Director Pierre Perifel on ‘The Bad Guys 2’: Sophisticated and silly

The Bad Guys are back! In the sequel to the charming 2022 animated heist comedy, The Bad Guys 2 finds Wolf, Shark, Piranha, Webs and Snake getting involved in yet another caper even as they are trying to stay on the straight and narrow.

Like the original, the sequel retains the handcrafted-animation look. “The style was already established in the first movie, where we were deliberately trying to break away from the CG mould that we tend to see a lot in big Hollywood animation films,” says director Pierre Perifel, speaking over a video call from The Four Seasons in Los Angeles.

Pushing the envelope

“We’ve been seeing films done the same way for so long. The studios, artists, and filmmakers are trying to explore different avenues for their movies. The Bad Guys was one of the very first films that actually tried to push the envelope. We tried to create an illustrated feel to the look and the effects.”

The experiment was close to his and the team’s heart, says the 45-year-old French filmmaker. “In The Bad Guys we explored how we could open up the film. The sequel takes those concepts and pushes them further on a bigger scale, with different camera lenses. We were having fun with the look.”

The approach, Pierre says, created a unique visual style. “It was quite fascinating to look at and I’m proud of it. In terms of storytelling, it helps us blend everything together, from the motion of the characters to the sophisticated and silly storyline.”

Always in service

The goal, Pierre says, is not to let the visuals overpower the storytelling. “The visuals should always be in service of the story, as opposed to taking centrestage. We did something that works pretty well. It’s elegant, but it does not overpower you. You’re never lost with those visuals.”

Most of the cast have reprised their roles from Sam Rockwell to Awkwafina and Anthony Ramos. The voice cast, Pierre says, shaped the characters. “At the end of the movie, the Chief of Police gives an impassioned speech. Alex Borstein, who plays Misty Luggins, the Chief of Police, asked me how I wanted her to play the speech. I said, ‘Well, it’s supposed to feel emotional, but it is fake. So can you make it feel like she’s not quite sincere?’”

Extra to the table

Borstein performed the speech that way, Pierre says. “It was amazing. Then she said, ‘Do you think I should do it totally genuine, as if she’s really heartbroken?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ She did it, actually crying during recording.  I was floored and obviously went with her version, which was so much better. And that’s typically an example of an actor bringing that extra something to the table. There are so many examples of actors elevating the scene to make it tenfold better.”

The Bad Guys 2 has our favourite reformed criminals, hunting for a rare mineral called Macguffinite, a play on Macguffin, a familiar plot device. “The thing with self-aware humour is you need to be careful with how much you use, because it could quickly pull the audience out of the film,” says Pierre. “We do several versions of the film. First you write the script, then you storyboard it, cut it, add music and dialogue, and see how it feels. Then you bring it back down, take some notes and rework it.”

That is when you refine the film to exactly how you want it, Pierre says. “That is where you say that the joke as funny as it is, is so self aware, so meta, that it risks pulling the audience out of the story. We left a few of those, but we had many more that we did not use as we wanted to make sure that it would not distract you too much.”

The Bad Guys 2 opens in theatres on August 1