The Nut Job facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Nut Job |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Peter Lepeniotis |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Peter Lepeniotis |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Paul Intson |
| Editing by | Paul Hunter |
| Studio |
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| Distributed by | Open Road Films |
| Release date(s) | January 11, 2014 (Los Angeles) January 17, 2014 (US & Canada) January 29, 2014 (South Korea) |
| Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | Canada South Korea United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $43 million |
| Money made | $120.9 million |
The Nut Job is a fun computer-animated comedy film from 2014. It's also a heist movie, meaning it's about a big plan to steal something. The film was directed by Peter Lepeniotis, who also helped write the story.
Many famous actors lent their voices to the characters, including Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, and Liam Neeson. The movie is based on a short film called Surly Squirrel, which Peter Lepeniotis made in 2005. The Nut Job was released in the United States on January 17, 2014. It cost about $43 million to make and earned over $120 million worldwide.
A sequel to the movie, called The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, came out a few years later on August 11, 2017.
Contents
What Happens in The Nut Job?
The story of The Nut Job takes place in the late 1950s in a made-up place called Oakton City.
Surly's Adventure Begins
The main character is a squirrel named Surly (Will Arnett). He lives in Liberty Park with his quiet rat friend, Buddy (Rob Tinkler). Surly is known for being a bit of a troublemaker and a thief, so he's not very popular with the other animals in the park.
The park animals, led by Raccoon (Liam Neeson), are running low on food for the winter. A kind squirrel named Andie (Katherine Heigl) and a show-off squirrel named Grayson (Brendan Fraser) try to find food. They compete with Surly and Buddy to get nuts from a cart. This cart belongs to two human criminals, Lucky and Fingers, who are actually planning to rob a bank.
During the scramble for nuts, the cart's propane tank explodes in the park. This accident destroys almost all the animals' winter food supply. Because Surly was involved, he gets kicked out of the park.
Finding Maury's Nut Shop
Now on his own in the city, Surly and Buddy discover a place called Maury's Nut Shop. This isn't just any nut shop; it's a secret hideout for the criminals Lucky, Fingers, their boss King (Stephen Lang), and Knuckles. They plan to dig through the wall from the shop into the bank next door to steal money and replace it with nuts. King's girlfriend, Lana (Sarah Gadon), thinks King has stopped being a criminal and that the nut shop is a real business.
Raccoon sends Andie and Grayson into the city to find more food. Andie finds a dog whistle that Knuckles threw away. Surly had used it earlier to control Precious, a pug dog belonging to Lucky. Andie threatens to get rid of the whistle if Surly doesn't agree to share any nuts he finds. Surly agrees, and he accidentally becomes friends with Precious.
Raccoon's Secret Plan
Andie tells the park animals about Surly's plan to get nuts from the shop. Raccoon agrees to the plan, but he secretly plans to stop Surly from getting any nuts. He wants to control all the food himself. Raccoon sends Mole (Jeff Dunham) and some other animals to help.
Surly soon learns from Mole that Raccoon wants to control the food to stay in charge of the park. Raccoon plans to mess up the heist. When Andie doesn't believe Surly, he leaves.
The Big Heist and Its Aftermath
While collecting nuts, Surly gets caught by King. But Lana, King's girlfriend, helps Surly escape. Lana then leaves King because she realizes he's still a criminal.
Later, Surly and Grayson chase the criminals' getaway truck, which now has Raccoon and the other animals inside. Surly fights Raccoon's bird assistant, Cardinal. Mole then tells all the animals the truth about Raccoon's selfish plans. The animals decide that Raccoon is no longer their leader.
King and Knuckles use dynamite from the truck to blow up a police roadblock. The police shoot the truck's tire, and it falls from a dam. Surly and Andie manage to get off the truck before it explodes. They fall into the river. Surly makes it to a log, but Raccoon, King, and Knuckles also survived. Raccoon tries to hurt Surly, but the log starts to break from the weight of the nuts. The other animals arrive to save Surly.
Surly decides to be brave and selfless. He lets himself fall over the waterfall with Raccoon to protect his friends. The park animals are sad, thinking Surly is gone.
A Happy Ending
The nuts make it safely to Liberty Park. King and his friends are arrested, and Lana officially breaks up with King. Andie and Buddy are still sad about Surly. Precious, the pug, finds an unconscious Surly and brings Buddy to him. Surly wakes up and hugs Buddy!
Precious then leaves to meet Lana, who plans to open a real nut shop. Andie is so happy to find Surly alive and hugs him. She suggests telling everyone about his bravery. But Surly says no. He has learned to work with others and decides to go into the city with Buddy, letting Grayson take all the credit for the nuts arriving at the park.
Who Are the Characters?
- Will Arnett as Surly: A purple squirrel who is the main character. He starts out as a selfish loner.
- Brendan Fraser as Grayson: A squirrel who loves to show off and pretends to be the park hero.
- Gabriel Iglesias as Jimmy: A groundhog and the leader of a group called the Bruisers.
- Jeff Dunham as Mole: A clumsy mole who works for Raccoon. His eyes are very sensitive to light.
- Liam Neeson as Norvirus Raccoon: The sneaky and power-hungry leader of the park animals. He kicks Surly out.
- Katherine Heigl as Andie: A kind and caring red squirrel who becomes Surly's friend.
- Stephen Lang as Percy "King" Dimpleweed: A criminal boss.
- Maya Rudolph as Precious: A pug dog who belongs to Lucky and later Lana.
- Sarah Gadon as Lana: King's girlfriend, who later leaves him.
- James Rankin as Fingers: One of King's criminal friends.
- Scott Yaphe as Lucky: The owner of the peanut cart and Precious's first owner.
- Robert Tinkler as Buddy: Surly's quiet rat friend who doesn't talk much. Robert Tinkler also voices Redline, a mouse.
Music from The Nut Job
The music for the film was created by Paul Intson. The official soundtrack was released on January 17, 2014, the same day the movie came out in the United States.
The Sequel: Nutty by Nature
A sequel, The Nut Job 2, was announced shortly after the first movie's release. It was eventually released on August 11, 2017. Many of the original voice actors, like Will Arnett and Katherine Heigl, came back for the second film.
In The Nut Job 2, the park animals work together to stop a dishonest mayor. He wants to destroy Liberty Park and build a dangerous amusement park in its place. A famous actor, Jackie Chan, joined the cast as a new character named Mr. Feng, who leads a gang of street mice.
See also
In Spanish: The Nut Job para niños
