1) The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature
Surly the purple squirrel – protagonist of The Nut Job – was perhaps the most irksome animated character to lead the way on a cinema screen in 2014. But money talks, and the big box office figures generated by his movie means we’re being forced to contend with his company once again for The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature later this year. This time, Surly is tasked with preventing the city’s mayor from bulldozing away a park and replacing it with amusement rides.
The Nut Job might have been lurid and glossy on the surface, but the dull heist story, uninspired gags and a self-interested central character merely intensified our yearning for the greater animations of yesteryear – movies that put the plot first and treated animation like the tasteful topping that it ought to be. Unless Surly has a personality change to the point where his moniker becomes ironic, Nutty By Nature is going to have one hell of a tough time winning us over.
Ratatouille proved computer-generated rodents can be likeable. If you’re looking to spend your spare time watching animals scurry around a cinema screen, put on Brad Bird’s animated masterpiece instead. Don’t wait around until summer to see Surly again. He probably doesn’t even want to see you.
