Dreamworks Animation’s latest film, “The Bad Guys” has been called “Lupin-esque” by
some animation fans, thanks to its art style and animation being reminiscent of the anime,
“Lupin the 3rd”. But we at WickedBinge are reminded of another movie: 2010’s “Megamind”.
With both films being from Dreamworks and having so-called ‘villain’ protagonists,
you can’t really blame anyone for comparing the two. Today, we’re going to look at how these
movies are similar, how they’re different and the pros and cons of each of them.
I’m Kifinosi with WickedBinge, and we’re here to ask:
How does “The Bad Guys” compare to “Megamind”?
Obviously, major spoilers ahead for BOTH films.
Starting out this comparison, we want to first look at each film’s genre and whether the film
succeeds in properly portraying that genre - with Megamind being a superhero movie and
Bad Guys being a heist movie. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Dreamworks movie if there wasn’t
a slight subversion. In the case of both, there’s a bit of a twist on the formula of
the genre. With Megamind, the story is told from the villain’s perspective and the roles of ‘hero’
and ‘villain’ get swapped around a few times between Megamind, Metro Man and Hal/Tighten.
Outside of that though, the other superhero aspects of the film are played pretty straight,
albeit with a bit of comedy still thrown in from time to time. It feels like a legitimate
origin story for a new hero, with its sharp writing and clever references to other
mainstream superhero movies being what makes it appealing to audience members.
As for Bad Guys, the heist movie aspects of it are pretty spot-on. We get to see the heist plans,
how the heists play out, the team needing to improvise when things go wrong - all of that
good stuff. However, when looking at the film overall, it differs from its contemporaries in a
major way. With most heist movies like “Ocean’s 11”, while there may still be some personal drama
with the character, the big heist still acts as both the plot’s goal and climax. In The Bad Guys,
these heists act more as turning points for the plot and in the third act it shifts into
being more of a standard action movie. Not to say that this is a bad thing or makes the
film any less enjoyable, it just prevents it from feeling like a true heist movie in
some ways. So, if you’re looking for a more ‘accurate’ genre film, Megamind is probably
the way to go. Then again, the twists that Bad Guys pulls in its final scene are pretty
amazing and certainly a heist movie staple, so the latter film still has plenty to offer.
Moving on, we want to take a look at each film’s main characters - that being
Megamind and Mr. Wolf. Yes, The Bad Guys is technically an ensemble piece, but
Wolf is still seen as the film’s main focus and driving force. For both characters,
they understand how the world sees them and while they may act like they’re happy with
their roles as villains, they secretly wish for acceptance and end up finding a
reason to become good. Both characters can be pretty relatable too, in their own way.
With Megamind, he understands that he’s essentially playing a part in a story,
never truly believing that he could ever kill Metro Man until it actually happens.
From there, Megamind does what he can to get back to this status quo, not knowing what his purpose
is without a hero to fight. Fans of this film praise it for having such an interesting story
of self reflection while still being hilarious. Because he was forced into a villain role,
Megamind struggles with believing that he can genuinely be good and for the most part
only does good for Roxanne’s sake. Even in the climax of the film, Megamind gives up on himself
and needs Roxanne’s encouragement before he can try - and even then, he feels that he has to
disguise himself only to realize that it’s his so-called ‘villainous’ traits and gadgets that
make him a great hero. To see Megamind finally get the win in the end… we’re not gonna lie,
it feels not only deserved but incredibly satisfying. You just gotta love the callbacks.
Getting back to The Bad Guys, ironically enough Wolf seems to have an opposite character arc
that’s more personally driven than externally driven. Although Wolf is the one who decides to
pretend to go good as a means to an end, it really doesn’t take long for him to actually want to be
good. Like Megamind, it does take a bit of support from another person - that being Diane - but in
this case, it’s more just giving advice and less ‘life-or-death scenario’. Wolf not only has a bit
more time to reflect on what the personal impact on going good is, but he’s also more hopeful in
himself that he can go good - unlike Megamind who struggled with believing in himself until the very
end. Though he may care about Diane, Wolf doesn’t necessarily go good for his love interest like
Megamind does, but because it genuinely feels good to him - enough for him to at least try,
even if there’s a chance that society may still turn its back on him. That’s not to
say Wolf’s story doesn’t have conflict - in fact you could argue that Wolf has much more to lose,
given how unsure the rest of the gang is that they can follow his lead in becoming good.
But that actually leads us into the next subject that we’d like to discuss:
each film’s supporting cast - namely its best friend and love interest characters. Outside
of the film’s Big Bad, Mr. Snake probably provides the biggest personal conflict in the film. Whether
it's out of stubbornness or his own trauma, it takes him nearly the entire film to realize that
it’s even possible for him to be more than just a sneaky, scary snake. Even then, we see that the
main driving force for Snake’s redemption ends up being his friends and the care he still holds for
them. There’s also his fears of being abandoned by Wolf, should his friend succeed at becoming
good. Honestly, both the drama and the friendship between Wolf and Snake ends up being not only
one of the most engaging parts of the film but also one of the most enjoyable parts. You truly
see how much they care about each other, even when it seems like their relationship is falling apart.
But what about Megamind’s best friend? For him and Minion, things don’t get quite as dramatic. During
their big break-up fight, Minion is shown to be horrified by the idea of Megamind not wanting to
be a bad guy anymore and Megamind gets frustrated and tells Minion he doesn’t need him anymore.
It’s an effective, if a bit cliche, scene… but we can’t really say that it reaches the
same emotional heights as Wolf and Snake. Minion’s dismissal of Megamind trying to
go good is really less about his own feelings and more about him trying to protect his boss,
understanding that Megamind’s lie can’t go on forever and not wanting to see him get hurt.
So when Minion returns to Megamind’s side in the film’s climax, while it is admittedly satisfying
and heartwarming, it’s more about Megamind understanding his mistakes than Minion’s character
having any sort of arc. But hey, that’s okay! We’re not saying that Minion has to be the same
type of character as Snake, though we will say that we find Snake’s arc slightly more satisfying.
One thing we do, unfortunately, have to knock Megamind for is its love interest - Roxanne.
To be clear, we aren’t saying that Roxanne isn’t a good character. She’s fun, caring,
adds a lot of heart to the film and bounces off Megamind well. Who doesn’t love their banter when
he first kidnaps her? But for a film that seems to pride itself on subverting the usual ‘roles’
of its characters and emphasizing how a person can be much more than how society views them,
Roxanne never really steps out of her ‘damsel in distress’ role. She’s not useless, but we
never see her getting the chance to fight or save the day. Even after all the hard work she did,
she’s still someone that Megamind has to save during the climax - several times in
fact. This sours both the character and the movie slightly, if only because of the missed potential.
Diane, meanwhile, seems to have much more agency. We’ll admit, she does sometimes have some ‘too
perfect’ or even some ‘girl power’ vibes, but you can’t deny that she’s pretty cool. You get
the sense that she has her own character, her own history and her own goals outside of her
relationship to Wolf and the rest of the Bad Guys. She gets to help save the day, and she gets to
stand on equal footing with the rest of the cast without completely overshadowing the film’s main
story. We also have to point out how much more satisfying her and Wolf’s romantic subplot is.
Not only do they understand each other, care about each other and work together well, but
you never get the sense that Wolf is only trying to be good for her sake. Like we said before,
he has his own reasons for being good. Megamind had his own reasons too, yes, but winning
Roxanne’s affections was one of the main reasons. There’s still talk about ‘getting the girl’,
despite Megamind showing that he respects Roxanne as her own person when she first rejects him. But
again, the conflict that they have adds more to Megamind’s arc and story than Roxanne’s, which can
be a bit disappointing. Still, like with Minion and Snake, it becomes more a case of ‘which do you
prefer’ than ‘which is better’ as both of these ladies are still pretty great in their own right.
Finally, we want to look at how each film portrays its themes - namely,
the theme of societal expectations. In both films, we hear characters talk about how they’re
“the villains” of the story, and how because people automatically saw them as a bad person,
they felt like there was no point in trying to be better. With Megamind,
we see that he had the perspective of ‘the black sheep’ or ‘the bad student’ before he took up the
mantle of villain in his and Metro Man’s little rivalry. As for Bad Guys, they took a page out
of Zootopia and used anthropomorphic animals as a way to portray how stereotypes can impact someone.
Both perspectives are not only relatable but are likely experienced in real life.
Bad Guys also has some of the former’s perspective in it through Snake’s character,
who explains through a story how his experiences as a kid shaped the person he is in the present.
Both films also show the power and agency that come from fighting against these
societal expectations. For Megamind, he was not only able to be the hero in the end,
but he was able to do it without changing anything about himself. When used in a different context,
his villainous aspects became heroic. Megamind also had the chance to be successful, something he
never had the chance to be as the villain because it was all part of the routine. This is another
way the film shows why it’s worth fighting against expectations, no matter how hard it may be.
The Bad Guys also does this, with Wolf pointing out how he doesn’t just want to be good because
it feels good, but because he’s hoping to find a better life for him and his friends.
After a spectacular final action scene, the Bad Guys are seen saving the day… but they
also get arrested, acknowledging that they have to take responsibility for their previous crimes.
When they get out early for good behavior, while they may still have each other as well
as Diane’s support, that’s kind of all they have given that they were forced to return all their
stolen stuff. In a way, it’s more realistic, showing that being good isn’t always easy.
Society may be giving The Bad Guys more of a chance, but it’s going to take a lot
of honest work to get back to the luxuries and standard of living that they were able to have
as criminals. Again, it’s realistic and in turn makes their decision to remain good - not because
of a hero title or admiration, but for their own personal satisfaction - all the more powerful.
In Conclusion, “Megamind” and “The Bad Guys” are similar stories of redemption and fighting against
the expectations of society and the ‘roles’ that it may force upon people, but they’re both told
in pretty different ways. Megamind focuses on a more grander scale in some ways while Bad Guys
focuses more on personal motivations. Both have a ton of action, a ton of laughs and a ton of heart,
not to mention plenty of good lessons to take away from them. Though they may succeed in
different ways, it was obvious that Dreamworks was able to make lightning strike twice when
it came to their villain protagonist movies - and honestly, that just makes us all the more
excited for their next project and especially their next ‘bad guy’ turned ‘good guy’.
But let us know in the comment section what you guys think,
and tell us what we should cover next! Remember to hit that notification bell
and binge more of our videos. But most importantly, stay wicked!