The era between the 50s and 70s was one of the most profoundly entertaining in animation history. We had shows such as The Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and a bunch more which showcased some of the most fun and unique depictions of animals who behave like humans. There’s something beautiful about those cartoons, and anytime there is something remotely close to that sort of content, it excites me to my very core.
The Nut Job fills that gap quite beautifully, and that is perhaps one of the main reasons why it’s such a fun and engaging experience.
How to Download The Nut Job
You can download the film from a digital store. You can also stream it. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you want to see more films directed or animated by Peter Lepeniotis who is the director of the Nut Job, check out also our reviews of Toy Story 2, Fantasia 2000, Dinosaur, or PAW Patrol: The Movie.
The Movie Review
In The Nut Job (2014), a squirrel named Surly is banished from his community after causing a fire that destroys the tree where all the squirrels live. Determined to prove his worth, Surly sets out to find food for the winter. He moves to the city and meets another squirrel named Andie, with whom he makes a deal to split the nuts they find in a store. Along with his loyal rat friend, Buddy, and new companion Andie, Surly hatches a plan to rob the store.
As they try to collect the nuts, they encounter various obstacles such as mouse traps, rats, guns, and people. Surly must learn to work together with Andie and the other animals in order to survive in their new environment.
In this animal-based adventure, a group of park and woodland creatures must collect nuts to survive the coming winter. The movie is set in 1959, although this is not immediately apparent, in fact, I initially thought the artistic style was intended to be quirky and that’s all. The creatures, including raccoons, moles, birds, and others, all live in or near a big tree in the park and they all want nuts. Despite the movie’s similarities to “Over the Hedge,” it is not as good or funny. The entire premise revolves around the creatures’ pursuit of nuts.
The Characters
The movie has a good visual presentation, with beautiful animation and well-designed characters. The voice acting is also solid. The raccoon character, who resembles Liam Neeson, has a well-designed face with similar facial expressions and a large nose.
The other characters are typical stereotypes, including dumb and clumsy characters, cute and pretty characters, fat and ugly characters, and tough and large characters, as well as a femme fatale squirrel character.
One major issue with this movie is that it has too many characters, making it difficult to like any of them. Most of the characters are unlikable and boring, and they are all stereotypical and predictable. The plot is also uninteresting and goes nowhere.
The idea of stealing nuts is not particularly compelling, and it is ridiculous that the characters are animals living in a city, as they could easily obtain nuts from other sources. Overall, the movie is dull and unoriginal. However, what it lacks in story content, it makes up for more than enough with its humor and comedy writing!
Some of the voice actors, such as Maya Rudolph and Stephen Lang, did a great job with their performances. Liam Neeson was sufficiently menacing and shady, but Jeff Dunham struggled with some of the weaker humor.
Will Arnett’s portrayal of Surly was overly snarky and smug, making the character unlikable despite his cute appearance. Katherine Heigl’s performance sounded too much like a romantic comedy and didn’t fit the character well. Brendan Fraser is a likable actor, but his character Grayson was irritating and not at all like Fraser’s typical performances.
The Music
The soundtrack is not bad though, it fits the film’s aesthetic and adds a layer of quirkiness to the overall design of the 50s aesthetic. I did appreciate it overall to be fair, and I wanted more of the same kind of music but the film was focusing more on variety. At least it didn’t have random dance numbers to bug me.
Verdict
I am generally not a fan of this film. The plot is weak and none of the characters are particularly likable. Some people have argued that the movie has a good political message about the problems with a centralized government, but I think this message was overshadowed by comedy and animation. In my opinion, the only two redeeming qualities of this film are its beautiful animation and the occasional moments of humor. If you take those away, there’s nothing to like here.
