TL;DR – A delightful return of these fun characters that knows precisely how long you can lean into the shenanigans without outstaying their welcome.      

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was given a free ticket to see this film.

The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis Review –

Back in 2022, there was this odd kid’s animated film that came out of nowhere and quietly captured my heart. The Bad Guys was such a fun blast of energy from start to finish, and who doesn’t like a good heist? I knew that the sequel was going to come out later in 2025, but talk about my surprise when I got a sneaky reunion a touch early before I watched Dog Man.

So, to set the scene, at the end of The Bad Guys, the titular bad guys discovered in themselves that even though they were going to prison, they were not, in fact, bad guys but good guys. Well, after serving their time, Mr Snake (Marc Maron), Mr Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr Shark (Craig Robinson), and Ms Tarantula (Awkwafina) are still required to visit a parole officer which they can’t miss. Which, of course, means that they are about to have a disaster of a day, which includes an unfortunate run-in with chicken nuggies.

In some respects, this short only exists to remind people of the characters before the sequel drops and look fair. There are a lot of ways you can market your film, but just because it is an advertisement does not mean that it wasn’t a bunch of fun. Part of that comes from the characters, who are just a blast to watch, and they bring that same energy to the proceedings here. It is a much narrower framework, but the need to explain why they are ten minutes late to their parole meeting and look like they were just run over by a truck gives you all the framework you need.

The short framework also leads to some of the best parts of the film because you don’t need a lot of connective tissue. This leads to you being able to lean into the chaos that follows, and the story is better for it, especially when you juxtapose those chaotic moments with the attempted calm explanations of what happened to the parole officer. The animation also perfectly flows throughout the short with added freeze frames of calamity that helps to punctuate those ‘That’s My Car!” moments.  

In the end, do we recommend The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis? Of course. Now, does it work because of its short runtime? Yes. And it does not hurt that it is the first act for the delightful Dog Man. But I very much enjoyed my time with it and the promise it brings with the sequel later in the year. If you liked The Bad Guys, I would also recommend to you Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Have you watched The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis
Directed by – Liron Topaz
Story by – Yoni Brenner
Based on – The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
Music by – Daniel Pemberton
Edited by – David Salter
Production/Distribution Companies – DreamWorks Animation, Scholastic Entertainment & Universal Pictures
Starring – Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Melissa Mabie, Christopher Knights & Niko Gerentes
Rating – Around an Australian PG