For a movie that celebrates unsavory characters from children's literature, "The Bad Guys" seems curiously innocuous.
Screenwriter Etan Cohen, working from Aaron Blabey's books, is partially responsible for the tasteless delight "Idiocracy." In creating something that won't expand a child's vocabulary in unpleasant ways, Cohen and director Pierre Perifel seem hamstrung in trying to come up with gags that work despite a viewer's age bracket or emotional maturity.
"The Bad Guys" lacks the knowing but not grating sarcasm of the first two "Shrek" movies (all these movies are from DreamWorks). These films countered the snark with characters who were as endearing as they were quirky and mildly crude.
The critters here are well known for their menace in other stories but aren't scary or all that interesting here.
The Bad Guys are a team of robbers who have refined larceny to the point where law enforcement and insurance companies should simply accept the team's audacious heists. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) is a leadfooted driver who makes Vin Diesel and company seem reserved, while Snake (master podcaster Marc Maron) can crack safes despite not having hands.
Audiences can tell that Shark (Craig Robinson) is hiding behind unconvincing disguises, but nobody else in the film seems to notice his dorsal fins. Tarantula (Awkwafina) can conquer just about any keyboard with her speedy eight-legged typing, while the tiny Piranha (Anthony Ramos) can subdue larger foes through sheer force of will.
This is a film for tots, so he can't go on bloody feeding frenzies.
Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) and the local police chief (Alex Borstein) struggle to end the Bad Guys' crime wave and may get some assistance from an unlikely ally. When the team inadvertently gets caught trying to steal an award intended for the philanthropist Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), the Professor suggests that he might be able to convince the thieves to use their skills for less felonious pursuits.
There are a few decent heist sequences, but "The Bad Guys" never takes off the way Wolf does behind the wheel because the characters are flat. Rockwell gives Wolf some charm, but he and the rest of the gang never grow or change.
Even in cartoons, characters can develop and mature. Much of the appeal of "Shrek" is that the ogre can be as caring as he is grumpy. Similarly, it was fun to watch the title character in "Kung Fu Panda," which Perifel helped animate, develop into a gifted martial artist. Despite being voiced by actors with proven track records, Piranha and Tarantula barely make an impression in this one.
Speaking of Tarantula, you don't need her hacking skills to get ahead of the plot. Movie theaters don't come with fast forward buttons, and the payoff for a viewer's patience is paltry.
Last year's "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" was also rated PG, but it had a clever and often side-splitting script. Perifel is a veteran animator, but his feature directing debut barely comes to life. "The Bad Guys" isn't bad, but it's not that great, either.