You’re gonna make us follow a character named “Surly.” Really. Let me ask this — do you know how cartoons work? Um, one more — do you know who watches cartoons? In general, it’s not actually adults with an overdeveloped sense of irony.
The entrepreneurial outcast of the park hierarchy is a squirrel aptly named Surly (voice of Will Arnett). Surly doesn’t play well with others. He gets a raw deal early on when a coup to fill the animal food-winter-survival coffers turns negligent. Surly instigated the actions that led to the disaster, but he didn’t really create the actions that set the collective food storage tree on fire. Unfortunately, Surly’s past –sorry, I gotta interrupt here? Who named him “Surly?” Don’t you kinda doom a child with a name like that? Do you ever hear a family say, “Please meet our children … I’d like to introduce you to Sally, Bobby and Crotchety.” Point being, Surly was probably destined to be banished. The animals have government. And it’s quite the Animal Farm government, too. Raccoon (Liam Neeson) is in charge and plots full control through food rationing.
Surly spends at least fifteen minutes moping about banishment. I’m not quite sure why he cares – he doesn’t like the other animals; he doesn’t do anything with them; he doesn’t rely on their warmth, companionship or food. Reminds me of the time I got fed up with my roomies’ cooking and announced I would opt out of our microeconomic collective shopping/cooking agreement. Good God, I’m identifying with a cartoon curmudgeon. Ok, but that’s where it stops. On his own 
in the scary world, Surly ID’s a Legumery and hatches a plan to collect [read: thieve] food for life. He hatches … The Nut Job. Hey, a title! Unfortunately for Surly, this Nut Shop is also found by the park conglomerate who see it as an opportunity to restore their bounty as well. Double unfortunately, this isn’t really a Nut Shop; it’s a front for ye olde time bank robbers. There are nuts, yes, but the occupants spend all of their time tunneling just feet away from the food stores.
The parallel between park animals trying to break into the nut front while the fake store denizens are coincidentally burrowing beneath the bank vault is a well-written symmetry. After that, I’m not so keen on the screenplay. Surly decides midway through that maybe it’s better to work towards a collective end, but the plans are all undermined by Raccoon, and guess who gets blamed? This isn’t exactly an easy plot to enjoy – do we want the animals to be rewarded for stealing? Sure, I appreciate industriousness … but it’s all in the name of theft – and here you have one group of human thieves the movie wants us to dislike exactly juxtaposed with a group of non-human thieves who have our sympathies. What’s up with that?
And we have a hero named “Surly.” And even when he’s acting with the group, he still lives up to his name. You want to root for a surly squirrel? I don’t.
The squirrel’s out to capture the nuts
Don’t ask if he’s got the guts
Endless endurance
Without reassurance
He’s a thievin’; no ifs , ands or buts
Rated PG, 85 Minutes
D: Peter Lepeniotis
W: Lorne Cameron, Peter Lepeniotis
Genre: Adorable fluffy park mammals at war
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Budding criminals
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Society Against Anthropomorphic Depictions (SAAD)
