To qualify The Nut Job as a ‘cartoon’ would be an understatement. It is a full-length animated feature film featuring the voices of Hollywood actors and having a surprisingly mature script for an amateur audience. There were ‘What is he saying, Daddy?’ or ‘What are they doing, Mom?’ in the air but that doesn’t mean that it is a very intense film. In fact, The Nut Job is a film that carries on in a lighter vein, just with a hint of darkness!

From the days of film noir!

The heist flick takes place – in the fictional town of Oakton – in the 1950s when gangsters ruled America. Just across the street from the gangster’s den existed a park where a group of hungry animals were busy storing nuts for winter, and they would have succeeded had it not been for the self-centered Squirrel Surly (voiced by Will Arnett). His antics cause anguish and pain to the animals who banish him to the city. Once alone, Surly manages to stumble over what he calls the ‘lost city of Nutlantis’, which in actuality is a Nut Store that serves as the gangsters den. With the help of his friends (even those who had voted him out), Surly manages to redeem himself but what the group doesn’t know is what makes the story interesting. While they are busy in looting the Nut Store, the gangsters turned shop owners are attempting to rob the bank across the street. All for one, one for all!

Brilliant characterization, amazing voices!

Will Arnett’s Surly is the hero of The Nut Job but he isn’t shown as one when the movie kicks off. He is a self-centered jerk who thinks highly of himself, considers others as ‘less smart’ and doesn’t believe in helping his fellow animals. He is our average day bully in the form of a squirrel and this is his story. Wait, there is more … he has just ONE friend – a rat named Buddy – and is hated by the leader of the group – the wise Raccoon (voiced by Liam Neeson). You have a Mole who is a mole (yes yes, the rat-kind) and a wannabe hero named Grayson (voiced brilliantly by Brendan Fraser). Surly gets his act right when he meets female squirrel Andie (voiced by Katherine Heigl) but not before he learns the truth about the game that is being played by the mastermind behind it all. The voices of all the actors fit the characters like a glove and although you don’t see their faces, their voice-overs are enough to make you stay in your seat till the credits end!

Moments of joy, drama and excitement!

The best scenes of The Nut Job are the intercut ones where the animals and the people plan their respective heists and by the time the punchline is delivered, the job is as good as done! The twist at the end, the entry of birds when you need them and the obvious teaming of the rats and the mole is brilliantly done and keeps you wondering as to what will happen next.

The Nut Job is as mischievous as any animated film could be and the sidekicks are a proof of that. There is a guard dog named Precious (Maya Rudolf) who befriends the squirrels since they are not as bad as his master. The groundhogs are shown as the most stupid of all animals and same goes for Grayson, the squirrel who is seen as a hero but is a coward at heart!

What makes this movie acceptable to all is that it takes place in a universe where everything lives on, despite the explosions, electrocutions, flattening and being run over by car. Nothing in this world has weight, nothing goes according to the plan and the police are always there when you need them. Reminds one of the Laurel and Hardy comedies, right?

Not less than a movie!

Peter Lepeniotis wonderfully directs The Nut Job and makes us believe that we are watching a heist film rather than an animated flick. The script takes its inspiration from crime films of the black and white era but what an inspiration it turns out to be – digging a tunnel across the street into the bank vault! The crude humour like farting and burping may seem weird to the elders but kids love such stuff (believe me) and even if you don’t want to believe, they are the target market here. With a sequel coming out in two years, you never know what Surly has in mind next!

Omair Alavi works for Geo TV and can be contacted at omair78@gmail.com