Dreamworks’ latest film,
The Bad Guys showed us some “villains” in a completely new light. And not only that,
it was a fun dive into the heist genre that we don’t typically see from animated kids films.
Which got us thinking… If we were to build our own heist crew made up of
animals from other animated movies… What would our roster look like?
Which fuzzy and furry characters would be the best picks for a big heist?
I’m Kifinosi with WickedBinge.. And this is which Animal Characters Would Make The Best Heist Crew?
Now, before we start picking out our crew. Let’s iron out some rules.
Firstly, since we want to stick to The Bad Guys style… We’re only considering popular
anthropomorphic animal characters from recent(ish) animated movies.
Secondly, we’ll be looking to fill several different heist roles. Afterall,
as any good heist movie will show us… Every member of the crew typically has their own speciality.
And it’s our job to put together the most skilled crew in order to maximize the odds of success.
For each role, we’ll be going over the candidates… weighing their pros
and cons… and ultimately choose who makes the cut.
With that said, let’s go to work.
The first crew member we need to pick out is The Brains. Without good strategy planning,
any heist is doomed for failure. So we need someone with some brainpower.
With that in mind, we’ve got three candidates to be charge of strategy and intelligence.
Nick Wilde from Zootopia… and Bellwether, also from Zootopia…
First, let’s talk about Nick. The fox. We see right away that he’s
manipulative and cunning when he pulls off the popsicle scam.
Nick is street smart and charismatic… Willing to fly under the radar when needed.
His ability to use his charm to trick others is a huge asset;
and his level head would make him an ideal candidate for a heist crew.
He’s a little shifty, but loyal enough that he won’t doublecross the other members of the team.
Bellwether is also a good candidate… Talk about flying under the radar…
She successfully hid the fact that she was the mastermind behind everything in
Zootopia. Definitely a behind-the-scenes type who’s able to pull off major systemic
schemes without anyone becoming wise to her. Though… Could the rest of the crew trust her?
At the end of the day, for the brains role, we’re adding Nick to the crew.
His manipulative and cunning nature is balanced well by his loyalty to his friends;
which would allow the rest of the crew to totally trust his strategies…
With intelligence checked off the list, let’s move onto The Safecracker. This
crewmember needs nimble fingers, a level head and the ability to work under pressure.
This role originally being filled by Mr. Snake in The Bad Guys. He’s definitely
an asset to the team; and we’re going to need someone of a similar caliber.
Okay, so we have two candidates for this role.
Master Viper from Kung Fu Panda… and Puss in Boots.
Now, Master Viper is an interesting choice… Especially considering The Bad Guys’ own
safecracker is a snake as well… But it’s not just the species that made us consider
her. She also uses the end of her tail to pick the lock on Tigress’ handcuffs. Which
allowed the rest of the group to be freed from their chains. With a bit of training,
we think she could be on par skill wise as Mr. Snake.
Our other option is Puss In Boots… Puss is a great fighter… as evidenced throughout the Shrek series.
Which could come in handy on a heist… But we need a safecracker, specifically…
and the reason why we consider him is because of the fact that he is a master of thievery.
Given his dexterity with his swords, his agility and all around skills that he demonstrates…
safe cracking seems like another possible talent.
That said, between the two… we’re going to keep the safecracking snake trending
going and Viper to the crew as our safecracker.
Moving on, it’s important to note we live in a high-tech world. Filled with security systems,
surveillance and all sorts of gadgets that protect the valuables. For that reason,
we’ll need a Hacker. Someone who’s tech-savvy.
Ms. Tarantula takes this role in The Bad Guys. And it’s going to be tough to find
someone on her level… That said, we’ve narrowed things down to 2 candidates.
Private from Penguins of Madagascar… and Dave, also from Penguins of Madagascar.
Private, our first candidate… despite his inexperience is often able to resolve the
main issue at hand; resolving major problems when they arise. He is a bit naive and perhaps
too trusting… but he is one of the most resourceful characters in the series.
He’s also shown to hack into a ship’s controls which allows Rico to perform a hard turn…
demonstrating his hacking ability.
Dave, on the other hand hacked into the sophisticated communications of North Wind HQ
and even successfully concocting the Medusa Serum.
With that impressive high intelligence skills incomparable to any animals around
we give the crown to Dave.
Heists aren’t all about aggressiveness however. Sometimes you need someone low-key
to blend in with the crowds. That’s why we’ll need a Master of Disguise.
In The Bad Guys, this role is taken by our favorite Mr. Shark. And he demonstrates these
skills throughout the movie. That said, we’ve got a couple options to add to our own team.
Our two candidates are Finnick from Zootopia and Gunter from Sing and Sing 2.
With Finnick’s solid portfolio of disguising as a cute innocent child, no one will ever suspect
that this little one has a motive of devising scams. Wearing costumes that make sounds can
camouflage his deep, gravely voice making it better for him to remain silent in public.
Furthermore, his massive ears gives him the advantage in hearing the sirens of
the nearby police cars, giving time to flee the scene before their arrival.
But Gunther is someone with an ability to create a loud distraction… and has theatrical competence.
Gunter’s hyperactive, bubbly attitude hooks up the attention of their unsuspecting victims,
his high energy can affect and inspire his team mates to work on their best abilities.
Gunter’s main advantage of being a passionate performer applies best as a master of disguise
especially when he gets into the character. He can immediately adapt his personality into
the character he’s portraying and this convinces others to react accordingly.
With that said… we choose Gunter as the best Master of Disguise. Besides the fact that he
is a Jack of all talent, he’ll be ready to blend into whatever situation he needs to.
Heists are known to get a bit aggressive… and whether it’s
dealing with security… or keeping crowds under control… Any crew is going to need
some Muscle. Someone who can deal with any problems that require sheer brawn.
The muscle role was originally filled by Mr. Piranha in The Bad Guys.
And we have two candidates for the test of strength,
they are… Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda… and Big Daddy from Sing.
Tai Lung is a genius Kung-fu prodigy.
He single handedly brawled out of his Jail guarded by 1000 rhinoceroses and deadly traps.
Goes to show that he can force his way out of any situation that’s needing an aggressive approach.
On the other side of the ring, we have Big Daddy from Sing. This powerful primate proved
to be an impressive leader, dominating others with either threat or outright aggression,
thus proving to be a great choice to add as the muscle of the group.
He also displayed a good record showing his strength during the bank robbery,
where he carried a sack of gold bars. Which is a huge bonus.
On the other hand, Tai Lung is no doubt the best option to be the
muscle of the team. We feel secure having his strength and fighting prowess beside us.
Unfortunately, he’s never seen as a team player.
So, we have to choose Big Daddy as our Muscle not only because of the strength he showed us…
But also the fact that he’s able to stand as an impressive leader and a flexible team player.
Now, let’s not pretend heists always go smoothly. When the alarms go off and things go south,
sometimes blasting your way out is the only option. That’s why we need a skilled Gunman.
Fortunately, we knew exactly which gunman we needed to add to the crew. And that is Rango.
Rango demonstrates both high intelligence and good combat skills. But more specifically,
he’s one of the few animated characters on this list who actually showcases firearm skills.
And if we factor in Rango the Game, Rango is shown gunning down enemies with his revolver.
Although Rango is shown to be on the right side of the law…
if we were able to pick any gunman for our heist crew, he would be it.
Now, when it’s time to make a getaway… You’re going to hope you picked the right Driver.
The one thing the driver needs to be is fast behind the wheel.
We have Two candidates and they are Flash from Zootopia And Johnny from Sing.
Flash may come off as a weird choice…
Given how slow he is in everything he does… But the one exception to his usual speed
is when he’s behind the wheel, as evidenced by that last scene where he gets pulled over.
Johnny is in our line-up because of his background in driving. He even became
a get-away driver during a bank heist, but admittedly got distracted due to the rehearsal.
Despite that, he has shown his unique skill of ‘Drifting’,
this sense of control is a very important technique for losing yours on the quick run.
At the end of the day, we have to go with Johnny… mainly because although Flash is
fast behind the wheel… it might take him an hour just to get the key into the ignition.
And the last member of the crew is always a mystery… Someone who got recruited last minute.
You never know exactly what they bring to the table, but that’s what makes them The Wild Card.
Here we have two candidates,
Garry from the Angry Birds Movie 2 & The Angry Birds Reloaded and Miss Crawly from Sing 2.
Garry is called the Master of Gadgetry for his skills
with inventing tools like the Invisi-Spray & many
more crazy inventions. This could come in handy if the heist method requires a little ingenuity.
On the other side, we have Miss Crawly… Who’s a Master Manipulator for convincing Porshe Crystal,
the daughter of Jimmy Crystal to take a side role for the musical play without hurting her feelings.
Moreover, she can proficiently drive a sports car at high speed.
Impressively, she displayed her ability as a capable leader during the absence
of Mr. Moon to manage everything in order and even improving the crew.
Although Gary has the title of the Master of Gadgetry, we
have to go with Miss Crawly because she represents the Queen on the chess board…
Having multiple skills others possess signifying that she can bring more on the table.
And that wraps up our heist crew. Let us know in the comment section what you think their
likelihood of success will be… and tell us which animal characters you think should be on the team.
Make sure to hit that notification bell and binge our other videos;
include our The Bad Guys Good to Evil video. But most importantly, stay wicked.