How ‘The Bad Guys’ Used L.A.’s Cinematic History to Create an Animated Film Noir
Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorLos Angeles’ ubiquitous smog, freeways, beaches and palm trees — as well as its place in moviedom — were all influential elements as filmmaker Pierre Perifel and production designer Luc Desmarchelier huddled over where to set DreamWorks’ latest animation, “The Bad Guys,” in theaters April 22.Based on the children’s book series by Aaron Blabey about a group of animals — a wolf, a snake, a shark, a tarantula and a piranha — that are always portrayed as criminal types but are trying hard to reform here, Desmarchelier says the script didn’t define where the action would be taking place. So when conceiving ideas, he looked at Chicago and New York as potential settings for the gang’s last heist.But the production designer says he and Perifel ultimately landed on a reimagined version of the City of Angels because inspirations from cop and heist movies and TV shows had a gravitational pull.