While speaking to theaureview.com, author Blabey explained that his pitch for the concept "just opened a whole new space to work in. Because I love that territory so much, I found it incredibly easy to work in. The challenge was finding filmmakers that understood that and were able to spring off from there. It very well could have been too kiddy or too sophisticated, but it manages to sit in that really sweet spot where kids enjoy the adventure they're being taken on, but adults enjoy all the other material taking place around that."
Here's how Dreamworks describes the film: "Nobody has ever failed so hard at trying to be good as The Bad Guys. In the new action comedy from DreamWorks Animation, based on the New York Times best-selling book series, a crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws are about to attempt their most challenging con yet—becoming model citizens. Never have there been five friends as infamous as The Bad Guys—dashing pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), seen-it-all safecracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), chill master-of-disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), short-fused “muscle” Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and sharp-tongued expert hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), aka 'Webs.'
"But when, after years of countless heists and being the world’s most-wanted villains, the gang is finally caught, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal (that he has no intention of keeping) to save them all from prison: The Bad Guys will go good. Under the tutelage of their mentor Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), an arrogant (but adorable!) guinea pig, The Bad Guys set out to fool the world that they’ve been transformed. Along the way, though, Mr. Wolf begins to suspect that doing good for real may give him what he’s always secretly longed for: acceptance. So when a new villain threatens the city, can Mr. Wolf persuade the rest of the gang to become … The Good Guys?"
As to where Blabey got the idea for the books from, he said, "There were a few factors, but basically The Bad Guys is my love letter to cinema, in many ways. I wanted to take all the things I loved as a kid. I mean, these characters were all iterations of creations that have been in my psyche since I was a little boy. When I was looking at writing a series, I thought of my boys and The Bad Guys just stumbled out. It's a culmination of everything I love within action movies."
The Bad Guys will be released on April 22.