For a long time, Disney was the undisputed champion when it came to animated movies, but in the 21st century, Dreamworks Animation has gone toe-to-toe with them, establishing franchises like Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. In 2022 Dreamworks released the instant winner The Bad Guys, which naturally made it easy for the studio to greenlight a sequel, The Bad Guys 2.

In the first film, the criminal group known as the Bad Guys - Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Snake (Marc Maron), Tarantula (Awkwafina), Shark (Craig Robinson), and Piranha (Anthony Ramos) - made the decision to go good. Now, even though they caught and helped imprison the evil guinea pig Professor Rupert Marmalade IV (Richard Ayoade), their old reputation continues to haunt them, with none of them able to secure a real job.

When a thief starts stealing various valuable items made of a material called “MacGuffinite,” the Bad Guys are prime suspects, especially in the eyes of police chief-turned-commissioner Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein). It’s up to the Bad Guys to clear their own name, with some help from Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), as well as a trio of new female villains: Doom (Natasha Lyonne), Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), and Pigtail (Maria Bakalova).

Directed by Pierre Perifel and JP Sans, and written by Etan Cohen and Yoni Brenner, the film has the same manic energy as the first film, going in so many oddball directions that it can’t help but entertain. Taking place in a world where humans and human-like animals live side-by-side with no one batting an eye, at no point does the film pretend to play the normal rules of physics. Because of this, it feels completely natural for them to jump cars off buildings, be twisted into unnatural shapes, and even go to space on the outside of a ship.

The idea of the main group being somewhat reformed criminals adds on a layer of complexity to the story that is not present in most films aimed at children. There are references to other heist movies and some slightly off-color jokes, but more than anything it’s the vibe that a good crime-adjacent story can have. Everyone can laugh at the ridiculous and completely unbelievable ways Shark disguises himself, but the way that kind of thing relates to the history of crime/spy movies makes it even more enjoyable for those with a broad cinematic knowledge.

What makes the series, and this film in particular, so fun is that it brings in elements that appeal to adults while still staying laser-focused on entertaining kids. The design of the characters, which are completely different from the ones in the book series by Australian author Aaron Blabey, are subtle in some ways and over-the-top in others. The filmmakers once again combine different animation styles to make all of the characters pop, and various exotic locations - including outer space - give the animators plenty of opportunities to show their skills.

The cast of the film was on the money in the first film, and each of them prove themselves again here. As the lead, Rockwell gets the most opportunities to show his worth, but each of the main actors makes their character their own. New additions like Lyonne, Brooks, and Bakalova fit in seamlessly, with Lyonne even inspiring her character’s look to a degree.

Not every Dreamworks Animation film has been a success, but The Bad Guys 2 avoids sequelitis by keeping what worked from the first film and adding in just enough new stuff to keep things interesting. With fun characters, compelling design, and a story that goes in unexpected directions, the film makes it easy to root for the bad guys.

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The Bad Guys 2 is now playing in theaters.