In a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals co-exist, pickpocket and robber Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) leads The Bad Guys, a gang of infamous criminal animals known for their thefts and escapades, especially from the hot-tempered chief of police, Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein). The gang includes Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), a sarcastic and cynical safe-cracking snake, Wolf's second-in-command, as well as his best friend. Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), a sharp-tongued and sarcastic expert hacker tarantula also known as "Webs". Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), a childish and sensitive master of disguise shark. Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), a short-fused, loose-cannon piranha and the "muscle" of the gang.Wolf and the gang execute a bank robbery and then implement a daring escape from Misty and her cops in a protracted car chase. Wolf and the gang store all of their loot at their secret hideout.After being insulted by Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) on live television for their predictability, Wolf convinces his gang to pull off a heist to steal a valuable award called the Golden Dolphin before it is awarded to guinea pig philanthropist Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade) at a gala. No thief has ever managed to pull off the Golden Dolphin. Wolf says that this is their chance to cement their legacy and live for eternity in infamy. Professor Marmalade is being felicitated for leading the city out of distress when a meteor hit them over a year back.During the heist, Wolf inadvertently helps an elderly woman and is praised for the good deed, leading to Wolf having conflicted feelings. The gang steals the Golden Dolphin, but on his way-out Wolf hears Marmalade's explanation of how he does good things just to feel good. Wolf hesitates, and in that hesitation, his disguise comes off and he is recognized by the crowd. The gang is arrested, but Wolf persuades Foxington to let Marmalade reform them, but secretly plans to steal the award again. Marmalade accepts the challenge and promises to reform the Bag Guys by the next charity event Gala for Goodness. Wolf's plan is to pretend to turn good and then to steal the Golden Dolphin at the Gala for Goodness.Marmalade has a lamp in the shape of the meteorite in his house. Marmalade's initial attempts to reform the gang are disastrous due to the gang's nature; an attempt to rescue guinea pigs from a research lab goes awry due to Wolf's second-in-command, Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), eating them. Foxington decides to call off the experiment but relents when Wolf confesses that he became a criminal because he despises being hated for his species; she admits she understands and has hope for him. Wolf contemplates the matter and finds himself rescuing a cat from a tree, which Marmalade records and publishes, turning the public image of the gang around.The gang plans a new heist to steal the award again during a gala, but Wolf, having fallen in love with Foxington, realizes that the gang can go good, and he ultimately decides to take the offer of a fresh start. Suddenly, a meteorite which was on display is stolen, and the gang is blamed and arrested. Marmalade meets them in private and reveals that he stole the meteorite and had planned for the gang to be framed. He also reveals that he was the old woman Wolf had helped at the first gala. Marmalade tells the gang that the meteorite sends out an electromagnetic pulse unlike any other seen before. Marmalade plans to harness the power of the meteor to pull off the greatest heist the world has ever seen. The gang is sent to prison.In prison, Wolf tells his gang that he does not want to be a criminal anymore and that they can all improve. Snake refuses, believing that the world will never see them as anything other than monsters. Snake and Wolf come to blows. Their fight is interrupted when a mysterious person, soon revealed to be Foxington, rescues them. Wolf identifies her as The Crimson Paw, a criminal mastermind who suddenly stopped committing crimes. Foxington wants the Wolf and the gang to help her stop Marmalade and expose him for a criminal mastermind that he is. Now free, the gang abandons Wolf when they refuse to accept that they can change. They find their hideout wholly emptied of their loot, as Wolf had revealed its location to Foxington earlier to appease for his crimes. After Snake willingly gives Mr. Shark his last Push Pop out of kindness, the others realize that they can change their ways and proceed to help Wolf. However, Snake denies it and abandons them to ally with Marmalade, who plans to use the meteorite to power a mind-control device to hypnotize an army of guinea pigs into stealing his own charity funds. He charity funds collected so far amount to 1 billion dollars.Foxington reveals to Wolf that she reformed when she was about to steal the Golden Dolphin but realized that she was only what everyone saw her as, and then decided to help people. Wolf and Foxington break into Marmalade's home to steal the meteorite, only to be captured by Marmalade and Snake. Marmalade orders that wolf and Foxington be eliminated. The rest of the gang rescues them and steals the meteorite while foiling Marmalade's heist. The gang stops the charity money from being stolen and delivers it to the police.They arrive at the police station to turn in the meteorite, but Wolf decides to turn back and try to bring Snake back. Marmalade attacks Wolf and the gang with the guinea pigs, who are still hypnotized. During a chase, Marmalade betrays Snake to blackmail Wolf and retrieves the meteorite. However, the gang rescues Snake and destroys Marmalade's mind-control helmet, before surrendering to the authorities.Marmalade attempts to take credit for recovering the meteorite, but it is revealed to be a fake planted by Snake, who had faked his defection and secretly switched it for the manor's meteorite-shaped lamp. The real meteorite explodes, blowing up Marmalade's manor and exposing Marmalade as the thief. When the lamp falls on Marmalade, a diamond that he stole from Foxington falls out of his suit, which Luggins recognizes as having been stolen by the Crimson Paw years ago. With his true nature exposed, and implicated as the Crimson Paw, Marmalade is arrested.In a mid-credits scene set one year later, the gang is released from prison early in light of their good behavior and leave with Foxington.