What would you do if someone drove you away from your home? Let them drive you out or retaliate to save your home? The Nut Job sequel is a flick where animals unite to defeat a common enemy who has evil plans about the park they call home. What makes the animated flick a must-watch is the fact that they destroy their opponent in the same heist style that made The Nut Job a popular kid flick.

The plot of The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature revolves around Surly (Will Arnett), who is not the most active of squirrels around. He lives in an abandoned nut shop with most of his lazy friends who have to move out after an accident leaves the shop done and dusted. They adopt the park as their new home, but with the mayor eyeing profits from the land, they find themselves fighting against man and machine.

With the help of street mouse Mr Feng (Jackie Chan) and fellow squirrel Andie (Katherine Heigl), they take on the corrupt mayor and win back their park. How they do it is what matters because when animals wreak havoc, they do that in their own style.

The most important aspect of this animated adventure is the characters that help Surly in successfully carrying out his mission. There is one animal who always cries ‘We are all going to die’; there is the ‘Weapon of Mouse Destruction’ Mr Feng, who doesn’t like being told he is cute; Precious, the dog, finds love in the house of the villain and Heather Muldoon (Isabela Moner) is the spoilt daughter of the mayor who has nothing better to do than throw tantrums. Surly, on the other hand, becomes mature during the film — from a carefree squirrel to the leader of the pack who plans and executes even when his friends are not there to back him up.

The 3D technology adds an extra dimension to this Carl Brunker directed flick that may not be better than the first film, but is certainly worth a viewing with kids. They get to know the importance of teamwork through The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature as chipmunks, squirrels, rats and others join hand to stand against the humans who believe they are superior when in fact the one that has a team to bank on is the king in reality.

Published in Dawn, Young World September 2nd, 2017