Gulfstream Pictures, Red Rover International, ToonBox Entertainment,
Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Stephen Lang, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Gadon, James Rankin
Surly the Squirrel (Will Arnett) has a bad attitude and can’t seem to get along with the other animals in the park. But he’s planning a big heist of peanuts from the processing plant, so he figures to con the others into helping him with the heist. But the humans are also planning a heist, as the processing plant is next to the bank. This creates a whole bunch of problems interfering with both jobs.
This animated adventure story covers the wild animals in the park trying to survive in the world filled with humans. With plenty of well known voices, lots of action, and some pretty darn good artwork, there’s a lot going for this story. It kind of felt like the old Don Bluth films from the Land Before Time series, and An American Tale. The feeling is similar. There are some drawbacks. There’s a lot going on here on many different levels. The film is pretty short. It doesn’t make it to 90 minutes, and so it seems really rushed. Animated films are usually pretty short, but if they’re going to take on all this material they need to give us a little bit more background on the characters. As it is, things happen so fast that it’s hard to keep it all straight. I would think the kids will really like this film. The look and feel is very good, and the artwork surrounding the characters is very good making it very realistic looking. I think there’s enough material to keep the grown-ups entertained as well. Since it’s rather unique in a lot of ways, its not a bad story, and I can recommend this as a family friendly animated film that is something a bit different.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
