The Bad Guys 2 arrives in a surprisingly quiet summer for big movies. It seems the hits just aren’t helping each other out this season. The film follows the first movie from 2023, which was a nice little success. It pulled in $250 million on a small $80 million budget. This new series shows a big shift happening at DreamWorks Animation. The studio is done with enormous budgets. It’s getting back to making more affordable movies.
This new approach also comes with a popular new look. The style is inspired by the success of Puss in Boots 2, with its painterly backgrounds. It’s also clearly influenced by the beautiful, critically praised film The Wild Robot, which earned an Oscar nomination last year. This new direction is changing how DreamWorks movies feel.
If you missed the first movie, don’t worry. You don’t need to have seen it to get what’s happening in this one. The characters are kept very simple on purpose. The story is simple, too. It makes fun of itself with plot devices called "Macguffinites," a direct joke about the "MacGuffins" used in many films to push a story forward. The writers seem to enjoy poking fun at the usual tricks in kids’ movies. The problem is, they end up falling for those same tricks themselves more than once.
Too Much of a Good Thing
Honestly, The Bad Guys 2 feels like it could be a short TV show. The movie is hyperactive, buzzing with endless energy and constant movement. At times, it feels like it’s been shot full of speed. This energy quickly becomes a problem. The film is loud, over-the-top, and just too much all at once. The action-movie soundtrack doesn’t add anything special, either.
Of course, you have to keep young viewers interested. But The Wild Robot proved you can hold an audience’s attention with quiet moments, stunning art, and even a little silence. This movie is not trying to do that. DreamWorks would be smart to step away from the standard animation formulas. It should put more courage into its projects instead of relying on characters that feel unoriginal.
A Missed Opportunity
The movie’s messages are also thin and not fully thought out. For example, it touches on the idea of "living your dreams" and breaking the rules, even if it means committing a few crimes. The main character also has a brief moment where he questions who he really is. But these interesting themes are barely explored. It leaves you feeling like the movie missed a chance to say something meaningful.
In the end, The Bad Guys 2 just barely passes as decent family fun. At least its visuals don’t look ten years old, like some other recent movies (The Falcon Express, for example). But if DreamWorks really wants to compete with a giant like Disney, it needs to raise its artistic goals, and fast.