Review of The Nut Job (2014) by Michael J — 05 Jul 2014

I had read some reviews of this movie and went in with fairly low expectations, and I got what I expected. There are a couple of characters that are well-developed enough to get into, but the main character, Surly the Squirrel, just doesn't manage to be likable enough to truly get into until the very end. Most of the other characters don't really have much to them.

The plot is a bit confusing for little ones. The movie never quite focuses on one "bad guy" long enough to give you a focused sense of peril... is the villain the gangsters? The city itself? The gangsters' scary dog? The oncoming winter? The raccoon? Is Surly the bad guy? When the plot does twist and you find out the truth about what's going on in the park, the reveal is so subtle that I'm not sure the young target audience even gets it.

This movie is entertaining, don't get me wrong, in a kid sort of way. Just don't expect a Toy Story (or even an Over The Hedge) out of it. It beats watching one of those random made-in-Russia direct-to-Netflix things, but not by that much.