I wasn’t sure where they’d go with this sequel.  The original, released in March 2022, was centred on five animals – a wolf, a snake, a spider, a shark, and a piranha – who shrugged their preconceived reputations and were transformed from “bad” into “good”.  Instead of robbing banks and stealing valuable artifacts, they teamed up to take down a villainous guinea pig with more sinister motives.

Now that these characters are on the right side of the law, where do you take the narrative?  Adapting again from the children’s books authored by Australian Aaron Blabey, the two-person writing team have crafted a great idea.  We open with our five protagonists struggling to find employment.  Just like a rehabilitated criminal released from prison, they find no one wants to give them a chance with honest, paid work.  It’s a kick in the guts which has them questioning whether they made the right choice.

It soon gets worse when they encounter a fresh gang of felons, headlined by a snow leopard (Brooks) who blackmail them back into a life of illegal activity.  Unless they agree to help steal a rocket ship, they’ll be framed for a series of other criminal acts.  Further, they’ll expose the secret identity of Mr. Wolf’s girlfriend, Governor Diane Foxington (Beetz), which will destroy her own career.  It leaves our heroes in a tricky spot as they are forced to walk the fine line between good and evil.

The Bad Guys 2 is a step-up on its predecessor.  The first movie was watchable but pushed its themes too hard.  That’s not the case here.  This is a quality adventure with a story that’s engaging from start to finish and has a few surprises along the way.  It moves at a frenetic pace but, to the film’s credit, it’s still easy to follow.  It’s also ideal family fare where both kids and adults can enjoy at different levels.

All the characters get a chance to shine with fun subplots (like Mr. Snake and his new lover) and the actors do an impeccable job with their distinctive voices.  It’s hard to imagine a better fit for the cunning Mr. Wolf than Oscar winner Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri).  The same could be said for Awkwafina (The Farewell) as Ms. Tarantula and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) as Professor Marmalade.

The Bad Guys was overlooked for an Academy Award nomination in the best animated feature category (perhaps fair) but as one of the better releases of 2025, I’d like to see this sequel get the nod.