The Bad Guys Doujinshi and Comics
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 Studios 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.
Work on the film started in 2018; the characters and themes drew inspiration from various crime films and anime series such as the Ocean's Eleven franchise, Lupin III, Pulp Fiction, and Beastars, while the inspiration for the film's animation style came from Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Production began at DWA Glendale and some additional production assets were borrowed from Jellyfish Pictures, with voice acting being done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bad Guys was released in several countries beginning March 16, 2022, and in the United States on April 22, in 2D and RealD 3D formats. It received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, writing, and voice performances. It has grossed $245 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing animated film of 2022.
In Greater Los Angeles where humans and anthropomorphic animals co-exist, Mr. Wolf leads The Bad Guys, a gang of infamous criminal animals who commit brazen thefts and 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 the 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 Wolf had helped). In prison, Wolf explains to his gang that he does not want to be a criminal anymore and that they can improve, 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.
Upon reaching safety, the gang abandons Wolf for betraying them, but when they return to their hideout, they find it completely emptied of their loot, as Wolf revealed its location to Foxington earlier at the gala as compensation for his crimes. After Snake willingly gives Mr. Shark his last possession (a Push Pop) out of kindness, the others realize that they can change their ways and proceed to help Wolf. However, Snake denies it and abandons them to ally with Marmalade, who plans to use the meteorite to power a mind-control device to hypnotize an army of guinea pigs into stealing charity funds.
Meanwhile, Wolf and Foxington break into Marmalade's home to steal the meteorite, only to be captured by Marmalade and Snake. They are rescued by the rest of the gang, then steal the meteorite and proceed to foil Marmalade's heist. They arrive at the police station to turn in the meteorite until they decide to bring Snake back despite his betrayal. During the chase, Marmalade betrays Snake as an advantage and steals the meteorite back.
After destroying Marmalade's mind-control helmet, the gang surrenders to the authorities to prevent Foxington from revealing her former criminal past. Marmalade attempts to take credit for recovering the meteorite, but it is revealed to be a fake planted by Snake, who had faked his defection. He switched it for a meteorite-shaped lamp and overcharged the real one inside Marmalade's basement, causing it to implode the entire manor from afar. When the lamp meteorite falls on Marmalade, a diamond he stole from Foxington falls from his suit, which authorities recognize as having been stolen by the Crimson Paw years ago. Implicated as the Crimson Paw, Marmalade is arrested.
One year later, the gang is released from prison in light of their good behavior, partnering up with Foxington to begin their new crime-fighting careers.
