‘The Nut Job’: As animated film noir with gangsters, ‘Gangnam Style’ is a mixed bag
January 16, 2014
Who knew that in the city parks across America, all the furry vermin who scuttle, forage and burrow exist in a grand interlocked society built around the process of collecting a communal hoard for hibernation season? As nutty as that might sound (or not), it’s the crux of Peter Lepeniotis’ richly animated misadventure with shades of “The Wind and the Willows” if funneled through a rigorous round of urban planning.
Much salt and seasoning is added to the archetypal recipe and, as a result, “The Nut Job” is an energetic, yet mixed bag. The impressive 3-D effect adds subtle, enriching depth, and the parallel human story about a bunch of no-neck thugs and their pet pug trying to pull off a bank heist is done with an odd noirish flair. I’m pretty sure that anyone one in the film’s target market of 4 to 10 years old has no idea who Jimmy Cagney was or what a noir is and will be totally wigged out by the vintage cop cars and milk wagons zipping about. Sure, that thing worked with Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes, but their heyday overlapped that of American film noir. Continue reading
For What it's Worth 