The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature is a sequel to 2014’s The Nut Job, an animated comedy that rehashed well-worn concepts from Pixar movies like Ratatouille, Up, and Finding Nemo, whereas convincing stars like Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, and Liam Neeson to waste their abilities on subpar product. The Nut Job 2 follows roughly the identical components, which, regardless of its many deficiencies, apparently labored nicely sufficient the primary time round for folks who needed one thing to occupy their youngsters for an hour and alter.

After all, each motion pictures are stuffed with just about nonstop slapstick humor and a gratuitous variety of jokes concerning the phrase “nuts.” But, aside from a crazed finale on high of a hot-air balloon and some impressed bits of animation, The Nut Job 2 fails to ship something that might be referred to as impressed or authentic. It additionally fails so as to add something new to the flimsy message preached by its predecessor, which, in a nutshell (pun meant), is that typically it’s okay to work collectively. Surly (voice of Will Arnett), a self-centered squirrel used to looking for himself, already realized that lesson by the tip of the primary movie, however it might seem that even an important classes should be bolstered often.

Other characters returning for the sequel embody Andie (Katherine Heigl), Surly’s feminine love curiosity and would-be ethical compass; Precious (Maya Rudolph), a docile pug who befriended Surly within the first movie; and the entire gang of groundhogs and moles that occupy the small animal group of Liberty Park. Newcomers embody Mr. Feng (Jackie Chan), the chief of a gang of “city mice” well-versed in karate; and Frankie (Bobby Cannavale), a dim-witted bulldog who finds his ideally suited mate in Precious.

However, neither of those characters are sufficient to make The Nut Job 2 pleasing or worthwhile in any method. Making issues worse, the film appears decided to make each human character—from younger kids to on a regular basis employees to the evil Mayor Muldoon (Bobby Moynihan)—so obnoxious and contemptible that the story typically performs like an indictment of all of mankind. Animated movies about speaking animals all the best way again to Bambi have reveled in exposing humanity’s faults, however the folks right here veer towards the misanthropic.

This is a transparent ploy to make the animal characters, who run the gamut from boring to unlikable, appear preferable to their human counterparts, because the latter will apparently cease at nothing till Surly and his buddies are lifeless and their beloved house is destroyed to make room for a loss of life entice of an amusement park. But whereas simply amused youngsters would possibly get caught up within the bursts of zany motion and half-hearted stabs at humor (not less than for a short while), others are sure to stroll away disillusioned and even disgusted. Even most elementary-age youngsters, presumably the movie’s target market, would seemingly be happier doing absolutely anything else.