The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature

Following the events of the first film...

Cast: Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, Bobby Cannavale
Director: Cal Brunker
Genre: Animation
Rated: G
Running Time: 91 minutes

Synopsis: The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature begins with Surly Squirrel (played by Will Arnett), his pug friend Precious (Maya Rudolph) and his best friend Buddy the rat living in the recently closed nut shop. Food is abundant, and life is good… Until the nut shop explodes in a freak accident! After an unsuccessful search for food in the city, Surly returns to Liberty Park. Andie (played by Katherine Heigl) is happy that all the animals are living together in the park again, like nature intended.

Unfortunately for Surly, Andie and the other animals, Mayor Muldoon (Bobby Moynihan), Oakton's most corrupt politician, has other plans for Liberty Park. As he looks down from his penthouse office, he sees the beautiful park as nothing more than premium city real estate that generates zero profit.

At a press conference, the mayor announces Liberty Park will be bulldozed and replaced with Libertyland. Who wants a regular park when you can have an amusement park? The Mayor's spoiled daughter Heather (Isabela Moner) is there with visions of cotton candy dancing in her head. Her French Bulldog Frankie (Bobby Cannavale) is in town.

As the Mayor's bulldozers roll in, Surly leads the animals in fighting back. He recklessly dives into battle, tangling with the construction workers and their giant machines. Working together, the animals are able to outsmart the construction workers and stop them, at least temporarily. As the animals celebrate their victory, the Mayor has other plans.

A group of aggressive animal control exterminators, led by the evil Gunther (Peter Stormare), storm the park and destroy everything in sight. The animals are no match, and they quickly retreat. Even worse, Precious is kidnapped by Heather. Surly and Buddy set out on a daring adventure through the city to rescue Precious. On their way, they come face to face with the dangerous Mr. Feng (Jackie Chan) a tough city mouse with deadly kung-fu skills.

As the amusement park's opening night gets closer and closer, the animals need to band together in order to rescue Precious, stop the Mayor, and save Liberty Park once and for all!

The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature
Release Date: January 11th, 2018

Director's Statement From Cal Brunker

When I came on to write and direct The Nut Job 2, I wanted to make a movie that was bigger and more fun than the first one, and I think we definitely achieved that goal. We were able to take the things that people loved about the characters in the first movie and add to them, while telling an exciting new story.

Directing The Nut Job 2 gave me the opportunity to work with an amazing team of artists around the world. Over one hundred and fifty artists worked for over two years in order to create the characters, animation, sets, props, music and other elements in The Nut Job 2. Making an animated movie is a slow, deliberate process, so it was wonderful to see everything come together throughout the production. I think this movie looks incredible, and it's a testament to the artists who worked on it.

I was also very lucky to work with our incredibly talented and funny cast. The returning cast members like Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, and Katherine Heigl were ready to revisit their characters with a lot of excitement. They're all great comedy actors, and we were able to work together to make their characters funny and interesting. The new characters (played by Bobby Moynihan, Bobby Cannavale, Isabela Moner, and Jackie Chan) clicked with our original cast members, and worked really well together. This combination of old and new characters is what allowed us to make such a fun movie.

While The Nut Job 2 is a funny movie, it's also got an important message of inclusiveness. The animals realise that by putting aside their differences and working together, they can accomplish anything. Now more than ever, it's important to embrace our differences and work together to solve problems. Like Mr. Feng says, 'We are in this together!"

The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature
Release Date: January 11th, 2018