“When the devils conspire in the city of angels, who can its citizens depend on? The Nice Guys!”

And that goes for all of the cartoon citizens of Los Angeles too. Well at least the ones that pony up the cash for their services.

This new trailer from Warner Brothers Pictures for their Russell Crowe/Ryan Gosling 1970s buddy-cop comedy is an animated short opening title sequence that looks like a lost work from Robert Smigel’s old TV Funhouse series on Saturday Night Live.

Featuring the “indomitable” Jackson Healy (Crowe), the “one-man wrecking machine with the heart of gold,” and the “unscrupulous” Holland March (Gosling), the “father of one and friend to none,” the two will “protect the innocent and repressed—or at least the paying customers—from the forces of evil.” This animated look at the film promises just as much violence and drinking as all the trailers with real people in it.

This isn’t the first non-traditional promo for the film; Warner Brothers previously released what looked like a fan-cut trailer, done in the style of a 70s teaser, befitting the movie’s time period. The studio has certainly been both aggressive and creative in their promotion of the movie, which our own Alicia Lutes gave “4.5 out of 5 very funky, very drunk burritos.”

Which reminds us — watch Alicia play a rousing game of “Nice Guys or Private Dicks” with the cast right here:

Considering how much I’ve been looking forward to this, I hope it’s a big enough hit that they really do follow it with an animated series.

Directed by Shane Black (Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), The Nice Guys opens this weekend, May 20th.

What are you most excited about with this movie? Swing into action in our comments below to let us know what you think.

Images: Warner Brothers Pictures