[yasr_overall_rating]
Following the events of the first film, Surly and his friends must stop Oakton City’s mayor from destroying their home to make way for a dysfunctional amusement park.
When “The Nut Job” came out in 2014, it was a big hit. I honestly don’t know why as none of the characters in it were relatable, they just felt like cardboard cutouts who just happened to be voiced by talented actors such as Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson, and Katherine Heigl. Fast forward three years and we have the obligatory sequel, “The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature.” This time around, however, even with most of the aforementioned cast reprising their roles, the film flopped upon its initial release and quickly disappeared from theaters.
I’m really not surprised because this movie makes the original look like “The Godfather.” While the actors do their best to inject buoyancy and enthusiasm into their respective characters, nothing seems to click. The animation is fine, actually, some moments are downright amazing, such as the bulldozer scene in the park, but it almost feels like the animators were given one script to work with, and later on, the voice actors were handed something completely different. There’s never any real sense of danger, anticipation, or even romance, even though they all transpire in front of our very eyes, it literally feels like everything was rehashed from the first film in the hopes that nobody would notice. We did, and that’s why the movie never found an audience.
As the story begins, Maury’s Nut Shop has closed down and left behind its entire inventory of nuts in the basement. Surly (Will Arnett) has taken it over and gives all the animals from Liberty Park free reign and free food but when an accidental explosion levels the building, along with all of its contents, the animals are not happy about having to return to nature to rummage and scrounge for their food. Andie (Katherine Heigl) tries, unsuccessfully, to inspire the animals into returning to their roots but when they discover that the city’s mayor, Percival Muldoon (Bobby Moynihan), is planning to demolish their home to make way for a new amusement park, the animals must band together and formulate a plan, before it’s too late.
Even Jackie Chan’s surprise voice cameo, as an adorable but deadly city mouse, cannot save the film. We are introduced to a bevy of new characters, both good and bad, but even with these additions, the movie never finds its momentum and flatlines early on. Some movies work, others don’t, and in this particular instance, it’s clear to see that this falls into the latter category. Young kids, and I mean “young,” might have fun with this but any child over the age of six will most certainly lose interest early on.
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