"Sonic 2" and "The Bad Guys"

Let's take a look at some recent kids' movies.  

I liked the first "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie, and the sequel is more of the same.  This installment is more comfortable with the material, letting the evil Dr. Robotnik look more like the video game villain and less like Jim Carrey, and adding a few more characters from the franchise - notably Tails the Fox (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba).   Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is still living in Green Hills with his human pals Sheriff Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), but they're off to Hawaii for the wedding of Maddie's sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell).  So, when Dr. Robotnik launches his latest attack, Sonic has to deal with it by himself.

"Sonic" is a very easy watch because it's calibrated to appeal to the very smallest children.  It's a lot of slapstick humor, gentle life lessons, and flashy chase sequences.  I appreciate that Sonic is a kid in these movies, full of chaotic energy and silly notions.  He gets into trouble at the drop of a hat.  The plot may be about finding a magic emerald, but the stakes are about Sonic making new friends, and cementing his bonds with his supportive found family.  There are plenty of little nods to "Sonic" lore for the fans of the franchise, but the movie is super approachable for kids on every front.  Adults, however, are not going to get much out it.  Sonic and his pals are all noise and excitement.  The human characters get their chances to be funny, but aside from Jim Carrey they stay on the sidelines.  There's a whole subplot with the wedding that the movie doesn't even bother to pay off in the end, though all due credit goes to Natasha Rothwell for being a very entertaining bridezilla.   

Now the latest Dreamworks movie, "The Bad Guys," has more for grown ups.  It's essentially a parody of heist and caper action films, starring a gang of five nefarious animal criminals, the Bad Guys: Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson).  They exist in a world inhabited by both human beings and "Zootopia" style anthropomorphized animals, where the Chief of Police is the hot tempered human, Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein, and the governor is a fox, Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz).  The Bad Guys are the most successful gang of criminals in operation, with a hideout full of stolen loot, and a long string of successful jobs.  Their latest target is a golden dolphin statue, intended for local do-gooder Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), a guinea pig.

From the opening scene echoing "Pulp Fiction," to Mr. Snake's fashion choices, to the freeze frame jokes stuffed along the sides of the frame, this is a very self-aware movie.  However, it's also a movie that is very mindful of what it's trying to be, which is a well-rounded family picture.  There are butt and fart jokes, but not too many.  There are movie references, but nothing that gets too obtrusive.  The Bad Guys get to have fun being dastardly criminals for the first half of the movie, but soon Wolf discovers the benefits of being good, and decides to prod and poke his friends into reforming along with him.  The movie gamely embraces the absurd, and the characters have fun personalities and are allowed to interact in fun ways.  Mr. Snake is a grump who eats everything in sight.  Mr. Shark is a master of disguise and super dramatic.  Mr. Wolf is a charming rascal who knows he's the George Clooney of this bunch.

The look of the film won me over more than anything.  This is not a film that had a high budget, but it uses a tremendously appealing visual style, with 2D hand drawn animation over 3D CGI animation.  The line art adds that extra bit of oomph to facial expressions and action to sell the comedy and the silliness.  The animals are caricatured in fun ways that make use of their animal characteristics - Mr. Snake is shamelessly stealing moves from Sir Hiss from the Disney "Robin Hood," and it's fabulous.  Add the snazzy Daniel Pemberton score, and a strong cast of actors who all seem to be doing impressions of other actors, and it all adds up to a thoroughly good time.

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