Wolf, Snake, Shark, Piranha and Webs will be back with a festive new scheme next year! Netflix has announced a brand-new holiday special based on DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed animated feature The Bad Guys in 2023.
The Bad Guys debuted on Netflix on November 1 in the U.S. as part of the streamer’s animated license deal with Universal, topping Netflix’s weekly Top 10 Films in the United States for the week of October 31-November 6. The film opened in theaters to critical acclaim earlier this year, topping the U.S. box office for two weeks in a row and grossing over $250 million worldwide.
Directed by Emmy winner Bret Haaland (The Penguins of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness), who is executive producing with Katherina Nolfi (Abominable and the Invisible City), the as-yet untitled special is set before the events of the movie. Per Netflix:
There’s nothing the Bad Guys love more than Christmas morning — because while everyone is home opening presents, it’s the perfect time to execute their city-wide holiday heist. But when Christmas is unexpectedly canceled, the Bad Guys must do the unthinkable: reignite the city’s holiday spirit by giving instead of taking.
The Bad Guys holiday special joins Netflix’s expanding Kids & Family animated slate which includes series such as The Cuphead Show!, Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight, the upcoming Sonic Prime and My Dad: The Bounty Hunter; preschool shows such as Spirit Rangers, Gabby’s Dollhouse, The Creature Cases, Chip and Potato and the upcoming Princess Powers; Oscar-nominated feature films Klaus, Over the Moon and The Mitchells vs. the Machines, as well as this year’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood from Richard Linklater, Chris Williams’ The Sea Beast, Wendell & Wild from Henry Selick and Jordan Peele, My Father’s Dragon from Nora Twomey (opening this Friday, Nov. 11) and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Dec. 9).
DreamWorks fans in the Los Angeles area can catch The Bad Guys back on the big screen in a special double feature advance screening of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish at the American Cinametheque’s Aero Theatre. The November 27 matinee will feature a Q&A with directors Joel Crawford (The Last Wish) and Pierre Perifel (The Bad Guys).
