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The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday

  • TV Special
  • 2023
  • TV-Y7
  • 22m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday (2023)
Computer AnimationHeistHoliday AnimationActionAdventureAnimationComedyCrimeFamily

Mr. Wolf and his crew of animal outlaws realize they'll need to restore the city's Christmas spirit to keep their annual holiday heist afloat.Mr. Wolf and his crew of animal outlaws realize they'll need to restore the city's Christmas spirit to keep their annual holiday heist afloat.Mr. Wolf and his crew of animal outlaws realize they'll need to restore the city's Christmas spirit to keep their annual holiday heist afloat.

  • Director
    • Bret Haaland
  • Writers
    • Katherine Nolfi
    • Ben Glass
    • Elizabeth Chun
  • Stars
    • Michael Godere
    • Ezekiel Ajeigbe
    • Raul Ceballos
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.2/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Bret Haaland
    • Writers
      • Katherine Nolfi
      • Ben Glass
      • Elizabeth Chun
    • Stars
      • Michael Godere
      • Ezekiel Ajeigbe
      • Raul Ceballos
    • 16User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos6

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    Top cast8

    Edit
    Michael Godere
    Michael Godere
    • Mr. Wolf
    • (voice)
    Ezekiel Ajeigbe
    Ezekiel Ajeigbe
    • Mr. Shark
    • (voice)
    Raul Ceballos
    Raul Ceballos
    • Mr. Pirahna
    • (voice)
    Chris Diamantopoulos
    Chris Diamantopoulos
    • Snake
    • (voice)
    Mallory Low
    Mallory Low
    • Ms. Tarantula
    • (voice)
    Zehra Fazal
    Zehra Fazal
    • Tiffany Fluffit
    • (voice)
    Keith Silverstein
    Keith Silverstein
    • Gary
    • (voice)
    • …
    Kari Wahlgren
    Kari Wahlgren
    • DJ Trudy Tude
    • (voice)
    • …
    • Director
      • Bret Haaland
    • Writers
      • Katherine Nolfi
      • Ben Glass
      • Elizabeth Chun
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews16

    5.22.3K
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    Featured reviews

    7Movie-Dood198027

    Good Short From An AMAZING movie

    The Bad Guys : A very Bad Holiday (2023)

    The Bad guys movie is one of the Best movies by dreamworks , it made dreamworks even better , the animation style the character design the story that took from the book the movie was So Good

    Now after the movie came two shorts one titled The Maraschino Ruby which was Really good .

    And the other one is this one , and its kinda alright it delivers what promised but the animation style is kinda on a low budget which is understandable and i respect that they still gave us the movie with the budget cost

    The story of it is great too and some scenes are well made , some jokes even landed which is good too Overall this Short is sweet and worth your time IF you loved The Bad Guys Movie.
    6JonahP2377

    A basic holiday special, ironically nothing all that special.

    The Bad Guys movie was really enjoyable and charming, plus the beautiful animation but what happens if you take the fun heist antics of the bad guys and take away the great animation? Your left with what feels like the cutscenes of a 2000s licensed bad guys video game.

    The holiday special itself is a basic but enjoyable time that still has those characters and the heist fun that came from the original film. I do think that the limited animation definitely hinders the special as the original film had a unique and fun visual style that they try to emulate in this special, for the most part all the character designs do look good and match the films style but the rigid movement and somewhat choppy animation makes it a bit disappointing as a follow up/prequel to the movie. I do think this was do to the special having a lower budget which is something out of the control of the animators.

    Overall I think it's a fine enough special that kids and adults can get some enjoyment out of during the holiday season, but not an instant classic like Charlie Brown or Garfield's Christmas specials.
    7SnoopyStyle

    Christmas special

    The Bad Guys are eagerly waiting for Christmas. Everybody will be at home and all the stores are ready to be robbed. The guys are casing various places when they accidentally destroy the beloved Santa Claus balloon. The city is heartbroken and Christmas is canceled. The Bad Guys need to fix the problem before they can go on their robbery spree.

    It's a Christmas special for this second tier animated franchise. I liked Bad Guys well enough. They have some potential and this is sort of the material that I'm expecting. I doubt this is going to become a classic. Maybe it will convince a few more to see the movie.
    1a34trgv1

    A Christmas Calamity! 😡

    The Bad Guys seemingly came out of nowhere and was immediately hailed as one of DreamWorks Animation's finest films in recent memory. While everyone who saw the film was hoping for more adventures of the titular gang of thieves, no one was expecting a holiday special so soon after the film's released. While I was originally intrigued, my hopes were dashed when they first trailer dropped and it looked HORRIBLE! I was hoping to go the rest of my life never seeing this, but the insistance of my 4 year old niece convinced me to give it a watch this Christmas. Despite hoping for the very bare minimum, this was exactly as terrible as I thought it was going to be! From the atrocious writing to the abominable animation, this is what the worst case scenario would've been for The Bad Guys' debut film had things gone South during production!

    Directed by Bret Haaland, this holiday special takes place before the events of the film and focuses on the Bad Guys saving Christmas in order to pull off a holiday heist. Right before the word go is uttered, the special is already off to a sour start. The beginning of this story is painfully slow, with unnatural expository dialogue, unfunny jokes and a severe lack of chemistry between the leads. It does the exact opposite of how the film starts; and what's worse is that it doesn't get much better from here! Despite being 25 minutes, it feels like 25 days with its sluggish pacing. They just go on and on with trying and failing to save Christmas, and they mostly just stand around doing and saying nothing of value. The humor is just non-existent as it's mostly lousy puns, weak slapstick, and dull visual gags. This kind of writing would give the writers a big, fat lump of coal in their stocking for how bad it is!

    Good gravey, are the characters in this special complete departures from their film counterparts. Not a single on of them is likable, funny, relatable, or entertaining to watch. Starting with Wolf, he's the typical narcissistic leader of the group whose ego engulfs whatever charisma he had from the film. Snake is a grumpy curmudgeon that acts more like a co-worker to Wolf rather than his best friend. Tarantula is the tech savy hacker that says techno babble to make up for her lack of a personality. Shark is the unfunny comic relief that never once got a smirk out of me. Piranha is such a liability that he might as well not be in this special. The worst characters in the special, though, have got to be the people of L. A. who have been reduced to a flock of mindless sheep that worship a giant Santa balloon like he's baby Jesus! There's also a massive Chief of Police sized hole that makes the city feel even more barron.

    I'll never understand why they couldn't bring the original actors from the film to reprise their roles for this special. The actors they got in their place are doing such bad impressions of the original actors, it just feels like a waste of their talents and a waste of resources. Michael Godere sounds very flat as Wolf, and never brings the charisma and nuisance that Sam Rockwell brought to the character. Chris Diantamopoulos really isn't doing his talents any favors putting on a phoney Marc Marron impression for Snake yet not sounding nearly as crusty or natural. Ezekiel Ajeigbe sounded less like Shark and more like a guy pretending to be Shark, which is a fools errand as Shark is a master of disguise and Craig Robinson played that brilliantly. Mallory Low doesn't do a good job voicing Taranula because Awkwafina has a very distinct voice and Tarantula doesn't sound nearly as sassy or clever with an imitator. Raul Ceballos didn't give Piranha the same unhinged energy Anthony Ramos brought and his singing just doesn't even compare. No one else left a lasting impression and just sounded as stiff as their director told them to be. All the actors felt underutilized when playing imitations of actual good actors and I can't help be feel sorry for them.

    Visually, this special doesn't even look good if they were going for intentionally cheap. DreamWorks hired 88 Pictures for the animation, and it looks bad from every angle. The characters don't have that cel-shaded look from the film and instead just have the standard 3D model appearance. As such, their textures are flat, the clothes looked slapped on, and the facial expressions are very limited. The character animation is very stiff and weightless with the frame rate having to be choppy to give the illusion of movement. The backgrounds also feel very empty and the buildings look like they're made of clay. The worst of the visuals are the effects, which look unpolished and amateurish. This is especially true when the balloon Santa is destroyed in a burst of flames. The first looks very phoney and when the balloon disintegrates, it looks like its on a different plain of existence. It takes time and money to produce quality animation; this special had NEITHER of those luxuries!

    I loathe this special entirely! The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday is a great disservice to the film and Christmas specials everywhere! The writing is atrocious, the characters are flanderized, the acting is terrible, and the animation is abominable. This is as notoriously bad as the Star Wars Holiday Special is for die-hard Star Wars fans. The big difference though is while their can be some ironic enjoyment out of that, I can't even thing of a good reason for anyone to spit in this special's direction. It deserves the worst fate to bestow on a piece of media this bad: to be ignored and forgotten! Do NOT watch The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday! Just watch the film or read the books. This special is NOT canon and even if the producers say it is, it's nothing but a stain on the franchise's legacy -.-
    3Metern-Chaao19

    Disappointed movie without the original cast.

    I had a really a good hope for this movie. I was so happy to see the characters i loved in the original movie. Yes they are in this one too, but the cast is different. That pluss bad animation made me so disappointed. The movie doesn't have the same feel and vibes like the original movie. The story is ok, and there was some good laughs. But since i was a fan of the original cast, and was hopeful to see theme again. I was shocked when i noticed that the cast was changed.

    Yhe movie might be good xmas movie for the kids and adults that don't care for who's i the cast.

    I really hope that if there is an number 2 movie in the making, that they do use the original cast.and better animators.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      None of the voice actors from The Bad Guys (2022) reprise their roles in this Christmas special.
    • Goofs
      Instead of "Holiday Heist-acular" it should've been "Heist Capades".
    • Crazy credits
      The Bad Guys steal away the DreamWorks logo.
    • Connections
      Followed by The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist (2024)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 30, 2023 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • India
    • Official sites
      • Netflix Site
      • Wikipedia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Los tipos malos: Una Navidad muy mala
    • Production companies
      • DreamWorks Animation Television
      • DreamWorks Animation
      • Scholastic Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      22 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1080i (HDTV)

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