The Bad Guys (2022)
Directed by Pierre Perifel
No — The Bad Guys is not woke, scoring 13 out of 100 on our wokeness meter.
The Bad Guys is a 2022 DreamWorks animated heist comedy, loosely adapted from Aaron Blabey's children's books, in which a crew of anthropomorphic criminals attempts to reform under duress.
Consciousness Markers
The voice cast is notably diverse, including actors of color such as Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Zazie Beetz, and Lilly Singh, but the film does not foreground this diversity as a thematic statement.
Features capable female characters like Governor Diane Foxington (a former master thief) and police chief Misty Luggins, but the narrative remains focused on the male-led gang and does not push a feminist agenda.
The film delivers a moral about second chances and not judging by appearances, but it does so through character arcs and action rather than heavy-handed preaching.
The villain is a wealthy philanthropist who secretly embezzles from his own charity, offering a mild critique of performative philanthropy, but the film stops short of systemic anti-capitalist commentary.
There are no LGBTQ+ themes or characters in the film.
The film features anthropomorphic animals and does not engage with racial themes or commentary.
There is no environmental or climate-related messaging in the film.
The film does not address body image or promote body positivity themes.
There is no representation or discussion of neurodivergence in the film.
The film is a fictional animated heist comedy and does not revise or reinterpret historical events.
Why it received this score
The Bad Guys is a 2022 DreamWorks animated heist comedy, loosely adapted from Aaron Blabey's children's books, in which a crew of anthropomorphic criminals attempts to reform under duress. The film is slick and stylish, borrowing from Ocean's and Pulp Fiction, and its voice cast includes Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Zazie Beetz, and Lilly Singh. That ensemble is diverse. The movie never makes a thesis of it. The story is about a wolf discovering he likes being good, not about representation as a project. This is a distinction that matters for our purposes.
The capable female characters, Governor Diane Foxington and police chief Misty Luggins, have agency and wit. The narrative still belongs to the male-led gang. There is no LGBTQ content, no racial commentary, no climate sermon, no body positivity, no neurodivergence, and no historical revision. The villain is a wealthy philanthropist who embezzles from his own charity. That offers a mild jab at performative giving. It stops well short of systemic critique. The moral about second chances and not judging by appearances arrives through car chases and slapstick, not sermons.
The film's cultural footprint is modest and its intentions are commercial. It wants to entertain, and it succeeds. The progressive sensibilities are present in trace amounts, like a faint perfume in a crowded theater. Nobody is being re-educated here. It is a caper about a snake and a wolf. That is sufficient. By the standards of our ledger, this is a low-yield vintage, pleasant but not doctrinaire.
Analysis generated by our Consciousness Algorithm
Part of
Synopsis
When the Bad Guys, a crew of criminal animals, are finally caught after years of heists and being the world’s most-wanted villains, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal to save them all from prison.
Questions about The Bad Guys
Is The Bad Guys woke?
No — The Bad Guys is not woke, scoring 13 out of 100 on our wokeness meter. That earns it a verdict of Ultra Based.
Does The Bad Guys have any woke elements?
Very few. None of the 10 markers reaches 30, the level where a marker counts as present; the highest is Representation Casting at 25.
How does The Bad Guys compare to other 2022 movies?
It ranks #129 of the 223 films from 2022 we've scored; their average is 22. The wokest is Bros (92).
How is the Woke Score calculated?
An AI-assisted process researches the film and its reception, scores it 0–100 on ten markers, then combines those into one 0–100 Woke Score. It measures a specific set of 2020s cultural themes, not film quality.