The Nut Job

The Nut Job is a 2014 animated heist comedy film directed by Peter Lepeniotis, who also wrote the film with Lorne Cameron. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Stephen Lang, Jeff Dunham, Gabriel Iglesias, and Sarah Gadon. The film is loosely based on Lepeniotis' 2005 short animated film Surly Squirrel. Produced by Gulfstream Pictures, Redrover International and ToonBox Entertainment, it was released in the United States on January 17, 2014, by Open Road Films. The film received negative reviews, but grossed $120.9 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million. A sequel titled The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature was released on August 11, 2017. Plot In October 1959, in a fictional town named Oakton City, a squirrel named Surly and his mute rat partner Buddy reside in Liberty Park where their thieving reputation has made them outcasts. A group of urban animals led by Raccoon and his cardinal assistant are running low on food for winter. Compassionate squirrel, Andie, and glory hogging squirrel, Grayson, compete with Surly and Buddy to scavenge from a nut cart run by Lucky and Fingers who are casing a bank. The squirrels' efforts inadvertently end with the cart's propane tank exploding in the park after its cord was bitten by Fingers' pug Precious. The runaway cart ends up destroying the animals' food supply, resulting in Surly's banishment from the park.