Animated morality

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Friday, April 22nd. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: DreamWorks’ latest animated film.

It hits theaters today. And reviewer Collin Garbarino says The Bad Guys might be a good choice for the whole family.

Wolf: We’re the Bad Guys, and this is the crew. Mr. Snake—Serpentine safe-cracking machine. Imagine Houdini, but with no arms.

Snake: Jackpot!

Wolf: Ms. Tarantula—In house tech wizard.

Fox: Where’d you learn to do that?

Tarantula: Mostly YouTube.

Wolf: Mr. Piranha—He’s brave, crazy.

Piranha: What’s up, papa?

Wolf: And Mr. Shark—Master of disguise. His greatest trick: Stealing the Mona Lisa disguised as the Mona Lisa.

Shark: Whoo!

Wolf: And rounding out the crew is me, the big bad wolf! We may be bad, but we’re so good at it.

COLLIN GARBARINO, REVIEWER: What would it be like if nature’s most fearsome creatures formed a criminal gang? That’s the premise behind The Bad Guys, directed by Pierre Perifel. The heartfelt action comedy feels like Looney Tunes meets Oceans 11 meets Fast and Furious. The movie is based on a series of children’s books by Aaron Blabey, but it has enough substance to make it entertaining for the whole family.

CLIP: It’s the bad guys! Arrest them!

Wolf, voiced by Sam Rockwell, leads a gang of thieves that includes Snake, Tarantula, Shark, and Piranha. Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, and Anthony Ramos provide their voice talents to the gang. These five friends tire of robbing banks and decide to steal the unstealable to solidify their reputation as the baddest of the bad guys. Their target? The “Good Samaritan Award.” And they plan to nab it right before it’s handed to Professor Marmalade, a philanthropic guinea pig.

Tarantula: Wolf is in position. Piranha, you all penguin-suited and booted?

Piranha: Affirmative. I’m a clean mean dolphin-stealing machine. What’s going on guys?

But the plan unravels when Wolf impulsively performs an act of kindness, causing him to question whether bad guys can ever be good.

Wolf: Here, let me help you. Are you okay, ma’am?

Old woman: My gracious, yes. I may be dizzy, but I’m alive thanks to you.

Wolf: What are you—

Old woman: Thank you, dear. You’re such a good boy.

We’ve seen many versions of this bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold story, so no one will be shocked when the “bad guys” become the good guys. The plot’s pretty predictable—Wolf actually ends up wearing sheep pajamas. But even if the story isn’t surprising, it’s still fun to watch the gang try to figure out what it means to be good.

Wolf: Hey, look! It’s a cat stuck in a tree.

Marmalade: It doesn’t get much simpler than that. Now, what in this scenario would give you that good tingle?

Snake: Eating it. This is why I always carry two pieces of bread with me.

Marmalade: No. I want you to s—

Wolf: Smack it!

Snake: Skin it!

Shark: Stab it!

Tarantula: Saute it?

Piranha: Sing to it?

Marmalade: Save it. I want you to save—that’s so obvious. I want you to save it.

Bad Guys: Ooooh. Right. HERE, KITTY KITTY!

Snake: Woah. That cat is obviously defective.

The characters are fun, but much of the movie’s fresh feel comes from Perifel’s sleek animation. He combines computer-generated imagery with a 2D style, giving the film a gorgeous texture that’s a welcome relief from the typical Pixar-lookalike. The beauty enriches the action sequences: car chases, heist montages, fight scenes—all technically brilliant.

CLIP: [Chase scene]

The Bad Guys is rated PG for action and rude humor. The humor tends toward slapstick with absurd violence reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The movie also contains a few flatulence jokes, and one character repeatedly refers to a heart-shaped object as looking like a rearend. But it also includes wry social commentary. Parents will chuckle when the movie mocks wealthy, self-satisfied, do-gooders.

Wolf: I’m sorry. Have we met? I’m the villain of every story. Guilty until proven innocent. Even if by some miracle we did change, who’s going to believe us?

The Bad Guys asks its audience to consider whether we’re too quick to judge others. Are Wolf and his gang bad guys because they’re inherently bad or has society’s antipathy made them that way? Almost everyone besides the main characters is human. That seems odd at first, but these “bad guy” animals are a metaphor. Wolves, snakes, spiders, sharks, and piranhas are rarely dangerous to humans, but we have an outsized fear of them. Are societal prejudices just as unfounded? And what about less scary persons? Are they inherently good?

CLIP: Wait a second, what did you, how did you–? A wolf and a fox are not so different.

We see familiar themes in the movie—the need for love, friendship, and rescue. But we also find less popular but still important themes—the need for repentance and taking responsibility for past actions. The film acknowledges the existence of wickedness, but suggests we can find good in surprising places. Is it coincidence that the entire plot revolves around the Good Samaritan Award, reminding us of Jesus’ parable about help coming from a supposed enemy? The Bad Guys echoes the Bible’s teaching that we can’t judge the heart based on appearance.

I also liked that the movie is willing to wrestle with the meaning of “goodness.”

Marmalade: Being good just feels so good. And when you’re good, you’re loved.

Should we do good merely because it makes us feel good and because it makes people like us? This selfish ethic pervades much children’s programming, but in The Bad Guys it proves to be inadequate for virtuous living. Sin makes people feel good too—at least for a moment. Toward the movie’s end, one of the bad guys gives a more helpful definition of goodness. He realizes doing good requires sacrifice and putting other people’s needs before our own. It’s a great moment parents can use to remind kids about Christ’s love for His people.

MUSIC: [Billie Eilish “Bad Guy”]

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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