The Bad Guys 2 (Animation)

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Director: Pierre Perifel
Producer: Damon Ross
Screenwriter: Aaron Blabey
Composer: Daniel Pemberton
Editor: Jesse Averna
Production Designer: Luc Desmarchelier
Key Cast: Craig Robinson,Maria Bakalova,Natasha Lyonne,Awkwafina,Marc Maron,Sam Rockwell,Zazie Beetz,Richard Ayoade,Lilly Singh,Danielle Brooks,Alex Borstein,Anthony Ramos

The felonious critters are back for one last caper – and this time, they’re doing it for the girls.

Beastly heist team the Bad Guys are out of jail early for good behaviour! But law-abiding life isn’t easy for getaway driver Mr Wolf (Sam Rockwell), grumpy safecracker Mr Snake (Marc Maron), sensitive master of disguise Mr Shark (Craig Robinson), hacker Ms ‘Webs’ Tarantula (Awkwafina) and hot-tempered Mr Piranha (Anthony Ramos). Forced to accept one last job from crime crew the Bad Girls, they join ice-cold snow leopard Kitty Kat, wild boar Pigtail and snarky raven Doom to ruin the wedding of evil billionaire Mr. Moon and steal his MoonX rocket mid-launch. Is being good worth it when being bad is this much fun? 

Selling millions of copies, the 20 books in Aussie actor turned author Aaron Blabey’s Bad Guys series are a staple of children’s bedroom shelves around the world. If French director Pierre Perifel’s 2022 animated adaptation was a kid-friendly Ocean’s Eleven meets Baby Driver, this bigger, badder sequel takes its explosive action cues from Fast & Furious and Mission: Impossible. Joining the all-star original voice cast are Oscar nominees Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) as Kitty Kat and Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) as Pigtail, plus comedy icon Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) as Doom, whose smouldering screwball banter with Mr Snake provides some highlights for grown-ups. 

“Really spectacular … [pushes] the visuals of the first movie to an insane degree, but while maintaining everything that made that film so charming and fun.” – The Wrap


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Writer Aaron Blabey is a guest of the festival and will be in attendance at the Sunday 17 August sessions of the film.