It’s a disappointing venture when a creatively produced film that clearly had the best of intentions put into it by its creators winds up bland and unentertaining – especially when even the concept is unappealing from the start.
Such is the case with “The Nut Job,” an animated film by Peter Lepeniotis based off his cutely chaotic short film “Surly Squirrel,” wherein a squirrel and raccoon fight for food amid a large, explosion-filled setting. Lepeniotis’ feature, which inputs elements of the short into a vaguely reminiscent family-oriented plot, unfortunately has too many nuts – and not enough bolts – to adapt his ideas into a story worth writing about.
The short’s title character Surly takes a leading role in the feature (voiced by Will Arnett) with a particularly rebellious personality. He is among a herd of woodland creatures living around an oak tree in the middle of a bustling city set in the 1950s. The group’s leader, Raccoon (Liam Neeson), is concerned over a food shortage for the upcoming winter season and sends out the locally renowned hero Grayson (Brendan Fraser) along with female do-gooder Andie (Katherine Heigl) to gather more.
After a horribly botched scheme to retrieve a large nut supply, Surly is banished from the park and set to live out the rest of his life in the dangerous inner city. Followed by his best friend, a mute rat named Buddy, Surly nearly gives up hope of making it alive through the night when he finds the ultimate gold mine: Maury’s Nut Store, a fake headquarters for a gangster operation that just so happens to be filled to the brim with bags of nuts.
The plot goes on as Surly attempts to take the stash for Buddy and himself, with Andie, Grayson and the rest of the park’s crew following closely behind. Surly and friends carry out a bank heist within a bank heist, becoming the “vermin” creatures that bother the human mob, who is trying to carry about its own scheme to steal from the bank across the street.
Confusing itself between mature themes and childlike jokes, “The Nut Job” doesn’t find appropriate ground in either realm. The robbers bring guns to their fight, tunneling under their headquarters to reach the bank’s vault. Many of the park’s creatures, including families of gophers and mice, make fart jokes and enjoy cartoony dancing. The mix of the two makes for multiple awkward moments where unnecessary gags are given plenty of time to outstay their welcome.
On the outside, “The Nut Job” is an obvious work of effort. The animals are crisply animated, all appearing cute and friendly, well-designed for potential toy merchandising. Their setting, a mid-century town where the common fashion includes shoulder straps and bowler hats, is vivid, albeit strangely out of time with the modern soundtrack. And the voice-acting talent, which includes supporting roles for names as big as Maya Rudolph and Jeff Dunham, is appealing, with each actor given a suitably believable role in addition.
Yet, despite all the apparent signs of fun and endeavor by the filmmakers, the resulting product is incredibly underwhelming, a prime example of what happens when admirable ideas aren’t well thought out to begin with. “The Nut Job” plays it safe with clichés aplenty and mostly humorless running jokes that copy even the most insignificant kid flicks, culminating in a decent-looking film that doesn’t come close to making its intended bang.