The Nut Job is a beautifully animated film featuring the voice talents of Will, Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson and Katherine Heigl. The plot hinges around Surly the Squirrel who after a series of events is blamed for destroying the animals' winter nut stash and finds himself banished from his group. In the city, he discovers a new supply and plans a nut heist that runs concurrently to a real life bank heist masterminded by some pretty mean bank robbers. Surly comes up with a plan to get the nuts and gets a motley crew together to pull off the job. As the heists progress and things get more complicated, it is up to the animals to unite in order to foil the robbers, get the nuts and save the day. Prepare for an action packed, fun filled adventure with funny and furry woodland critters!
There are some cute critters, lots of visual humour, some nut puns and a few fart related gags, which get the kids giggling. There is a beautiful rodentesque bromance, lots of tested friendships and some moral growth to add some depth to the plot progression. With a corrupt raccoon who needs to learn a big life lesson, some gassy groundhogs and a self-serving squirrel who needs to discover his inner good guy, there are some interesting characters in this charmingly good-natured film.
The animation is really lovely, with a comforting retro feel that harks back to the cartoon classics. The attention to detail is really good and there is a lot to look it in every scene. The use of music is effective and the animals dancing to Gangnam Style was a real high point for Freddy who jumped up to join in. The end credits also featured this catchy tune along with a little cartoon Psy! You can't help but smile.
The kids, Kizzy 12 and Freddy 5, enjoyed their Saturday afternoon showing of The Nut Job. Thankfully,we are not offended by toilet humour, slapstick scenes, explosions and cheap gags which are the mainstay of the comedy, so we all happily laughed along with the characters' antics. There is a mass of kid appeal and a lovely underlying moral message in this fun filled and action packed movie. This film appeals to both children and to the young at heart.
Some of the film seemed a little familiar with plot similarities to Over the Hedge and characters that seem to be influenced by Ratatouille's Remy and Ice Age's Scrat. But I found enough original and comic content to make this an enjoyable and amusing watch, with plenty of laughs, lots of action and some touching scenes.
The Nut Job is released on December 8th from Warner Home Video. It is 86 minutes long and has a U certificate. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray and also in stunning Blu-ray 3D.
It will be a perfect stocking filler and is a great film for a festive family movie night.
I was sent a copy of the film to review and Tweeted my thoughts using #TheNutJobMovie.