The Nutcracker 2 – The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017)

Directed by: Cal Brunker | 90 minutes | animation, adventure | Original voice cast: Will Arnet, Maya Rudolph, Bobby Cannavale, Bobby Moynihan, Isabela Merced, Peter Stormare, Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham, Sebastian Maniscalco, Kari Wahlgren, Jackie Chan, Katherine Heigl, Julie Lemieux

Although the film was slammed by film critics, the animated film ‘The Nutcracker’ (2014) did not do too badly in the cinemas worldwide. Apparently the youngest film viewers don’t care much if the characters have hardly any character, the story is fairly standard and the makers hide behind a lot of crowds and noise to disguise those shortcomings. That nice receipt was reason enough for the makers to make a second part, which was entitled ‘De nuten kraken 2’ (2017) (the original, English version is called ‘The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature’). Surly the squirrel, the anti-hero who plays the lead role in the films, found himself alone in the first film due to a series of clumsy actions, in the sequel he fights with his friends for a good cause. Both storylines don’t excel in originality, but these films don’t have to rely on that. This second part is much more about crazy, colorful action and cheerful slapstick.

Writer/director Cal Brunker, who took over from Peter Lepeniotis, continues in ‘The Nutcracker 2’ where part one ended. After the local nut bar is forced to close, Oakton City’s squirrels and other rodents take up residence in the store’s basement. A true mecca for the nut lover! But the feast suddenly comes to an end when the boiler explodes and the rodents become homeless again. There is nothing for it but to live in the park again. However, their stay there is also in question; the sardonic mayor of Oakton City has nefarious plans for the park: he wants to turn it into a soulless amusement park in order to earn a lot of money. All the green has to go. It’s up to Surly and his friends to band together and save their beloved park. Virtually all the animals from the first film return: the cuddly pug Precious, the wise red squirrel Andie, the marmot Jimmy and many others. Only the ambitious gray squirrel Grayson is curiously missing. Instead, Surly gets support from an unexpected source; from mr. Feng, a Chinese-accented and kung-fu-equipped leader of a gang of white street mice. Together, the animals try to stop the evil mayor and his spoiled bitch daughter before it’s too late.

The storyline of ‘The Nutcracker 2’ is all too familiar to many viewers of animation/youth films. Somewhere beneath a thick layer of cheerfulness, color explosions and craziness hides an ecological message, a warning that we must be careful with our greenery. But unlike, for example, in the beautiful Latvian animation film ‘Jacob, Mimmi and the talking dogs’ (2019) – which has a similar theme – that message is completely ignored. ‘The Nutcracker 2′ presents a variety of characters, but only a few manage to distinguish themselves in one way or another. In particular, Precious and her love interest, the bulldog Frankie, stand out in a positive way. The voice cast is decent, but nothing more. The animations are of an excellent level, but because we are so spoiled with Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks and Laika, among others, you have to come from a very good house to distinguish yourself in that. The shortcomings that we saw in the first film – chewed-up story, colorless characters, little depth – we see again in ‘The Nutcracker 2’. Although that will be the worst for the young target group: they are in a dent because of all the craziness and slapstick.