Pragmatism, Compassion and Love in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017)

3 Dimensions of Expanding Humans’ Relation to Animals

 

Abstract: This articles explores the depths of mass-media representation of non-human entities living in the natural habitat and their reactions to humans’ interventions in the animation movie The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017): while it does not appear on the background of ideological resistance, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature combines in creative ways insights into ecological problems of our times with universal quests for survival and adaptation in the name of survival. In doing so, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature contributes in a decisive manner to constructing a visual-auditive discourse of courage, far-sighted vision and compassion as well as their subsequent propagation by means of popular consumption, compounded by its high success rate both at the box-office and with critics at the time of its release.

 

Humanizing animals

It is a well-known problem nowadays that humans’ impact on the Earth’s ecosystem leads gradually to its demise and, consequently, to the gradual destruction of mankind’s natural environment. This article focuses on one animation movie which displays an open concern for nature and its increasingly troubled relationship with humans: The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (directed by Cal Brunker and released by Open Road Films, ToonBox Entertainment, Gulfstream Pictures, Red Rover International and Shanghai Hoongman in 2017). The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature deals with the progressively acute problem of the devastation of animals’ natural habitat by means of human intervention, while highlight burning issues related to the anthropocentric advancement of life on Earth and the potential dangers which result from this reconfiguration of the naturally designed food-chain.

In The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, the purple squirrel Surly lives in the midst of the Liberty Park’s urban wildlife community while overseeing an all-you-can-eat buffet at Maury’s Nut Shop now renamed Nibbler’s Nut Shop. The American red squirrel Andie who has a different outlook on life based on hard-work and persistence and on developing important skills necessary for long-term growth, worries that the easy life might turn the animals into lazy, irresponsible individuals unable to take care of themselves. Her worries prove founded when Mole accidentally blows up the nut shop after he forgets to reduce pressure from the boiler, but Surly finds an easy solution when he suggests to return to their roots by foraging for food in Liberty Park after failing, together with his friend Buddy, to find other food-packed places. In the meanwhile, concerned that Liberty Park is not financially prosperous and never makes money to add to the city’s budget, Percival J. Muldoon, the unscrupulous Mayor of the fictional Oakton City in which the plot in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature takes place, decides to turn it into an amusement park named Libertyland. Surly and Andie discover Muldoon’s plot, and Surly convinces the animals to sabotage the construction workers’ efforts to tear down the park. However, Surly’s enjoyment is short-lived; Andie attempts even more to convince the animals to work hard for food – which Surly opposes as he believes this life strategy can result in disappointment. Consequently, they must think of a sustainable way to oppose the construction plans underway, particularly after the construction workers’ foreman tells Muldoon about the animal attacks and the humans’ efforts grow both in intensity and ruthlessness. The subsequent development of the narrative line follows the competing undertakings of the parties involved: one the one hand, the humans driven by the perspective of financial gain; on the other hand, the animals motivated by the dreadful threat of losing their homes. In the process, various tactics are employed which neatly divide between good and evil, while the ground-tenor of the movie builds up tension towards the inevitable denouement. The relatability of the characters results from their plain, but striking memorability as well as from the transferability of the situations they find themselves involved in, be it the animals protecting their habitat and the weaker among them, be it the humans trying to expand their gains despite calculated damages incurred to their own habitat and the loss of natural resources.

The current analysis takes into account three levels of the debate on the impact humans have on the life conditions of animals – anthropomorphism, deep ecology versus environmentalist propaganda and discursive rather than practical solutions – which reflect the three dimensions circumscribing historical phenomena: socio-cultural, economic-political and technologic-educational. To this outcome, I proceed in three steps: firstly, I analyse the process of humanizing non-human entities and the tactics employed in conferring them memorability and relatability. Secondly, I observe the economic-political implications of openly displaying the consequences of humans’ reckless intervention in nature as well as the potential warnings to be drawn from their mass-media conveyed brutality. Thirdly, I refer to the technologic-educational dimensions of proactively showcasing and propagating environmental awareness in connection with the message of life as the most important asset one possesses and could ever possess which might eventually lead to its implementation on a real-life scale. In the Conclusion, I wrap up major ideas and outline some further analytical prospects in relation to similar mass-media projects detailing the not-so-visible implications of human actions.

 

Anthropomorphism: the socio-cultural circumscription of nature

When perceiving and processing their environment, children have an innate tendency to “humanize” it by adding elements which turn it from an external unknown into an internal familiar. This tendency diminishes throughout the years as children mature into full-fledged grown-ups, but at some deeper level, the ability to understand and empathize with familiar structures rather than unknown elements stays strong, which is why comics and cartoons with “talking animals” are by far more impactful than those employing human-like characters.

In The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature the characters keep their original appearances; they are drawn as “talking animals” in the tradition initiated by Walt Disney and continued ever since in most animation works released by Western enterprises. The narrative line respects the structure of the classical dramaturgic pyramid explained by Gustav Freytag (1816-1895) with a clear exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action and denouement or resolution, so that the characters involved take over clearly outlined roles. Surly, a purple squirrel who was at first loathed by the park’s animals, is now considered a hero for defeating Raccoon in the first movie (The Nut Job, released in 2014 under the direction of Peter Lepeniotis, produced by Endgame Entertainment, Red Rover International, ToonBox Entertainment, Gulfstream Pictures and distributed by Open Road Films) and becomes Andie’s boyfriend after helping to save all animals inhabiting Liberty Park from a dire food shortage that he had unintentionally caused. He is a typical main character on a symbolical journey during which he encounters hardships he has to overcome with the help of those around him. In doing so, he learns important individual values such as hard-work, honesty, persistence and collective values such as loyalty, empathy and cooperation. Andie, his female counterpart, is a compassionate and beautiful red squirrel who was in the first movie The Nut Job Surly’s love interest, and serves as a reminder of the feminine power with its qualities of unconditional warmth, resolute kindness and firm boundaries in counterbalancing the masculine tendency to live in the moment on the quest for infinite instant gratification while ignoring long-term consequences. The secondary characters reconstruct in a funny, but realist manner, the common dynamics of human communities, with misunderstandings, challenges, difficulties counterpointed by moments of reconciliation and shared joys.

More importantly, the Liberty Park animals are not presented as idealizations of the humans they are supposed to embody, but display complex physical and mental-emotional configurations which allow them to appear both relatable and familiar. Their adventures and mishaps as well as their needs and desires are, by large, reflections of human needs and desires in similar circumstances – this puts The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature in the same category as Zootopia (2016, directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) and The Angry Birds Movie (2016, directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, produced by Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing) of recent years, which strive to communicate important messages of communal life, interhuman relationships and personal choices, while transcending traditional visions of animation, mass-media corporations and their function respectively their contribution to the sociocultural worldview of audiences.

Once nature is humanized and therefore brought more closely to the audiences’ own quotidian experiences, it is gradually turned into an instrument to convey producers’ messages: in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, the main message seems to be the destruction of the animals’ habitat and its replacement with constructions which serve humans’ needs, be it a result of economic growth or of greed and ruthlessness.

 

Deep ecology versus environmentalist propaganda: the economic-political instrumentalization of nature

The humanization of nature leads to an increasing familiarity among audiences which, consequently, enables a more profound ideological impact. This is where the individual visions of creators kick in: their progressive conceptualizations of the world and of humankind are encoded in the animated images with accompanying soundtracks aiming at delivering specific messages.

The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature’s main focus is to highlight the vitality of nature in its extremely limited version of a city park. For once, it is not “genuine nature” as it had already been tamed by humans in their urbanization movement which is the main element of industrialization and technological development. The animals living in the park are not wild animals, but ones who had already been turned into city dwellers – and with this socioeconomic transformation, specific behavioural changes had occurred: there is an uncomfortable subtlety in the initial representation of Surly and his companions as lazy, greedy freeloaders, enjoying a carefree life at the all-you-can-eat buffet at Maury’s Nut Shop (now renamed Nibbler’s Nut Shop). This seems as the best of all possible worlds, were it not for Andie’s worried attitude who promotes a more work-first-reward-later existential vision. Her worries clash against Surly’s light-hearted attitude, only to gain traction once the nut shop is accidentally blown up by Mole, one of the group’s members, who forgets to fulfil his duties. Confronted, again, with the harsh realities of life, Surly nevertheless finds the resources to solve the food crisis – and in doing so, to gain Andie’s admiration and affection.

The further development of the plot unveils the city mayor’s plans to turn the park into an amusement enterprise which will bring in more financial gains: the threat posed surpasses by far the previous food crises with Surly feeling responsible for those around him – an attitude inspired by Andie’s sense of urgency rather than by the very real situation surrounding him. Slowly, a second message emerges in the background of the first one, indelibly visible in the visual-auditive outfit of the animated movie: the necessity of cooperation among those involved, compounded by the urge to find common strategies in order to assure the survival of all those affected and not only of the fittest. An indelibly humanist solution which rejects the abandonment of the weak in the name of the unconditional acceptance of death as inevitable part of the cosmic cycle, in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, cooperation both within the Liberty Park’s community and among the various communities already pushed to their survival limits in the city ensures the survival of their members: they are driven and motivated by the faith that positive outcomes are not only possible, but also probable as long as one looks for them in the right places and moves forward, boldly, courageously, compassionately. Eventually, the humans themselves are presented less as demonized characters with their relentless greed, aggressiveness, ruthlessness, and more as misguided individuals.

There is, nevertheless, a specific tension between the limited nature of a city park and the limitless joy of life displayed by the dwellers of that very city park: in their determination to save their home, in their resourcefulness to overcome individual pettiness, in their efforts and willingness to sacrifice themselves so that their habitat survives, there is a powerful message of what it might take to turn an animated vision into reality. Once again, the return to the classical dramaturgic tool of catharsis allows for transferability of significance from the universe of the artwork to the quotidian lifestyle and existential choices of consumers. Besides the relatability of the characters, this transferability is what turns a mere fictional product into a potential instrument to promote political stability – namely, cooperation instead of competitiveness – as the foundation of healthy, sustainable economic prosperity.

In doing so, Cal Brunker’s humanist vision refers majorly to the individuals living in here and now and blurs the larger-than-life extrapolations of historical advancement. Artistic works cannot change the world – but they can deliver decisive impulses into the right direction.

 

Discursive intellectualism, hypocritical activism and practical solutions: the technologic-educational re-purposefulness of nature

Between defeat and victory, there is an entire universe of expectations: sometimes, it might seem easier to give up on finding solutions and simply move along with the flow of time while accepting the inevitability of destiny. In the larger scheme of things, though, fighting back while emulating the aggressors’ sense of entitlement might deliver the necessary impetus for dealing with life-threatening circumstances.

The animals in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature eventually win their battle. Humour, positive description, straightforward comments dominate the narration: the furry heroes are not presented as cuddly potential traffic victims, but as resolute, stubborn, kind-hearted characters possessing individual, human-like character traits; they reproduce the human community, lost at the dawn of modernity, characterized by loose, but reliable social relationships. Their humorous and oftentimes spectacular metamorphoses remind audiences of their untapped potential, waiting in a dormant state to be awakened, discovered, expanded and transcended into their lives which can turn thereupon into extraordinary existential trajectories. Conversely, humans are not portrayed solely as brainless criminals keen on destruction and plundering, but as ambivalent, desperate characters torn between what they feel they must do and what they are told to do, and carried away by the waves of history. Rather than attempting to convince the audience of the necessity to save the animals and their natural habitat, Cal Brunkers goes the long way of confronting the members of the audience with the world of their most intimate beliefs and emotions, beyond the quotidian, self-driven reality and consciousness, so that they, too, are inspired to find their inner resources for everyday struggles.

The memorability of the characters adds up to their relatability thus enhancing the transferability of the story-line: they are quotidian actors leading quotidian existences peppered with quotidian events. There is hardly anything unusual about them. Their struggles and their joys belong to the category experienced by the average citizen. When struck with difficulty, though, they stand up for themselves, look for practical solutions, overcome personal incompatibilities, form alliances, display humility mixed-up with courage, protect the weak and surround them with love and care. The idea of the community encompasses the underlying value of the individual: in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, the idea of “the survival of the fittest” as a precondition for “the survival of the species” is rejected altogether and replaced with the faith in individual benevolence. “All for one and one for all” lurks in the ideological background and motivates the animals in their fight: no one is left behind as we are all important in our own way and indispensable parts of a whole greater than its components – nevertheless, the whole needs each of us, equally, is the almighty message conveyed throughout The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. The unwitting humanism of this message, its intrinsic statement of love towards life itself, is, simultaneously, a fundamental reminder that individuals cannot exist without others with their “radical otherness”, as Emmanuel Lévinas had put it decades ago, being crucial to the diversity of the universal ecosystem. Surly, the Alpha male in-becoming, rises as a natural leader within the small Liberty Park community; he is not elected, as humans do nowadays, but arises organically from within his group when hardship strikes. From an irresponsible, easy-going young male he evolves towards a self-reliant, self-sufficient member of the community he feels compelled to protect from destruction, inspired by Andie’s admiration and affection (which he had first to win over, they were not simply offered to him) and driven by an innate sense of purpose and increasing accountability. In his newly, gradually found existential direction, Surly encompasses a fresh identity paradigm which revives older ideals of individual excellence and freedom as responsibility, so that individual choices and their consequences are seen for what they truly are: milestones on the pathway to becoming a self-aware, reliable, future-oriented citizen.

The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature shows that living beings are not separate entities, but they exist and co-exist within complex temporal and spatial as well as emotional networks. If their habitat is destroyed, an entire life-network is destroyed, at the same time: a small, vital, circular universe is ruined in the name of human progress and development. With insight, courage and cooperation, the restoration of the original state of harmony is an endless process, and alongside this process both victories and defeats are faced with courage and dignity and accepted as such. This state of harmony which is yearned for by all living beings is never an existential circumstance in itself not to be addressed or challenged, but a process to be sought and attained within a long instructive and exhausting journey. This journey is commonly called “life”.

 

Enhancing our human nature

The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature shares the message of life as being the most important asset one possesses and could ever possess, with the additional urge of the necessity to live one’s life at its fullest and to move continuously with the flow of history. The animation movie choses the slightly humorous diversity-oriented framework, while observing the destruction of domestic communities by means of human intervention, progress and technology. There is a subtle reactive nostalgia, as well, in the subtext of questioning human advancement and its effects on other living beings, with clinical realism, but lacking cynicism, and compounded by tender humour and warm humanism: two fundamental dimensions of the creative reaction to the realities of life and its set-backs while enjoying life to its full extent, at the same time.

Ultimately, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature presents a dual structure, in which the ecological concern takes the front-seat: while humans do their best to fulfil the capitalist ideal of continuous economic growth on a planet which is not growing itself, they only pursue, in fact, prevailing ideas sold by mainstream technologies. Even when this economic growth comes at a considerable expense, short-term benefits outweigh long-term costs – which, once again, is how national supremacies and global hierarchies are promoted and maintained. The antagonists in the movie are ridiculous in their lack of far-sight; at some point, though, their obvious ridiculousness turns into pitifulness and audiences start to empathize with their struggles and efforts to understand why things move from bad to worse (see Barber, 1996). Eventually, it is not so much the animals’ ingenuity which wins the battle, but rather the humans’ inability to adapt to changing historical circumstances, which require flexibility, dynamism, recalculation of costs-benefits ratio as well as the redistribution of tasks. Moreover, corruption and incompetence appear as endemic in an over-bureaucratic system which does not allow for individual creativity and spontaneous responses. It is an unusually optimistic animation movie. The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature offers insights both into the mechanics of democracy by mid-2010s in the Western world and into the intricate dynamics of urban planning while questioning the global supply and demand dialectics of an increasingly intertwined world community.

Moreover, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature extrapolates the importance of nature by extending its significance to the representation of the quasi-domesticated urban wildlife. Surly and Andie might not be the typical victims of housing projects developers, but nevertheless they care for and strive to protect those around them, either by providing solutions or by grasping for proactive actions. Furthermore, their friends and companions are no less worthy of humans’ compassion than authentic wildlife living outside our immediate territories, even though they seem more adapted to humans’ way of life.

Brunker’s procedure in addressing the necessity to fight even if it means to become, (hopefully) temporarily, like one’s enemies, implies the emulation of humans so that they are defeated with their own weapons. The self-aware decision to fight in a similar manner as the opponents and to adopt their own way for a limited period of time so that victory is ensured, followed by the subsequent repentance and reparatory gestures is, once again, an unusual attitude surfacing in the arsenal of belligerent history: the goal is not only to win, but more so to make sure that the opponent is humiliated and terminated, so that the foreseeable future does not hold similar experiences. While peaceful life is important, surrounding oneself with an aura of fearsomeness is equally essential.

Lastly, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature experiments with the message of enhancing our own humanity: by discovering our own potential, we can unveil its limitless potentialities, fulfil them and then expand them. This transcends the classical paradigm of a “static identity” which demands “know thyself!” so that one can act, think, feel in accordance with one’s true nature towards, a paradigm of “dynamic identity” which not only allows, but also encourages the individual to explore oneself, to experiment and elaborate on prospective potentialities: “discover thyself!”. Then again, this vision of enlarging our sense of humanity comes on the background of a faith in the future promoted recently as a co-creation rather than a prediction based on past experiences and present circumstances: the future is, in this understanding of temporal developments, perpetually fluid, open to our preparations, perceptions and processing abilities, and by no means a fixed structure happening upon us. The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature pushes for self-awareness and individual responsibility backed by unconditional pursuit of what one believes in the name of the collective good. It is, eventually, the victory of individual excellence and personal growth over collective submissiveness: the answer to global challenges might lay, after all, in each individual’s willingness to assume radical accountability.

 

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