The Nut Job
Director: Peter Lepeniotis
Year Released: 2014
Rating: 1.0
Surly the squirrel (voiced by Will Arnett) is ostracized from his wildlife community by shifty Raccoon (Liam Neeson) after he accidentally destroys the food meant to sustain the animals for the winter and has to go over to the "shadier" part of the city to replenish the supply, ending up in a warehouse of nuts occupied by bank robbers. Cribbed horribly from the Dreamworks/Pixar animated features (more from the former and less from the latter), this one is strictly for the grade school crowd, throwing out flatulence jokes, already outdated cultural references (most grotesque: Psy's "Gangnam Style") and offering tired moral advice about the importance of community bonding. On a positive note, the animation is passable as is the voice-work ... Arnett has the gravelly voice of a three-pack-a-day smoker and avid whiskey drinker.
