The Bad Guys (franchise)
The Bad Guys is a media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey. The franchise began with the 2022 film The Bad Guys, and has since grown to include two prequel holiday specials, The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday and The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist, which were released on Netflix in 2023 and 2024 respectively. A sequel, The Bad Guys 2, and a prequel streaming series, The Bad Guys: Breaking In, were released in 2025.
The franchise features the adventures of a gang of humanoid animals who operate as professional criminals in the face of extreme social prejudice against their species. Eventually, they are inspired to strive to change their ways and try to lead normal lives with the secret help of Diane Foxington, a retired criminal formerly "The Crimson Paw" turned State Governor. However, circumstances force them back to using their criminal skills, albeit in the spirit of more constructive goals.
Films
''The Bad Guys'' (2022)
On July 22, 2017, Australia's The Daily Telegraph reported that several studios had expressed interest in adapting the series into a film. In March 2018, Variety reported that DreamWorks Animation would develop a film based on the book series, with Etan Cohen writing the screenplay. The following year, in October, it was reported that the film would be directed by Pierre Perifel in his feature directorial debut. The film was described as having "a similar twist on the heist genre that Shrek did on fairy tales, Kung Fu Panda did for the kung fu genre, and what Trolls did for the musical numbers of the franchise." The crew worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.On July 28, 2021, the cast was announced with Etan Cohen, Patrick Hughes, and author Aaron Blabey set to serve as executive producers for the film.
On October 7, 2019, it was reported that the film would be theatrically released in the United States on September 17, 2021, taking over the release date of Spooky Jack. In December 2020, the film was delayed with The Boss Baby: Family Business taking its original slot, though it was confirmed that it would get a new date "within the coming weeks" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, the release date was scheduled to April 15, 2022. In October 2021, it was pushed back again by one week to April 22. The film was slated to stream in the United States on the Peacock streaming service 45 days after its theatrical release, followed by its Netflix debut after Peacock's 4-month exclusive window. On March 1, 2022, Universal pulled the release in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.