The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday

Last updated

The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday
The Bad Guys A Very Bad Holiday poster.png
Based on
Written byKatherine Nolfi
Directed by Bret Haaland
Voices of
Theme music composerBrandon Liew
Composers
  • Daniel Futcher [1]
  • Taylor Page [1]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Bret Haaland
  • Katherine Nolfi
Producers
  • Aaron Blabey
  • Patrick Hughes [a]
EditorBen Glass
Running time25 minutes
Production company DreamWorks Animation Television
Original release
Network Netflix
ReleaseNovember 30, 2023 (2023-11-30)

The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday is a 2023 CG animated Christmas heist comedy television special based on the 2022 film The Bad Guys , which in turn is based on the graphic novel series of the same name. The special serves as a prequel to the original film.

Contents

Directed by Bret Haaland, the special premiered on November 30, 2023, on Netflix. [2] [3]

Plot

Set before the events of the movie, the Bad Guys are riding around the city and looking forward to rob a bank on Christmas, taking advantage that everyone will be celebrating in their homes. At a parade, their car gets tied to a beloved Santa Claus balloon which they end up destroying accidentally. As a result, the city's mood falls so low that Christmas is cancelled. Concerned that their heist will not be possible, the Bad Guys set out to cheer up the city. At first, Webs suggests replacing the balloon with a Santa Claus exoskeleton she has built, but the rest of the gang disagree as it looks too intimidating. Instead, Wolf suggests recreating the balloon, but it ends up looking horrible and is discarded as well.

With 12 hours left for Christmas morning, they plan to break into a radio station to broadcast Christmas carols again —having been replaced with heavy metal music since the cancellation— as Wolf and Snake steal presents to deliver them to people's homes. Though the plan is successful, Wolf feels the need for snow to fully rekindle people's spirit. To do that, Webs modifies the shaved ice machine of a street stand, but contrary to her instructions, Wolf increases its power output. Snow begins, but it quickly spirals into an ice storm terrorizing the city. The gang reprimand Wolf's tendency to push things too far, but they forgive him when he admits that he was just trying to give them the best heist ever, instead of showing off. Wolf uses the Santa Claus exoskeleton to deactivate the ice machine. When the storm ends, the exoskeleton becomes the city's new hero and mascot. Through its microphone, Shark tells the citizens to go back to their homes.

The Bad Guys go back to their hideout, but they have now caught a cold and cannot carry out the robbery. To their surprise and dismay, they find presents from Santa Claus for the good deeds they have done. As a result, they begin working on a plan to heist Santa's workshop to prove that they belong on the naughty list.

Voice cast

Production

The special was announced in November 2022, [4] with Bret Haaland as director and an executive producer alongside Katherine Nolfi. [5] In October 2023, TVLine revealed that none of the original film cast would be reprising their respective roles and instead star Godere, Ajeigbe, Ceballos, Diamantopoulos and Low, respectively. [2] Godere provided minor miscellaneous voice work in the feature film. [6]

Other media

A novelization of the same name, by Kate Howard, was released by Scholastic on October 3, 2023. [7]

Notes

  1. Both Blabey and Hughes are credited as "Consulting Producers".

Related Research Articles

<i>Mickeys Once Upon a Christmas</i> 1999 American animated film

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas is a 1999 American direct-to-video animated Christmas anthology comedy fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The film includes three features: Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas, A Very Goofy Christmas and Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi. Other Disney characters also make cameos in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Diamantopoulos</span> Canadian actor (born 1975)

Christopher Diamantopoulos is a Canadian actor. He played Russ Hanneman in the HBO series Silicon Valley and starred in the film The Three Stooges, and the TV series Good Girls Revolt. He voiced Mickey Mouse in the eponymous television series, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse and the short film Once Upon a Studio; for the former, he received two Emmy Award nominations.

<i>Shrek the Halls</i> American Christmas television special

Shrek the Halls is an American animated Christmas comedy television special that premiered on the American television network ABC on November 28, 2007. The thirty minute Christmas special was co-written and directed by Gary Trousdale and produced by DreamWorks Animation. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Antonio Banderas reprise their roles from the feature films. This Christmas special takes place between Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After. It grossed $16 million in home sales.
The title is derived from the title of the Christmas carol Deck the Halls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?</span> Song

"¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?" is a 1958 novelty Christmas song written by George Scheck, Rod Parker, and Al Greiner and performed by Augie Rios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25 Days of Christmas</span> An annual seasonal television event by Freeform

Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the channel through its various incarnations, including The Family Channel, Fox Family, ABC Family, and Freeform. The brand covers airings of classic holiday specials as well as new Christmas-themed television movies each year; generally few of the network's original series air during the time period, outside of Christmas-themed episodes. In 2006, the lineup has also included airings of general, family films that Freeform holds rights to, which included the Harry Potter films until January 2017, and other Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures films. In 2007, the block was extended to November with a Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas block. 25 Days of Christmas programming often attracts major surges in viewership for Freeform, with higher-profile film airings often attracting 3–4 million viewers or more.

"Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy-drama detective television series Monk, and the show's 87th episode overall. The series follows Adrian Monk, a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Natalie Teeger. In this episode, Monk is labeled by media as a social pariah as he is accused of shooting a man dressed in Santa Claus apparel, and must prove his innocence.

<i>Merry Madagascar</i> 2009 film directed by David Soren

Merry Madagascar is a Christmas special first broadcast on the NBC network on November 17, 2009, which starred the characters from the film series Madagascar, and takes place sometime between the first and second film. It is the second DreamWorks Animation Christmas special, after Shrek the Halls.

<i>A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas</i> 2011 film by Todd Strauss-Schulson

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is a 2011 American buddy stoner Christmas comedy film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. The sequel to Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008), it is the third installment in the Harold & Kumar franchise, and stars John Cho, Kal Penn, and Neil Patrick Harris. The film follows estranged friends Harold Lee (Cho) and Kumar Patel (Penn) as they reunite to hunt for a Christmas tree.

<i>Home Alone: The Holiday Heist</i> 2012 film by Peter Hewitt

Home Alone: The Holiday Heist is a 2012 American made-for-television Christmas comedy film directed by Peter Hewitt. It is the fifth installment in the Home Alone franchise. It stars Christian Martyn, Jodelle Ferland, Malcolm McDowell, Debi Mazar, and Eddie Steeples. The film premiered on ABC Family on November 25, 2012, during the network's annual Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas programming block. It is the second film, after Home Alone 3, not to focus on the McCallister family, although there are numerous homages to the previous films. Home Alone: The Holiday Heist received mainly negative reviews, although it fared better than the fourth film.

<i>A Very Murray Christmas</i> 2015 film directed by Sofia Coppola

A Very Murray Christmas is a 2015 American Christmas musical comedy film directed by Sofia Coppola and co-written by Bill Murray, Mitch Glazer, and Coppola. The film features an ensemble cast including Bill Murray, George Clooney, Paul Shaffer, Amy Poehler, Julie White, Dimitri Dimitrov, Michael Cera, Chris Rock, David Johansen, Maya Rudolph, Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Lewis, Rashida Jones, and Miley Cyrus and was released on December 4, 2015, on Netflix.

Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas is a one-hour Sesame Street Christmas special that first aired on HBO on November 25, 2016, and on November 22, 2017, on PBS. It was the franchise's first Christmas special in ten years.

<i>The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants</i> American animated comedy television series

The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants is an American animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. Developed for television by Peter Hastings and Mark Banker, it is a sequel to the 2017 feature film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, based on the Captain Underpants book series by Dav Pilkey.

<i>The Bad Guys</i> (film) 2022 film by Pierre Perifel

The Bad Guys is a 2022 American animated heist comedy film based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Pierre Perifel from a screenplay by Etan Cohen, and stars the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh. It tells the story of a criminal group of anthropomorphic animals who, upon being caught, pretend to attempt to reform themselves as model citizens, only for their leader to find himself genuinely drawn to changing his ways for good as a new villain has his own plans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DreamWorks Animation Television</span> American television animation studio and production company

DreamWorks Animation Television is an American animation studio that serves as the television production arm of DreamWorks Animation, itself a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. Founded in 1996, the entity was formerly named DreamWorks Television Animation. Its first programs from the 1990s and early 2000s used the live-action television logo, and were produced by DreamWorks Television, before DWATV and its parent company were spun off into an independent company in 2004 and later purchased by NBCUniversal in 2016. In total, the division has released 59 programs, with 7 in development.

Gabby's Dollhouse is an American interactive television series created by Blue's Clues veterans Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey for Netflix which first premiered on January 5, 2021. Combining live-action and animation, Gabby and her cat friends go on adventures inside the dollhouse.

<i>The Bad Guys</i> (book series) Comic book series

The Bad Guys is an illustrated children's graphic novel series written by Australian author Aaron Blabey. It revolves around a gang of anthropomorphic animals known as the "Bad Guys", who attempt to perform good deeds to change society's perception of them as criminals.

<i>The Bad Guys</i> (franchise) Media franchise by DreamWorks Animation

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 holiday specials, which were released on Netflix in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and a sequel, The Bad Guys 2, set for release on August 1, 2025.

<i>The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist</i> 2024 American television special

The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist is a 2024 CG animated Halloween heist comedy television special based on the 2022 film The Bad Guys, which in turn is based on the graphic novel series of the same name. This is the second special based on the film after A Very Bad Holiday, with the cast of said special reprising their roles for Haunted Heist.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday (The Bad Guys Holiday Special)". FilmAffinity . November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mitovich, Matt (October 9, 2023). "The Bad Guys Prequel Movie Gets New Voice Cast, Netflix Release Date and First Photos". TVLine . Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  3. Singer, Matt (October 9, 2023). "A 'Bad Guys' Holiday Special Is Coming to Netflix". ScreenCrush . Townsquare Media. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  4. Amidi, Amid (November 8, 2022). "A New 'Bad Guys' Holiday Special Will Launch On Netflix Next Year". Cartoon Brew . Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  5. Milligan, Mercedes (November 8, 2022). "'The Bad Guys' Plan Holiday Heist for Netflix in 2023". Animation Magazine . Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  6. Milligan, Mercedes (October 9, 2023). "First Look: 'The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday' Brings Merry Mayhem to Netflix". Animation Magazine . Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  7. "The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday Novelization". Scholastic Inc. Retrieved October 3, 2023.