The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday is a 2023 Christmas Special spin-off of the 2022 DreamWorks Animation film The Bad Guys, based off the children’s graphic novel series of the same name by Aaron Blabey. Brett Haaland (All Hail King Julien) directs.
Set before the events of the film, the special sees the still-Bad Guys - Wolf, Snake, Shark, Piranha, and Tarantula - as they case the city for a massive holiday heist... only to accidentally cause chaos and get the festivities canceled in the process. With their scheme in jeopardy, the crew sets out to restore Christmas spirit to the city in time for their scheme. The special was released on Netflix on November 30, 2023.
Preview: Trailer
The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday includes examples of the following:
- All for Nothing: Despite all the trouble they go to in bringing back holiday cheer so the citizens will stay home on Christmas, the Bad Guys get sick from exposure to the cold and have to call off their bank heist.
- Appeal to Worse Problems: In response to his team getting angry at him for causing the ice machine to go haywire, Wolf incredulously points out that a snow storm is about to suck in the whole city and they’re wasting time reprimanding him. This doesn’t deter Snake from delivering a short "Reason You Suck" Speech however.
- Chekhov's Gun: After accidentally destroying Big Nick, Webs builds a robot Santa to serve as a potential replacement. After Wolf unintentionally causes a blizzard near the end, they use the robot to stop it.
- Dinner Deformation: Continuing a Running Gag from the movie, Snake keeping one of the presents he was supposed to give back by swallowing it, leaving a conspicuous lump in his body.Snake: What, you've never seen an ab before?
- Epic Fail: The group's attempt to build a new Santa balloon just results in a terrifying, grotesque mess that looks nothing like Santa at all.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Wolf's plan to save Christmas involves stealing gifts from a department store and breaking into people's houses to leave them. Snake disgustedly notes that it's a lot like Robin Hood.Snake: Let Me Get This Straight... Are you suggesting we give instead of take?
Wolf: Think of it this way: we'll steal the gifts from the big department store, and then break into people's houses to leave them.
Snake: That sounds a lot like Robin Hood. Who is notoriously good. - Limited Animation: Due to this Christmas special understandably having a much smaller budget than the movie it is based on, the character animation is not as fluid. The action and expressions are also less dynamic and exaggerated.
- Painted CGI: Less obvious than in the film, but the character models do feature some cel-shading.
- Pragmatic Villainy: The main reason the Bad Guys are saving Christmas after accidentally ruining it to begin with is because they need to get the people out of their houses so they can rob them.
- Prequel: In the intro, Wolf makes a point in his narration that the special is set "before the Bad Guys turned good".
- "Reason You Suck" Speech: Snake gives one to Wolf after the latter admits to messing up the snow machine.Snake: Everything was fine, but no. You had to go and push things too far like always!
- Saving Christmas: The Bad Guys set out to uncancel Christmas... so that the bank will be unguarded and they can break in unimpeded.
- Villain Protagonist: As the special takes place "before the Bad Guys turned good", the titular gang are still unrepentant criminals here.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Or rather, What the Hell, Villain Protagonist, as Wolf’s friend lay into him for making the ice machine go at an exceeding limit, which causes a snow vortex that could envelope the entire city.
