New The Bad Guys trailer shows what happens when criminals switch sides

Dreamworks has debuted a new trailer for The Bad Guys that shows what happens when criminals crossover to the side of good for selfish reasons. Based on the New York Times best-selling book series, The Bad Guys focuses on a crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws that attempt their most challenging con yet, becoming model citizens.

Never have there been five friends as infamous as The Bad Guys—dashing pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), seen-it-all safecracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron, GLOW), chill master-of-disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson, Hot Tub Time Machine franchise), short-fused “muscle” Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) and sharp-tongued expert hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians), aka “Webs.”

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, Paddington 2), 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.

With a unique art style, an eclectic cast of characters, and a humorous take on the heist sub-genre, The Bad Guys looks like Ocean’s Eleven meets Fantastic Mr. Fox with attitude. I’m enjoying this surge of fresh animation styles since the release of Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s been a long time coming, and The Bad Guys strike me as another bold step for the animation medium.

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