The Bad Guys is a heist type movie made for kids that adults will also enjoy. After getting busted, the Bad Guys (Wolf, Snake, Shark, Piranha, and Webs) are sent off to be reformed. As they navigate the difference between intentionally becoming good vs just faking it, they're framed for a crime they didn't commit and must clear their name.
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Message
The Bad Guys are portrayed as really cool... The problem is they're bad guys for the majority of the movie, so they're portrayed as being really cool while they do bad stuff like rob a bank, pick pockets, lie, run from the police, and commit heists.
Movies portraying a bad guy as really cool, even if they become good guys at the end, has caused some confusion for my children in the past. So for a movie like this, what I do is talk about our family's values in relation to good vs bad before the movie starts and after the movie ends, using specific examples found in the movie. This seems to work well for my family, provided my kids are old enough to understand and discuss the good and bad situations found in that specific movie.
Even the Governor is a reformed really cool bad guy who dips back into her old life briefly. She does this to correct some injustices, essentially via anonymous vigilantism. The movie has her dip in and back out of this role quite seamlessly with little explanation as to why (it does explain why she originally left her life of crime though); it's no worse than what Batman does if your children are familiar with him. You may want to use the Governor as a starting point for a discussion of your family's values on topics like vigilantism, the ends justifying the means, hypocrites, and sticking to your principles.
The Bad Guys also conveys the message that: being good is better than being bad, you choose whether you're going to do good or do bad, and it's not too late to choose differently. There's a lot of setup for them being bad, and a lot of focus on their unwillingness to become good (which both contribute to the coolness problem discussed earlier). But when they do finally become good, the movie does a good job of making that pretty clear; although some kids may miss the fact Snake became good due to his grumpy demeanor and how late into the movie they reveal he changed. Each stage (bad, unwilling to be good, and good) even has a scene with Snake [not] sharing with Shark as an extra way of highlighting the differences between the stages; the good scene even highlights the definition of sharing.
After deciding to be good and doing a great act of good, the Bad Guys turn themselves into the police and serve time for their previous crimes. This is a nice change of pace from typical unrealistic movie endings where a great good deed somehow cancels all consequences from their previous bad actions.
Content
Language
There's no swearing in this movie, but there are several instances of phrases where a swear would typically be used, but another word (ex. "fudge") is used instead of the swear.
Fears
It's made very clear that people are afraid of the Bad Guys, but to the viewer they're presented as cool rather than scary. The Bad Guys do heists, so there's several instances of breaking into places they aren't supposed to be. Since they are bad guys, the police chase, capture, and arrest the Bad Guys multiple times through out the movie.
There's no storms, fires, clowns, scary darkness, strong villains, or kidnapping.
Family & Relationships
The Bad Guys are bad, so they don't always treat each other properly. Snake won't share, there's many instances of bickering and teasing, and they even physically fight with each other. They also taunt the police. However, this is portrayed in a lighthearted manner, and they do become good guys with positive qualities in the end.
The meteorite is described as looking like a butt on a couple occasions, which prompts the characters to laugh. A character's pants accidentally get ripped off and they walk around in their boxers afterwards. Piranha farts (represented as a green fog) when he's nervous or lying. As a distraction Shark cross-dresses as a lady, dumps a drink on the floor, yells that he's having a baby, and asks for the assistance of security guards.
There's no divorce, loss of a loved one, sneaking out, or running away.
Other Content
Animals talk, there's a powerful magic meteorite, and an army of guinea pigs are controlled via mind control. The movie portrays the Bad Guys as extremely cool, even while they do bad things. There's cartoon level explosions, punching, and car wrecks. There's a few subtle nods to adult heist movies, like equating smooth talking Wolf to George Clooney.
Wolf mentions several times that they were born bad and justifies his actions by saying they are just playing the cards that they were dealt in life. By becoming good that political narrative is shattered, but never specifically noted.
There's no time travel, evolution, LGBT, or religion.
Conclusion
The Bad Guys is a really cool heist movie for kids that adults will also enjoy... if your kids won't have their moral compass swayed when bad guys are portrayed as being cool while doing bad stuff.
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