadre of repellants has become a force for wickedness. Their average day involves a bank robbery and a city-wide car chase. The opening credits chase itself was a thing of beauty, combing action with exposition as we meet the team members, then an inspired bit of silliness, like when the team collects a cake at high speed in the middle of an intersection because “it’s Snake’s birthday,” and finally ending with “victory” ending with the gang back at Police HQ, because Wolf insists that the chase is the best part.
If you’re not smiling at this point in the film, move on; this ain’t for you.
Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake are lifelong friends, yet find themselves at odds when Mr. Wolf accidentally performs a good
deed which leaves him questioning his role in society. At this point, the film switches from “fun” to “important” as it explores what it means to be stereo-typed as a villain. Does a wolf have to be a wolf? Does a snake have to be a snake? Does a computer-hacking eight-keyboard tarantula have to be a computer-hacking eight-keyboard tarantula? Maybe the answers will surprise you … and maybe they won’t. You can see where the Nature v. Nurture argument blossoms; The Bad Guys is clearly influenced by predecessors Zootopia and Back to the Outback. Quality-wise, it’s somewhere in between the two.
The Bad Guys also threw in a mystery or two, which was nice, in turn giving bigger roles to Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), Police Chief (Alex Borstein), and a super-intelligent guinea pig going by Professor Rupert Marmalade IV (Richard Ayoade). Admit it; how often at any stage of fact or fiction do you get to see a guinea pig be something other than fodder? Personally, I’m split between calling The Bad Guys a good film and calling it a great film. I’m leaning towards “good,” because I found the action just a little too telegraphed, a little too predictable. But do not get me wrong; this is one of the ten best animated films you’ll see this year and an excellent way to talk to your own children about expectations and values. I’m looking forward to the inevitable sequel.
Our canine friend found an award show imposing
So he adopted a stratagem he’d been loathing
He took to disguise
As the queen of the prize
Thus becoming a wolf in Streep’s clothing
Rated PG, 100 Minutes
Director: Pierre Perifel
Writer: Etan Cohen, Yoni Brenner
Genre: Rethinking stereotypes
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: The misunderstood
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The Nature >>> Nurture crowd
