Fridge / The Bad Guys (2022)

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Fridge Brilliance

• All of the main five have pointed teeth. However, the art style means that none of their teeth actually end in sharp points — they look sharp and dangerous on first glance, but looking closely reveals rounded edges that are less dangerous than they initially appear. Much like the titular Bad Guys, who look scarier than they are deep down.
  • And, as Wolf goes insane with rage and tries to kill Marmalade for playing them, his teeth appear sharper, before reverting back when he calms down and realizes what he's done.
• Mr Wolf is the only mammal in the group, as well as the one who is most outwardly humanoid (no fins, extra legs, etc). It makes sense for him to be the one to want to go good first, since goodness is sometimes called "humanity".
  • Wolves are related to dogs, who are the animals most affectionate to humans. It makes sense that an animal distantly related to Mans Best Friend is the first to try and become genuinely good, especially since sharks, piranhas, snakes and tarantulas tend to make for unusual or unorthodox pets.
  • The reverse also applies to Snake. Many reptiles, snakes included, are described as having an inability to feel love in the same way as humans. This is perhaps why Snake initially says that the Bad Guys are "the people he hates the least," and why he's a Token Evil Teammate, as love is not something that he can feel as intensely. He is also the least humanoid out of the group (he has no arms or legs, unlike everybody else). Later in the film, he finally tells the gang that he loves them, showing that he's opened up emotionally and, in turn, became more "human".
• The choices of animals for our five main characters makes perfect sense in hindsight:
  • In general, grey wolves, Mexican red knee tarantulas, great white sharks, and red-bellied piranhas are not significantly dangerous animals to humans, either because they rarely consider humans to be food or threats (sharks, wolves), are not capable of actually killing us (tarantulas), or are hardly predators by any metric (piranhas). Nevertheless, they're some of the most feared animals in the world. This explains why Mr. Shark, Mr. Wolf, Ms. Tarantula, and Mr. Piranha are all Affably Evil, but are considered Always Chaotic Evil by the general public. Meanwhile, Eastern brown snakes are the only species of the group that's of actual concern for humans, and likewise, Mr. Snake is the darkest of the band.
  • Nearly all of the animal species the Bad Guys are part of are ambush predators, befitting their line of work revolving around stealth, while Mr. Piranha, the muscle of the group and thus the only one who doesn't need to act in the shadows, is part of a species that rarely uses ambush tactics.
  • Wolves in the wild are very social animals as well as extremely intelligent, both of which are critical for their hunts, as canines rely pretty much exclusively on pack tactics to hunt. As such, Mr. Wolf is The Strategist of the team, as well as the most charming.
  • Tarantulas rely on traps, such as their webs, and camouflage to hunt their prey, but are only mildly venomous, which makes them much less able to fight animals above their weight class. That's why Ms. Tarantula works behind the scenes to confound and support her friends as the Mission Control.
  • Sharks are surprisingly stealthy, and their hunts have a very important element of timing, whether it's for their time to attack or when they wait for their larger prey to bleed out instead of fighting them. Likewise, Mr. Shark, as the grifter of the operation, is the master of the Paper-Thin Disguise, and needs to time his grifts perfectly for the heists to continue as planned.
  • Piranhas can go into feeding frenzies, and one of the few reasons a school of piranha would attack a human is stress. This explains Mr. Piranha's short fuse as well as his high combat capability, considering he was treated as a monster by the rest of society.
  • Snakes have evolved for burrowing, and vipers in particular are extremely defensive, to the point of attacking other animals as soon as they make sudden movements. As such, Mr. Snake is the safe-cracker of the team (he can dig his way into anything), as well as its most emotionally guarded member.
• In the trailer, what first convinces Mr. Wolf to turn good is when the old lady he unwittingly helps calls him a "good boy", something you'd call a dog. This becomes brilliant when one realizes this alludes to how wolves were domesticated into dogs with positive reinforcement, reflected in how Mr. Wolf is being "domesticated" into a good guy.
  • Borders on Fridge Horror and Harsher in Hindsight when the movie reveals it was all a lie by Professor Marmalade to manipulate Mr. Wolf and his friends. Real wolves that were directly domesticated have been reduced to being inbred or abused. (Evidence? Look at the Boston Terrier!) Guess being domesticated isn't an entirely good thing.
  • On a more positive note, many dogs are loved and cherished and live full and happy lives, and the species as a whole has spread alongside humans to practically the entire planet — just like how the Bad Guys being "domesticated" has made their image spread everywhere in a positive way, and they are free to go where they please and be part of society, rather than be outcasts who are feared and hated. So, the message could be that it's how someone is domesticated/turned good, rather than the practice in general.
  • Additionally dogs are among the most sociable of animals, regularly compatible with other pets, and even wolves are social among their species as packs. Wolf's biggest virtue (and strongest weapon) is his camaradarie towards his other teammates, all different species, and while the incident with the old lady starts signs of his atonement, it's his bond with Diane that completely galvanizes it, unwilling to be disloyal to a new friend. Incidentally Diane, already Heel Face Turned, is a fox, a species also closely related to dogs.
• It makes a meta kind of sense for Mr. Piranha to be played as Latino-coded (and by extension to have a Latino-American voice actor) — piranhas are, after all, native to South America.
• The Bad Guys are sent to jail, and that gives Professor Marmalade reign to control the guinea pigs and overrun the city. Does This Remind You of Anything? Certain animals (even the ones society doesn't like) are essential to the ecosystem, and their absence leads to an unbalanced ecosystem.
• Ms. Tarantula, like most animals, lacks fingers. This might have been a detriment to her hacking ability...if she didn't also have extra legs to act as fingers when she needs extra key-tapping power. In addition to the "webs" pun, this makes a spider the ideal hacker in this universe.
• Piranha's remark about how the heart "looks like a butt" may not just be a Running Gag meant to make him annoying in Marmalade's eyes. If he's speaking from a realistic perspective, hearts don't really look like that (what with valves and what-not)... not to say that makes Piranha's perspective any less comically childish.
  • A Freeze-Frame Bonus during Wolf's opening monologue shows that one of Piranha's aliases is "Butt Biter", fitting a sterotype about biting fish. Seems the guy just has a thing for butts.
  • It also serves as Foreshadowing, as "a heart that looks like a butt" is actually a lot closer to Maramalade's opinion of caring for others than is apparent at first glance.
    • Marmalade leading the people to see the meteorite (a powerful fuel source that destroyed a huge chunk of their city) as a symbol of love matches with his M.O.: he's led the people to believe that he (an evil genius who would gladly put his foot in their face) is but a "sweet widdle piggy".
  • Stealth Pun: Piranha is unwittingly stating that Marmalade is anything butt a good person.
• The movie opens with Snake explaining that guinea pigs are his favorite food because he thinks they taste like "pure goodness". Later, it's revealed that Marmalade exploits that very stereotype to his advantage.
• Diane tells "Mr. Poodleton" that while the metal sculpture looks like a horrible assortment of garbage, a different perspective (the shadow) can make it beautiful. Despite Marmalade having led the public to believe the meteor is a heart-shaped symbol of hope, Piranha sees it as a butt. This is meant to reflect that while Marmalade comes off a "pwecious saint" of a guinea pig, our good guys eventually see him for the monster he is deep down.
• When Snake furiously rejects his tingle and angrily slams the fridge shut, all the group pictures hanging on the fridge fall down except the one that was added a few days earlier. Why? Because magnets weaken with time. So, unlike the other, older photos, the magnet holding the latest picture still hasn't lost any of its magnetic force and thus withstood the push much better.
  • It also counts as symbolic that Wolf's most recent kindness to Snake (throwing him a birthday in good faith) actually stuck with him, as opposed to past kindnesses whose impressions fell away with time.
• There's a considerable difference between the last two times Snake "shares" the popsicle with Shark. The first time, he only attempts it because he's obligated by Marmalade to share. The second time he shares, he does it because he chose to. There's also the difference between the scenarios. Unlike the time he actually shares, the first time, Shark wasn't under any emotional duress, and, as far as Snake saw it, he didn't need to be cheered up.
• A noteworthy Foil dynamic between Diane and Marmalade: at one point, Marmalade takes aside Wolf to sow the seeds of discontent by planting the ideas in Wolf and Snake that (respectively) his friends are holding him back and he'll eventually abandon them. This comes to pass, just as he planned. Meanwhile, you have Diane who, after the Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure-slash-Darkest Hour, assures Wolf that if his friends are real friends, they'll support his Heel–Face Turn. This also comes to pass, just as she hoped.
  • Notably, Diane and Marmalade are the only two characters to prompt the Bad Guys to break their one rule: never make a heist personal. Diane does so by (rightfully) insulting them on the news, whereas Marmalade does so by kicking them while they're down, followed by making them look worse. Diane's action set off a chain of events where she and the Bad Guys become allies, while Marmalade's cruelty leads to them becoming his enemy and ultimately getting back at him.
  • Of similar mirror, both are popular authority figures, but ultimately lonely. Diane unwillingly because she has to live with her Dark and Troubled Past alone, and Marmalade willingly out of his own secretly selfish agendas. Diane softens and aids the Bad Guys, and is rewarded with genuine supporting shoulders for the first time since her redemption. Maramalade meanwhile is backstabbed and framed much in the same way he had his own cohorts.
    • Cuddles' kind of anti-climatic Screw This, I'm Outta Here also reflects this. Marmalade doesn't even have his support in the end.
  • Taking it even further, Diane and Marmalade are both also more shrewd and successful undercover criminals than the Bad Guys (if to the point of complacency from getting away with it for so long) who start off the plot by treating them as inferiors and scapegoats (Diane by deflecting her semi-guilt, semi-pride over being the Crimson Paw, Marmalade by using them as a pawn in his newest scheme). However, Diane constantly demonstrates the quiet ability to self-reflect and accept when she is wrong or underestimated someone, while Marmalade remains Evil Gloating personified from start to finish. Diane respects the Bad Guys' ability to take her by surprise and piece by piece becomes a more modest character who treats them as a friend and equal, Marmalade continues to see them as mere inferiors to use and squash, as shown with Snake. When both are faced with their Karma Houdini Warranty sparked by their previous arrogance, Diane accepts defeat but is saved by the Bad Guys as thanks for coming through for them, Marmalade is outgambitted by them and hauled off to prison gibbering indignant to how he lost. One was punished for Underestimating Badassery, while the other simply learned not to before it was too late.
  • There's also how each respectively see Wolf as "trash". Marmalade calls Wolf "walking garbage" and tries to gloss over such a mean-spirited remark as "making a point". Not only does this foreshadow his smug and condescending viewpoint, but also his tendency to be cruel and sadistic towards others and then find ways to absolve that cruelty (like when he gets away with riling up Wolf by pulling a Wounded Gazelle Gambit. In contrast, Diane compares "Mr. Poodleton" to the "trashy" statue, but she also takes the time to point out that even trashy-looking things can be 'recycled' into something beautiful. This frames how Diane may be a little cocky at times, but unlike her counterpart, she genuinely believes in redemption.
• Diane's criminal persona "Crimson Paw" is strangely ironic when you realize her name is essentially "Red-handed". Save for Marmalade learning her identity, she's never been caught red-handed for her crimes. Especially now that he's been unwittingly framed for her crimes.
  • Alternatively, her criminal name is fitting because she's a red fox, ergo she has crimson-colored paws. The name "Crimson Paw" was foreshadowing of her identity from the start.
  • Case in point, Wolf and his posse only manage to fail at stealing their prize because his tail was wagging. One could consider it symbolic that, compared to Wolf (who has just tasted Good Feels Good), Diane has a much wiser approach to "wagging her tail". That is to say, she knows she doesn't need people to know what she thinks of being good.
• Out of the four outfits Diane wears, neither the blue dress nor the "Crimson Paw" bodysuit have her tail be visible. While the blue dress could be Handwaved due to the calf-length train presumably going over her tail, the bodysuit doesn't have any such justifications. However, when you consider that she may have tucked her tail down one leg (entirely possible, considering how small her tail actually is under all that floof), then it starts to make sense: with no need to keep track of her tail, she becomes much more effective at precision tasks like sneaking through a laser-fence Mission Impossible-style, or sliding under a truck with a ride-height measured in inches. Plus, if she needs to make a quick escape, there's no way for someone to halt her escape by grabbing her tail like one would with long hair.
• How come every Bad Guy has their species as their whole surname (Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, etc.)? Because their species is the first and only thing people see when looking at them, and people believe they know who the Bad Guys are based solely on them being "evil animal species". In contrast, Diane Foxington has spent time and effort becoming a beloved politician and defying stereotypes of her species, and now her species is just 1/3 of her surname, because it's no longer the only thing people see in her.
• During his opening narration/fourth-wall-breaking chat with the audience, Wolf describes Snake's skills with safecracking as 'Houdini, but with no arms'. In the climax, Snake uses the mind-control helmet to pull a switcheroo with the meteorite and Marmalade's commemorative lamp shade in its image without anybody knowing — in essence, a magic trick equivalent to a stage magician's.
• Diane's dance moves during the party are quite nimble and agile for someone in the political sphere, not to mention she must be very strong if she's able to get Mr. Wolf over her head and spin him around. Well, you'd probably have that kind of agility and strength if you were a master thief for a long time, too.
• Diane's initial statements seem like a political ploy, both to decrease fear of the Bad Guys and to take a strong stance on the issue of crime. Then comes the latter half of the film... and Diane's comments aren't just political stances, but outright bragging that she's done better. And she's able to back them up perfectly during the assault on the mansion and the freeway chase.
  • Granted it's also a foreshadowing that old habits haven't fully died away for Diane; she's essentially Evil Gloating. The fact the grandstanding chains off the entire plot, leads to Diane needing rescuing by said loser villain gang twice, and even early on nearly costs her the Golden Dolphin shows even a competent Reformed Criminal such as her will suffer the consequences of Villain Balls.
• Piranha doesn’t fart during his song at the Gala despite being visibly nervous about Snake getting caught. It’s possible that singing is stress relief for him.
• There are already hints of Mr. Wolf not being that bad (or at least even criminals have standards) from the opening diner scene of the film. He DOES pay for the food, and leaves a kind generous tip which might even be more than the bill itself in the tip jar before stepping out to go on the heist.
• It seems a bit weird in some ways that the public and police would instantly believe that Marmalade was the Crimson Paw based on nothing, but seeing as he has the diamond that was stolen by the real Crimson Paw, there is some surprising depth to how the situation would look to the populace of the city. From their point of view, they've had a few examples of the notorious Bad Guys being good after all, and even if they're being arrested, no one's likely forgotten about them, and Marmalade has disproved the stereotype of "scary animals bad, cute ones good" from the opposite side by apparently having stolen not only the Zumbago Diamond, but also the meteorite, and keeping it at his compound the whole time and framing the Bad Guys for it while "returning" a fake that the Bad Guys had tricked him with, which most watching would probably find suspect, or at least question in light of everything that's happened throughout the film that they are aware of. Adding to that is the fact that with Marmalade's Villain with Good Publicity image revealed/in doubt, and his small size, there's a plausible "explanation" for how the Crimson Paw went uncaught and was such a good thief, being the "person you'd least suspect" and with enough resources and connections to fund such amazing burglaries, and small enough to get past security easily, rather than the actual Crimson Paw, who's just that good. It is still a bit implausible an idea considering the size difference between the two, but the public might assume that it was some sort of costume or misdirection, which Marmalade has just shown that he's very well capable of, so it still might make a crazy sort of sense to everyone.
• On reflection, the meteorite "still transmitting" while not hooked to the machine doesn't make much sense as an explanation, but with The Reveal of Snake having switched them, the real meteorite was still hooked up to the machine the whole time.
• Diane's run as the Crimson Paw seems like the one crime that wasn't handled swift poetic karma in the movie. However, Diane doesn't want to just "get away with it", she wants to prove to herself she is a good person, something that's pretty hard when you're covering your own dark past. Doubles as Fridge Sadness.
  • As extra Fridge Sadness, Word of God states that Diane feels constant guilt over never confessing to her crimes. The Crimson Paw's attire, rather than any crimson, consists of black with yellow streaks all down her body. The poor girl's labelling herself a coward.
• The Bad Guys are Adaptational Badasses in the film, being genuinely cunning if still fallible bad guys, and converting into fairly efficient good guys a lot quicker. In the books however, they only started to become truly competent when Tarantula joined them as team planner (Wolf and Snake do show similar moments of cunning as in the film, but only in later books). In the film, Tarantula is with them from the start as Mission Control and The Smart Girl, meaning the team already put their heads together.
  • Additionally, while Tarantula starts off a villain in this film, and actually defects later than Wolf, she responds quickest to Wolf's Batman Gambit with the push pop, and undergoes a very rapid Heel–Face Turn. She has the same capacity to be good as her book counterpart, she just needed to be given the epiphany properly.
• Marmalade's comparisons to Mother Teresa is very apt. At first it simply refers to her as a paragon figure as pop culture remembers her, which makes it ironic when he's revealed to be the ultimate villain of the film continuity. However, Mother Teresa's come under a lot of controversy in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and her charity work had been accused of having ulterior motives—all things that could be applied to Marmalade.
• After stealing Diane's ring (secretly the stolen Zumpango Diamond), Wolf's failed twice to steal the Golden Dolphin, was exploited by Marmalade, and underwent a Heel–Face Turn which culminates when he gives it back, Diane similarly defected some point after stealing the diamond (albeit a second time round), but got caught out by Marmalade for still keeping hold of it. After pocketing the diamond for himself Marmalade's heist proceeds to get sabotaged, and the diamond ends up getting him framed and thrown in jail. "Zumpango" is a Mexican word that translates as "string of scalps". All three criminals one-by-one were left "scalps" for holding onto it.
  • All three also steal the diamond as an act of oneupsmanship. Wolf steals it from Diane during his revenge heist. Diane steals it back in their later confrontation, though offers it to Wolf as a sign of truce (Wolf gives it back to reciprocate it). Marmalade then swiped it off of Diane after kidnapping her as a show of his own superiority, though ends up "scalped" the worst when Luggins, the big "Chief" herself, nabs it off him and puts two and two together.
• Despite being more competent in the movie, the Bad Guys downgrade to even worse than their book counterparts under Marmalade's tutoring, with his own instructed "good guy heist" being a comically Epic Fail where they have no real plan and most of the squad don't even use their trademark abilities, almost ruining his gambit before it can even start. This is not only to show the group are oblivious to using their niche for good, but also foreshadow that Marmalade isn't a team player and doesn't really value anyone else's character strengths like Wolf does as The Leader.
  • In addition, since it was a publicity stunt, Marmalade's "heist" would have almost certainly got the Bad Guys into hot water even if it had worked out better, since even with activists' support, they were still breaking the law. They are shortly confronted by Diane and threatened with the scheme getting abolished, leaving Marmalade panicking and realising he Didn't Think This Through. It demonstrates Marmalade's trademark Villain Ball; namely his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder. He isn't very good at making plans that don't ride on his associates getting screwed over.
  • The "heist for good" ends up playing an important part in the individual redemption arcs of the Bad Guys. One of the hardest things in real life for career criminals to do is find something they can do legally to support themselves and many may backslide simply because they think of their abundant and well-honed criminal skills as only being applicable to crime. By showing that their skills can be used for something not-nefarious (no matter how badly it was bungled), they know that they don't have to abandon the skills they've spent their lives honing to start over from scratch and end up saving the day with a heist.
  • The second "heist for good" also showcases more of Diane being a Foil for Marmalade, since under her teamwork, they are much more successful due to her preparing vital equipment and offering her own contributions and synergy to the whole endeavour. She also specifically initiates teamwork with Webs, who was The Load in Marmalade's "heist" despite her hacking skills surely being quite handy for breaking into a modern science laboratory.
• Marmalade is not only a Shadow Archetype to Wolf and Diane's flaws lingering from being villains (eg. chronic braggart, underestimates other criminals, hypocritical qualities) but also meets his end through the near-misses they both have even after turning good (being double crossed by Snake after betraying him and getting caught after keeping the Zumpango Diamond for himself respectively). Looking at how Marmalade still did remarkable things like stop wars and reverse climate change to preserve his image, he's a reminder you can work on the side of good and still have bad qualities about you.
• The Gala dance serves not just to develop Wolf and Diane's bond, but also to Foreshadow what a great team the two sides are, with Diane's instigation for goodwill and individual athletism combined with the Bad Guys' ability to improvise a big performance on the spot raising almost 1 billion dollars for charity. It ends up leading nicely to their first official team-up, which is to rescue all the money they raised.
  • Additionally Wolf and Diane's dance styles reflect their synergy later in the movie. Diane's moves are more athletic and elegant, but slip into outright goofy territory whenever she gets excited, while Wolf's style is relatively quirkier and not as nimble, but he improvises a lot of moves on the spot to match Diane as a partner.
• Originally Diane considered the Bad Guys sloppy criminals, yet they had a similar success rate and actually nearly bested her twice when trying to steal under her nose, only stopped by Marmalade's gambits. It could be considered simple overconfidence, but most of Diane's critique is on point, something nearly always goes wrong with their plan, it's their ability to improvise around it that shows just how amazing they are. Of course Diane would underrate such an ability since, until the events of the film, she never needed to improvise against one of her plans going wrong. When she finally does, she has a Freak Out.
  • Also, Diane overlooked her perfect track record was with her as the villain against bumbling cops. Daring the Bad Guys to "make it personal" put her at a disadvantage since not only was she against other similarly devious crooks for once, but now she was the authority figure who had to play incognito and by the rules, and thus couldn't use any of her own skillset besides her savviness for setting up traps.
• When the two are caught by Marmalade, Diane has noticably more bonds than Wolf, bordering on Mummy Wrap. Of course Marmalade would take more precautions so that the highly nimble Crimson Paw wouldn't escape.
• Shark is generally the least openly evil member of the Bad Guys prior to Wolf's Heel–Face Turn. He's also the one tied the most to the same "goodness" thematics as Wolf (eg. only other member who holds the Golden Dolphin, the catalyst used for Wolf's Good Feels Good Batman Gambit for the group, the second most often seen caring for the cat).
• Piranha is the muscle of the group and can seemingly take on multiple foes at once. In nature, piranhas hunt in large groups and are mostly only so dangerous when there's a lot of them. This gives another reason why Piranha is such a Blood Knight; he has to pick up the slack of being a relatively solitary piranha, which makes him as tough as a whole pack of them.
• Marmalade's attempt at rehabilitation of the Bad Guys is overall quite ineffective at actually rehabilitating them, with the sole exception of Wolf (that's mostly because of Diane's insistence and his own internal struggles). Most of the methods are quite stereotypical and performative, such as sharing, helping an old woman to cross the street, and saving a cat from a tree, that would only come naturally to people already inclined to good behavior. It becomes clear that later on, the Bad Guys demonstrate true kindness when doing things on their own terms and not when they are obligated to do so (Mr Wolf saves the cat willingly, Snake shares the ice cream willingly upon seeing Shark in distress, and later on they all decide to stop Marmalade and eventually turn themselves in), which allows them to understand empathy much better. This demonstrates the distinction between being "nice" and being "good"; Snake giving the ice cream to Shark the first time would be the "polite" thing to do, but him giving it unprompted when the other was upset the second time is the "good" thing to do.
  • The last method used, breaking into the lab to free the guinea pigs, is also performative, but also surprisingly morally iffy for someone as "good" as Marmalade to suggest; in order to be performed, the Bad Guys are committing several bad acts to fulfill the "good" act of saving the guinea pigs, such as breaking and entering, assault, trickery, and theft. On first watch, this seems to imply that Marmalade is more nuanced in his approach than he appears, but on second watch, it's foreshadowing that he's not as nice as he seems.
  • Marmalade's methods are also very performative and basic because not only is he tricking the Bad Guys, but, after the reveal of his true nature, it becomes clear that these exercises reflect his own worldviews, which is even more misanthropic than that of the Bad Guys. After all, for a guy who thinks people are incapable of change and that reputation matters above all else, what matters most is performing goodness for the sake of the public eye, not for the sake of the individuals involved.
    • Pushing this even further, the first time the Bad Guys try to get the cat out of the tree, its during the day and everyone is crowding the tree and watching it happen. The second time, Wolf is alone, it's during the night, and his friends are all further away, giving him and the cat some breathing room.
  • Additionally, much like a previous DreamWorks film, there is implication each person has to be taught in a different way that appeals to their personality. Each villain has different redeeming qualities that set off their Heel–Face Turn rather than a simple amorphous drive to be good. Diane turned after realising what she was becoming in the mirror, appealing to her self-reflection, Wolf turned after realising staying bad would hurt his friends (either by betraying Diane and (supposedly) Marmalade after they supported him, or screwing up his allies' one chance at turning their lives around), appealing to his loyalty, the other Bad Guys turn after witnessing Wolf turn good and Snake doing something nice on spur of the moment and putting two and two together, appealing to their camaradarie. Marmalade from what is shown, has no redeeming qualities, freely admitting he fakes it all and only cares about himself. He understands manipulating the "tingle" which sparks Wolf's earliest drives (manipulation is Marmalade's character strength, if not a benevolent one), but other events do the rest of the work.
    • Tied to this, even after getting his Good Feels Good epiphany, Wolf's Heel–Face Turn is much more gradual than everyone else's. This is less because he is slower on the uptake, but also because his own intrinsic redeeming quality is being conflicted a lot more by it. First he gradually realises that Diane, who he thought was just another ostracising Asshole Victim for the Bad Guys to con, actually supports his change, to the point of slowly becoming someone in his friend circle. Then even when the prospect of turning good interests him, he is left with Conflicting Loyalty over pleasing Diane or his teammates, worrying they will react very badly to him turning even if his intentions are good (which is revealed to be at least temporarily founded). It takes being put on the spot at the Gala and prioritisng which friend needs the support more for him to finally choose, and as shown with Snake later on, he will gladly break the law when put in the same position again.
  • In contrast to Marmalade, Wolf and Diane bond very intrinsically through the rehabilitation scheme, not just through how they relate to each other, but how said redeeming functions complete each other's Heel–Face Turn. While Wolf is already able to care about a small unit of peers close to him, he can't fully understand goodness without Diane nuturing a proper moral compass and desire for self-improvement, and while Diane has already started her redemption, it's a rather self-absorbed one concerning her cleaning up the town of (conviniently named) bad guys as a venting point for her old demons, while Wolf makes her realise she has to empathise with people on a more personal level.
• Diane is the only animal character never shown getting the "tingle" or wagging her tail. Notably, Diane's tail is only ever shown in instances she is being professional and level headed (or alternately getting ticked off). Her moments of "feeling good" or being high energy such as bonding with Wolf are at the Gala or when she's the Crimson Paw, when neither of her outfits show her tail.
• Following their bank heist, the Bad Guys quite gleefully let nearly all the money from the stolen safe blow out of their car in front of the cops. Compared to their usual targets of historical jewels and artifacts, stealing from banks would have far more collateral damage and likely harm several people's livelihoods. It's one of the first signs the Bad Guys are only really in it for the Villain Cred, contrasting them with Marmalade who plotted to steal and keep a billion dollars worth of money from charities.
  • This is also more evident with Webs and Diane, who are expert hackers and have such elaborate prowess they could likely rob countless accounts and businesses dry, yet mostly only use their ability for heists and distractions. This makes sense considering that, not only are they not that low, but hacking scams would obviously require anonymous identities and trails. They want people to know who robbed them.
• The Charity Map seems like a superfluous and convinient promotion to act as a Chekhov's Gun at first. Until you remember that Marmalade Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight. Of course he would go out of his way to showcase every last institution he was generously donating to in order to boost his popularity.
• Marmalade legitimately seems attached to getting the Golden Dolphin, and even holds off stealing the meteorite (and gambling Wolf turning good after all) until he gets handed it at the Gala. Makes sense when you consider the Golden Dolphin is the holy grail of heists for any villain, Marmalade just took the long way round "stealing" it (as in earning it by only pretending to do good).
• Diane mirrors all the Bad Guys' trademark skillsets (eg. Wolf's strategist and Badass Driver skills, Snake's nimbleness, Shark's disguises, Webs' tech and hacking savviness, Piranha's fighting abilities). Her setbacks tend to stem from character flaws such as overconfidence, brazenness, and a tendency to get outgambitted in manipulations (at least until she converts the tactic into something more benevolent). All traits are near identical to Wolf, indicating she mirrors him to a fault. A wolf and a fox are not so different indeed.
• Marmalade's management also reflects how he is a Foil for Wolf. His main sources of recruitment are brainwashed or duped subjects, and Cuddles, a weird silent character with no discernible personality. Any associates with their own free will on the matter ultimately end up betrayed by him, showing he only trusts and appreciates himself, and insists on blind obidience when other hands are needed (it also adds Fridge Brilliance to why he chooses to dupe and then frame the Bad Guys rather than just hire them willingly). By contrast Wolf, even as a villain, values each of his individual allies and their personalities and talents, even listing them firsthand in the opening, and while he is their strategist and a bit manipulative, he allows them to work by their own agency, and is perfectly willing to accomodate for new members such as Diane.
  • As a side note, another obvious factor to him betraying the Bad Guys and later Snake again is the simple fact that Marmalade is a Villain with Good Publicity, and having free-willed goons who know of his true intentions risk him being exposed or blackmailed (for which he might in turn be a Foil for Diane, who quite readily risks her identity as the Crimson Paw to the Bad Guys to ally with them).
• Both Diane and Marmalade also make the same mistake of not-so-inconspicuously gloating about their talent as criminals under their public personas, particularly by demeaning and criticising their peers in a suspiciously overanalytic way. When Marmalade is interviewed about the Bad Guys’ theft of the meteorite, he betrays character to smugly brag about "their" method of doing so. No wonder Diane catches onto him since he's pulling the same crap that nearly ruined her earlier.
• The Golden Dolphin is called early on the "Holy Grail" of heists because of how frustratingly difficult it is to steal, with nearly every thief who tries getting caught and the thing remaining unstolen, leading to the superstition that it "destroys every criminal that touches it". However, the way the multiple thefts of it shown in the movie go, its status manages to rise to Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane given the correlation between stealing it and criminal careers imploding on themselves. Taken individually, each instance may be believable, but taken together it makes one wonder a bit.
  • The Bad Guys in the beginning almost get away with it, despite both Diane and Marmalade intending to catch them out with it, only being caught because Wolf's grappling gun ripped his pants off instead of carrying the group out through the ceiling as intended. The Dolphin also falls out of Shark's dress right on cue when they are interrogated over it.
  • A flashback shows that Diane as the Crimson Paw had it in her hands and would have gotten away cleanly if she hadn't had a crisis of faith at that exact moment, leading to her secretly retiring as a thief and going straight.
  • Additionally, even Wolf's earlier failure doesn't prevent him from evading arrest and trying to nab it again twice. One attempt he again very nearly succeeds but willingly aborts and Heel Face Turns to appease Diane, leading up to Marmalade's frame-up, and the other turns out to be a trap Marmalade and Snake left. Conviniently for them, the latter also traps Diane through association, being the one and only time she ever got caught in a heist (as well as costing her the stolen Zumpango Diamond that she never repented for, showing both were still guilty of Sticky Fingers despite reforming as an extra implication of karma involved).
  • Finally, Marmalade does successfully "steal" it through careful long-term misrepresentation of himself as someone worthy of being awarded with it, and shortly afterwards everything he owns is blown up and he's framed for crimes he never committed because he happened to have a famous diamond in his pocket, which was exposed by a chain reaction caused by the Dolphin falling nearby. That final series of events is especially unlikely as the statue was flung by an explosion miles away and just happened to strike the fake meteorite at the exact angle and force to make it fall on Marmalade and knock the Zumpango Diamond out of his pocket. All while remaining intact. It even sticks the dismount and lands upright!
• When the Golden Dolphin is not on its post during the award ceremony, Marmalade seems to catch on just as quickly as Diane that it was stolen. After The Reveal this reaction makes perfect sense since, much like Diane, he knew the Bad Guys were there and was awaiting them getting caught to start his gambit, only they got a lot further than either expected them to, forcing him to improvise. It's also one of the first subtle signs that, while both of them are shrewder criminals than the Bad Guys, they're not quite playing with a full deck either, and don't suspect any other criminal could outgambit them.
  • It also adds Brilliance for them trying to sabotage the Bad Guys personally. All of them, even Diane, are obsessed with having the best Villain Cred. While she and Marmalade are the Bad Guys' Always Someone Better, it only goes so far, and they won't have an inferior coming too close to outshining them.
• Following on from that, while Diane later proves to mirror Wolf especially, she mirrors Marmalade in a lot of behaviour earlier on (eg. Holier Than Thou and derisive towards fellow criminals, a Smug Snake about her villain professionalism, using a secret identity to get away with her previous crimes). Given Marmalade was an extremely renowned philantropist, it would make sense if she saw him as a role model following her Heel–Face Turn, and unwittingly emulated some of his truer nastier qualities that obviously seeped through, getting caught in the same superficial "good guy" virtues as he did while trying to reform (especially since Diane was already somewhat arrogant about her run as a villain). Her time with Wolf and the other Bad Guys by contrast made her remember her old self and moderate into a more genuine self-improvement. The Bad Guys were a Positive Friend Influence to their Positive Friend Influence.
• The Maraschino Ruby short is resolved in a Surprisingly Realistic Outcome that's even more realistic than one might think at first glance. To sum up, Chief Luggins had planted a fake ruby and taunted the Bad Guys (calling them 'stupid' twice in the newspaper) in the hopes that they'd try and steal it and she could catch them, proving that they haven't changed their ways. She ends up being charged with entrapment, but the Bad Guys agree to drop the charges if she gives a public apology, which she does. This is pretty much how something like this would go in reality. While Chief Luggins definitely goaded the Bad Guys into trying to steal the ruby, there's not enough evidence to ensure a conviction (she didn't directly suggest they steal it, which could be cause for reasonable doubt). There is enough evidence to go to trial though, which would be costly and, more importantly, public and therefore very damaging to her reputation as a high profile public servant. What the Bad Guys propose is essentially settling the matter out of court, asking for a concession or remedy (in this case her apology) in return for dropping the case, which is how most legal arguments are resolved in real life.
• Despite Marmalade snagging the Zumpango Diamond from Diane, it never springs to mind to use to expose her as the Crimson Paw and have her arrested until it is too late. However, in all likeliness, Snake had already informed him how they had escaped. Given he had already tried hauling the Bad Guys off to jail, and Diane proved she could very easily bust in and out of even Sunnyside's most maximum security prison, it made sense to just kill Wolf and Diane there and now while they were restrained and helpless, rather than risk them escaping and coming after him again (though of course being Marmalade, he chooses an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death).
• A neat way to represent how Marmalade is far worse than the Bad Guys is what kind of villain he is compared to them. They are heist robbers in technique and scope while Marmalade is closer to a Bond/comicbook supervillain.
  • Another is that Marmalade has no respect even for other villains, mocking and backstabbing them or, in Diane's case, giving them a sarcastic compliment at best (Diane herself admitedly has the same attitude, though learns better). The Bad Guys, while just as arrogant of their Villain Cred, have no interest in sabotaging the competition, and are implied to have respect for others in their field and talk about them like they are their peers, even fanboying over the Crimson Paw. This itself has Fridge Brilliance since all five are very different species and criminals that merge their contrasting talents beautifully. Of course they can appreciate other people's skills.
• Despite buffing up her Positive Friend Influence role a fair bit, Diane is noticably more flawed than her counterpart in the books, and is put on the spot over it several times. Self improvement and rehabiliation involves accepting when you are wrong and need to change your course, and often that the change won't happen overnight. It also furthers Diane as a foil for Marmalade as a role model for the Bad Guys' Heel–Face Turn, Diane represents a healthy and ultimately ongoing rehabilitation, compared to Marmalade's superficial, self serving and completely fake one where he wants to maintain the image of a Mary Sue-ish saint before the public.
• Diane also seems to have an easier time making herself a popular figure and climbing the ladder of authority than the Bad Guys, despite her past being ostracised as a "tricky fox". However, compared to the Bad Guys' species, foxes have always had a double sided reputation with humans, being treated as sneaky Jerkass predators in some fictional works, or elegant, and even "cute" creatures in others. Diane was likely able to appeal enough to the latter image by charisma.
  • This dual image also plays into the Bad Guys' (and the audience's) first impression of Diane, since her earlier grandstanding plays her off as a Smug Snake Hero Antagonist for them to take revenge on, with her proving to be far more nuanced and likeable as the film goes on.
• Marmalade's detrimental penchant for Villain Balls and Evil Gloating make more sense when considering that, like the other main characters, he wants to be seen as the top bad guy. Just while the Bad Guys focused on being the most charismatic and "cool" villains, and Diane valued being the most concise and successful villain as her bragging right, Marmalade aims for being the most evil and despicable villain.
• Shark's Master of Disguise niche seems laughable out-universe due to his Paper Thin Disguises, however they are often supported by his fluency in replicating whatever function the people have that he poses as, eg. posing as a painting by staying photo-still, managing to instruct a construction site when posing as a worker, playing not one but multiple instruments during the group's music number, actually having good legal knowledge when pretending to be a lawyer. Like the other Bad Guys, Shark is a legitimate talent hidden in a goofy exterior.
• There is actually an early hint of Madamalade’s true villainous prior to the reveal, after Marmalade tries to get the Bad Guys to help a cat stuck in a tree, after the initial attempt fails the cat was still in the tree until Wolf managed to gain its trust and get it down, meaning Marmalade knowingly left the cat stuck in the tree for several hours.

Fridge Horror

• A Freeze-Frame Bonus during Wolf's opening monologue lists "eating tourists" under Piranha's notable criminal activity. If it's not true, it means the police are willing to fabricate charges based on Piranha's species and the included stereotypes. If it's true, however...
  • It's not just Piranha. We don't get a good look at Tarantula's file, and Wolf's doesn't appear onscreen, but Shark and Snake's files are equally concerning:
    • Shark's alias is "Surfer Snacker", and under criminal activity it's mentioned he will eat "ANYTHING and ANYBODY". Again, it's either profiling by a corrupt police force, or the casemaker was writing from experience, neither of which are good options.
    • Snake's rap sheet is the worst of all. He's listed as eating all of the pets in a pet shop — normal snake behaviour — before moving on to trying to eat the owner of the shop. And then the doctor who was trying to save the owner's life. And then the police officer who was trying to arrest Snake for trying to eat the doctor, and the police dog who was trying to save the officer...
  • Overall, there seems to be an unspoken but heavy implication that the Bad Guys have killed and/or eaten humans before. The level of fear demonstrated by the townspeople at the start of the film seems to go way beyond paranoia or an indulgence of stereotypes, it is genuine terror and a fear for their lives.
• There were a lot of drivers driving the charity money to their respective organizations. Considering all of them got beaten and thrown out of their trucks by the mind-controlled guinea pigs, who isn't to say that there were injuries (or worse) when they got thrown out?
  • On that note, how many guinea pigs were injured (or even killed) in the name of Professor Marmalade's machinations?
• Cuddles pulls the Screw This, I'm Outta Here card when the meteor is revealed as a decoy if one pays attention to the background. Does he escape scot-free, or does he get apprehended too?
• A "that was close" kind of Fridge Horror: if Wolf hadn't remembered at the last moment to (once again) save the cat up the tree before booking it from Marmalade's mansion, the cat would have died in the meteor's explosion. Snake was this close to accidentally killing the Team Pet!
• Just how certain can we be that Marmalade will stay in prison? Yes, he's publicly revealed to have stolen the meteorite and is framed as the Crimson Paw, but if the Bad Guys can steal the Mona Lisa and still only spend a single year in prison due to good behaviour, then chances are Marmalade may be released early as well, considering how good he is at feigning kindness. Another factor is that Marmalade has spent years being a universally beloved celebrity who has stopping wars and inverting global warming among his feats of goodness, and he's also stinking rich. Real life has shown many times that enough PR, fame, and wealth can be a Get Out of Jail card for a lot of celebrities with outright criminal records, so one can't help but feel like this isn't the last we've seen of Professor Marmalade.
  • While it's likely Marmalade will be the villain again should a sequel be released, just like in the books, it's doubtful that he'll be released for good behavior. Keep in mind he's being sent to S.U.C.M, where our protagonists almost ended up, while the Bad Guys got sent to regular prison. On top of that, it's safe to say that Diane probably had some sort of hand in making sure the Bad Guys got out earlier on the basis of Mr. Wolf being cleared of the theft of the meteor and him giving back all that he stole, which meant the crew gets sent to a regular prison to face the consequences of attempting to steal the Golden Dolphin twice as well as all their past thefts; the same can't necessarily be said for Marmalade, who not only got outed for using the meteor to steal from charities but also got framed for the Crimson Paw's thefts. That's not to say Marmalade can't and won't escape, but it's doubtful that he'll get out of S.U.C.M on the basis of good behavior...and more likely that he could charm the inmates into helping him get out.
• A "never happened but what if it did" type of Fridge Horror: if Wolf and Diane died at any point between the mansion break-in and the highway climax, it would have spelt irreparable disaster for the Bad Guys. Considering that their approval was at an all-time low due to the meteorite theft frame-up, and that they recently escaped from prison, hearing news of her disappearance or death would lead to the in-universe world believing that they are responsible, resulting in heavier and stricter prison sentences, or worse. And keep in mind, they don't know she's the Crimson Paw until the prison breakout, and Marmalade might throw his hat in the ring to make the situation worse for the Bad Guys. Again, everyone gets out okay in the end, but still...
• Another "never happened but what if it did" scenario. When Marmalade reveals his true self and he reveals it to the Bad Guys, if Marmalade either opened the door a fraction of a second too late or was slightly closer to Mr. Wolf and Wolf mauled him just as the prison Van doors opened, The people would have seen Mr. Wolf attack and kill someone else. And keep in mind the partygoers and other people of the city would not know that Marmalade is evil so they would think that Mr. Wolf murdered an innocent Guinea Pig. This would no doubt spell disaster for Mr. Wolf and his Gang. The rest of the Bad Guys might get life imprisonment or the death sentence just for being his acquaintances and friends of Mr Wolf. But Mr Wolf would likely get executed for sure. All it would take for Mr Wolf to be convicted and executed would be Marmalade’s Blood on his fists, claws, or teeth. And Diane probably wouldn’t have enough time to find the proof that the Bad Guy’s were framed for the "theft of the meteorite debacle" before the time limit ran out. It never happened but it would have been very bad if it did.
• Marmalade taking Diane's stolen diamond was an act of petty theft, until you remember that Marmalade now had hard evidence that Diane was the Crimson Paw. Given Diane knows too much, had Marmalade not conveniently set himself up to be framed at that very moment, he could have quite easily had Diane busted as well or blackmailed her into surbordination, rendering the Bad Guys bailing her out a Senseless Sacrifice. Heck, the Sequel Hook with the meteorite would suggest Marmalade could still come back and use this against her.
• Additionally, in the books, Snake remains a rather dubious character that keeps switching sides, and also holds a grudge against Agent Fox for stealing Wolf's attention away from him. If any potential sequels decide to follow Snake's character arc, he has some serious dirt on Diane in this take.
• As a mix of this and Fridge Sadness, Diane's flashback and Word of God statements emphasise that she retired from crime alone and due to working in secret, never really had any real support throughout her Heel–Face Turn until meeting the Bad Guys. Her elation around Wolf at the Gala (and total heartbreak when Marmalade sets him up, briefly making the whole thing seem like a lie) hits harder knowing he's probably the first real kindred spirit she's found since then (and later on is probably the first person she ever confided her past to). Now imagine if Wolf had gone through with the plan and abandoned her for the Golden Dolphin.
  • Even worse, watch carefully in Wolf's "What if?" Imagine Spot of the plan. While it's largely comical, Diane's reaction at the end looks dejected and upset. Note this was when Wolf was already starting to feel guilt about the deception.
  • Even with the better outcome, Diane has to bear witness to Wolf not only being unfairly framed, but sacrificing his livlihood, all his possessions and even losing his own existing friends following his Heel–Face Turn. Even following their repairment, they all go to jail to protect her, leaving her alone again for a year. Wolf's entire life was essentially ruined specifically out of his kindness to Diane. While Diane does assure Wolf he made the right call, it really contextualises her protectiveness of him in the later points of the movie, even being willing to expose herself as the Crimson Paw at one point just to stop his atonement going any further south.
  • It also adds a rather wistful undertone to Diane's line "Don't do it for "them", do it for you". While this is genuinely valid advise, it becomes apparent through the aforementioned points that it's likely the only motivation Diane had throughout her own Heel–Face Turn. It does lead to Fridge Heartwarming however, since ultimately Wolf doesn't do it for "them" or himself, he fully Heel Face Turns for Diane.
• As mentioned under the film's Harsher in Hindsight entry, Diane's entire run as Governor throughout the duration of the story is a publicity nightmare. She not only nearly loses the Golden Dolphin to the criminal gang she undermined on TV, but then genuinely loses the Meteorite in her very next public event, seemingly to the very same gang after she had just put them on a rehabilitation plan. Even worse Wolf is seemingly revealed to be a violent maniac she nearly pardoned. Even after stopping Marmalade's plan, had the Bad Guys actually perished in their final chase, it would have looked like they had bolted after she gave them a third chance, with no way to vindicate them (or even her own part in fixing the problem) without incriminating herself, risking her going down as an incompetent who repeatedly enabled dangerous criminals. Only worsened by said situation with Marmalade owning hard evidence of her being the Crimson Paw.
• Considering that Snakes plan to switch the meteorite with the fake one involved convincing the Bad Guys that he'd made a Face–Heel Turn, it means that Snake was possibly perfectly okay with the rest of the guys returning the fake meteorite and appearing to be the heroes, as he didn't expect them to come back and try to convince him to come back. This also means that, in this scenario, no one would have ever found out that Snake didn't actually betray them. So Snake was willing to risk his relationship with his best friends for their own well-being and potentially get killed by Marmalade in the process.
• While the other Bad Guys' rather rapid Heel–Face Turn is heartwarming, it also reeks of Fridge Sadness. Throughout the whole film beforehand they were the definition of Evil Cannot Comprehend Good, making none of the same steps in rehabilitating that Wolf did and believing his own turn was an act of treachery, effectively being Locked Out of the Loop in terms of Good Feels Good. All it took was one moment of doing something good (or in the others' case, just Snake doing something good) to get the "tingle" and instantly defect. In other words, to only understand that now, they seemingly had never experienced being made to feel like a good person their whole life beforehand. It's especially sad in Shark and Webs' case, as they were clearly emotionally intelligent enough to understand the very first instant it happened, and were actually shown trying to socialise amicably earlier on.
• Another "never happened but what if it did" scenario. If Wolf turned out the lights out and let the others steal the golden dolphin and escape, The Bad Guys would still being framed for stealing the meteorite. Because in the exact moment Wolf turns out the lights, Marmalade would've use it to steal it even after receiving the golden dolphin. Wolf would've feel depressed for wasting his second chance of redemption, while his friends would've been confused of being framed and arrested for a crime they didn't commit.

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