The Bad Guys trailer: Anthropomorphic antics ensue for the ultimate heist

Dreamworks has unleashed a first-look trailer for The Bad Guys, an Ocean’s 11-style animated adventure that shows what happens when criminals attempt to change their stripes. The Bad Guys trailer kicks off with Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) involved in a high-speed chase with the local fuzz before breaking the fourth wall to introduce his crew – Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina). Each member of the team comes equipped with a specific set of skills, whether it’s blending into a crowd, cracking safes, hacking targets, doing some heavy lifting, or coming up with a fool-proof plan.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Based on the New York Times best-selling book series, a crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws is about to attempt their most challenging con yet—becoming model citizens. Never have there been five friends as infamous as The Bad Guys. But when, after years of countless heists and being the world’s most-wanted villains, the gang is finally caught, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal (that he has no intention of keeping) to save them all from prison: The Bad Guys will go good. Under the tutelage of their mentor Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), an arrogant (but adorable!) guinea pig, The Bad Guys set out to fool the world that they’ve been transformed. Along the way, though, Mr. Wolf begins to suspect that doing good for real may give him what he’s always secretly longed for: acceptance. So when a new villain threatens the city, can Mr. Wolf persuade the rest of the gang to become … The Good Guys?

Making his feature-directing debut for The Bad Guys is Pierre Perifel (Kung Fu Panda, Rise of the Guardians). The film is produced by Damon Ross and Rebecca Huntley. Aaron Blabey, Etan Cohen, and Patrick Hughes executive produce. The Bad Guys also stars Zazie Beetz, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein.

I don’t know about you but I am loving The Bad Guys trailer. The overall look of the film and aspects of its animation is totally giving me Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse vibes. In my opinion, Spider-Verse really broke the mold, and in many ways sent a signal flare to studios that it’s okay to try something new. I hope The Bad Guys is as good as this trailer would have me believe, and that this is just a taste of bold, new animations to come in 2022.

The Bad Guys will break bad in theaters on April 22, 2022.