Netflix's The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist Is a Way Better Special Than A Very Bad Holiday (2024)

A wolf. A snake. A tarantula, a shark, and a piranha. The grouping of these five animals sounds like the premise for a modern-day folk tale — and well, it is! Produced by Dreamworks Animation Studios in 2022, The Bad Guys transforms these creatures into quick-witted, reckless criminals. Not only was this comedy heist film a box office success (domestically and internationally), but critics liked it as well, applauding its pop culture inspirations and cleverness. With a surprisingly dynamic voice cast bringing the main characters to life — Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, and Anthony Ramos — it’s no surprise that in March of this year, a theatrical sequel was announced. On the other hand, a startling announcement was to be had when Netflix stated that a prequel special about The Bad Guys would be coming to their platform on November 30, 2023.

About the length of a half hour, The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday was not received well. Fans of the original say that it was a massive disappointment in terms of the animation as well as the script. Seemingly unbothered, Dreamworks Animation and Netflix have teamed up once again to release another holiday-themed special, this time in the spirit of Halloween. Coming out almost a year after A Very Bad Holiday, The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist was available to watch starting on October 3. While the length of this iteration is pretty much the same (rounding out at about 24 minutes), the new directors and writers might have listened to feedback from dedicated viewers of the franchise because Haunted Heist is much better than A Very Bad Holiday, and here’s why.

The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist (2024)

Release Date

October 3, 2024

Director

Kevin Peaty

Cast

Wolf , Shark , Piranha , Snake , Tarantula

Runtime

24 Minutes

Writers

Michael Godere , Ezekiel Ajeigbe , Raul Ceballos , Chris Diamantopoulos , Mallory Low

Character(s)

Wolf , Shark , Piranha , Snake , Tarantula

The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist Focuses on Friendship and Not Antics

First things first, though, let’s take the cat out of the bag. Those names that vocally brought life to the characters in the 2022 movie do not reprise their roles here, but that’s OK. Michael Godere, Ezekiel Ajeigbe, Raul Ceballos, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Mallory Low do a fine job at bringing Mr. Wolf, Mr. Shark, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Snake, and Mr. Tarantula to life (the five who make up the heist troupe). After a few moments of listening, you’ll see that these voice actors bring the same tenacity that the theatrical cast did. These names were actually the same ones who also lent their voices for A Very Bad Holiday, which shows that the problem with the 2023 Netflix release was in the script and not the cast.

Those who enjoyed The Bad Guys will be glad to know that The Bad Guys: A Haunted Heist reverts to the chemistry of the group instead of the inflated, comedic antics found in A Very Bad Holiday. There are no giant floats that crash into buildings, no Santa Claus mechs, and no ice-ridden landscapes that feel synonymous with an attack by Mr. Freeze. The heist that was initially planned (on Christmas day) gets befuddled by so many events that the “criminal” theme gets lost in the mix. In Haunted Heist, Mr. Wolf and the gang return to their roots and plan a good old-fashioned heist in a haunted mansion that supposedly contains an ancient amulet.

The Haunted Mansion Is the Key in The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist

Even though there are wacky obstacles and hurdles that get in their way (this is a children’s special, after all), they are all contained within one space. Yes, the consequences of stealing the piece follow Mr. Wolf long after his return to the safe house, but the story feels contained as it concludes in the same place it began — at the haunted mansion (with its deceased owner, Reginald E. Scary).

Most importantly, the holiday theme does not come first, even though the haunted house is the setting that drives the entire special. Just like in the movie, the gang’s enduring friendship is put front and center. They work together to evade Reginald E. Scary’s traps and constantly try to one-up each other with harmless pranks during the heist. This foundational camaraderie was blocked by the messy story beats of A Very Bad Holiday.

Sadly, the almost cel-shaded animation style (which can also be seen in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) that helped make The Bad Guys movie unique is mostly missing from A Very Bad Holiday and Haunted Heist. There is no debate about that, and fans of the original have a right to complain. But look at the animated series following Disney’s Aladdin or The Penguins of Madagascar show on Nickelodeon. Despite considerable downgrades in the visual representation, both of these small-screen spinoffs had great success. If The Bad Guys keeps focusing on those same core values that helped make the movie soar (as seen in the latest special), their life on Netflix will be stretched for a very long time.

The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday and The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist are both available to stream on Netflix. If you want to watch the original 2022 movie that started it all, Prime Video has you covered.