Author | Aaron Blabey |
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Illustrator | Aaron Blabey |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Genre | |
Publisher | Scholastic |
Published |
|
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
No. of books | 20 |
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.
DreamWorks Animation acquired the rights to the series to make an animated feature film adaptation, which was released in the United States on April 22, 2022. A second film is set to be released in 2025. [1]
The Bad Guys | |
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Original work | The Bad Guys (2022) |
Owners | DreamWorks Animation (Universal Pictures) |
Years | 2022–present |
Films and television | |
Film(s) | The Bad Guys (2022) The Bad Guys 2 (2025) |
Short film(s) | The Bad Guys in Maraschino Ruby (2022) |
Television special(s) | The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday (2023) The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist (2024) |
Audio | |
Soundtrack(s) | The Bad Guys (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
On July 22, 2017, Australia's The Daily Telegraph reported that several studios had expressed interest in adapting the series into a film. [2] In March 2018, Variety reported that DreamWorks Animation would develop a film based on the book series, with Etan Cohen writing the screenplay. [3] [4] [5] The following year, in October, it was reported that the film would be directed by Pierre Perifel in his feature directorial debut. [6] The film was described as having "a similar twist on the heist genre that Shrek did on fairy tales, and what Kung Fu Panda did for the kung fu genre". [6] The crew worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. [7]
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. [8]
On October 7, 2019, it was reported that the film would be theatrically released on September 17, 2021, taking over the release date of Spooky Jack. [6] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was delayed with The Boss Baby: Family Business taking its original slot in December 2020, though it was confirmed that it would get a new date "within the coming weeks". [9] In March 2021, the release date was scheduled to April 15, 2022. [10] In October 2021, it was pushed back again by one week to April 22. [11] The film was slated to stream in the United States on the Peacock streaming service 45 days after its theatrical release, [12] followed by its Netflix debut after Peacock's 4-month exclusive window. [13] On March 1, 2022, Universal pulled the release in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [14]
In March 2022, a month before the film was released, Perifel said that he would love to do a sequel. [15] Two years later, DreamWorks Animation officially confirmed a sequel with a release date set for August 1, 2025. Perifel will return to direct and JP Sans, who served as head of character animation on the previous film, will co-direct, with the cast reprising their roles. [16]
A CG sequel short based on the film, The Bad Guys in Maraschino Ruby, was announced in the Blu-ray and Digital release with a story made and directed by head of the story Nelson Yokota, and produced by Angie Howard while executive produced by Pierre Perifel, Damon Ross, Rebecca Huntley, and Michael Vollman.
A holiday special, titled The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday , inspired by the characters from the film was being produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and was directed by Bret Haaland from Fast & Furious Spy Racers and executive produced by Haaland and Katherina Nolfi from Abominable and the Invisible City and Spirit Riding Free . The holiday special premiered on November 30, 2023, on Netflix, [17] albeit none of the film's principal voice cast would be reprising their respective roles for the special.
A Halloween special, titled The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist , was announced in August 2024. [18] The Halloween special premiered on Netflix on October 3. [18]
The 36th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation for 2008, were held on January 30, 2009, at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. Below is a list of announced nominees. Kung Fu Panda received the most awards with 10, winning nearly all of its nominations, albeit amid controversy.
Aaron Blabey is an Australian author of children's books.
Trolls is a 2016 American animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls created by Thomas Dam. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell from a screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, based on a story by Erica Rivinoja. It stars the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand, James Corden and Gwen Stefani. The film follows two trolls named Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) who go on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Bergens, giant creatures who eat Trolls to be happy.
The Croods: A New Age is a 2020 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to The Croods (2013) as well as the second installment of The Croods franchise, it was directed by Joel Crawford from a screenplay by Paul Fisher, Bob Logan, and the writing team of Dan and Kevin Hageman, based on a story by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders. The film features the returning voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman. The film also makes new additions to the cast, including Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann, and Kelly Marie Tran. The film follows the Croods, Guy, and their pets Belt, Chunky, and Douglas as they discover an idyllic, walled-in paradise that meets all of their needs. Unfortunately, they must also learn to live with the Bettermans, a family a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder.
Green Eggs and Ham, also known as Green Eggs and Ham: The Second Serving for its second season, is an American animated comedy adventure television series developed by Jared Stern and produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Netflix. It is based on the 1960 Dr. Seuss book of the same title.
Spirit Riding Free is an animated television series, produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and distributed by Netflix, based on the 2002 Oscar-nominated traditionally animated film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and the first series in the Spirit franchise. The series was first released on Netflix on May 5, 2017.
Spirit is an American media franchise owned by DreamWorks Animation, which began with the 2002 animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron written by John Fusco from an idea by producer Jeffrey Katzenberg. The franchise follows the adventures of a Kiger Mustang stallion named Spirit and his same named descendants.
Pierre Perifel is a French filmmaker and animator. He is best known for his work at DreamWorks Animation, including directing the short film Bilby (2018) and the feature films The Bad Guys (2022) and its upcoming sequel The Bad Guys 2 (2025).
Trolls: The Beat Goes On! is an American animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation. Based on the 3D computer-animated comedy musical film Trolls, the show premiered on Netflix on January 19, 2018, in the United States and takes place between the events of the first film and the sequel, Trolls World Tour. Amanda Leighton, Skylar Astin, Kari Wahlgren, Sam Lerner, David Kaye, David Fynn, Sean T. Krishnan, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Fryda Wolff provide the new voices for Princess Poppy, Branch, Bridget, King Gristle, King Peppy, Biggie and Mr. Dinkles, Guy Diamond, Smidge, DJ Suki and Satin & Chenille for this series respectively; only Ron Funches and Walt Dohrn reprise their roles as Cooper and Cloud Guy, also respectively. Matt Lowe also voices Creek in the series, who returns in "Creek Week".
Fast & Furious Spy Racers is an American animated television series that premiered on Netflix on December 26, 2019, based on the Fast & Furious film series by Gary Scott Thompson. The series is executive produced by Tim Hedrick, Bret Haaland, Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel and Chris Morgan. Hedrick and Haaland also serve as the show's showrunners.
Bilby is a 2018 American animated short film written and directed by Liron Topaz, Pierre Perifel and JP Sans in their directorial debuts, and produced by DreamWorks Animation. It centers on a bilby trying to protect an albatross chick from the dangers of the Australian Outback.
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.
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.
Trolls is an American animated media franchise created by DreamWorks Animation, inspired by the successful line of Troll doll toys created by Thomas Dam. It follows the adventures of a pair of trolls named Poppy and Branch as they live among their village of pop-singing trolls. The franchise consists of three feature films, Trolls, released in 2016, Trolls World Tour, released in 2020, and Trolls Band Together, released in 2023. The franchise has been supplemented by two holiday television specials titled Trolls Holiday and Trolls: Holiday in Harmony, and two animated series: Trolls: The Beat Goes On! on Netflix, and Trolls: TrollsTopia on Hulu and Peacock. The Trolls franchise made $5 billion in retail sales by 2005.
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.
The Boss Baby is a media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee. The franchise began with the 2017 film The Boss Baby and has since grown to include a 2021 sequel, Family Business; two television series, Back in Business (2018–2020) and Back in the Crib (2022–2023); two short films; and a 2020 interactive special, with a third film in active development.
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.
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.
The Bad Guys 2 is an upcoming American animated heist action comedy film loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to The Bad Guys (2022) and the second film in the Bad Guys franchise, it is directed by Pierre Perifel and co-directed by JP Sans. The film stars the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein reprising their roles from the first film, with Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, and Natasha Lyonne joining the cast.
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.