| Surly | |
| First: | Surly Squirrel (2005) |
| Creator: | Peter Lepeniotis |
| Voice: | Will Arnett (adult) Justin Felbinger (young) |
| Species: | Purple squirrel |
| Gender: | Male |
Surly Squirrel is a fictional character created by Peter Lepeniotis and the main protagonist of The Nut Job franchise. He first appeared in the 2005 animated short film Surly Squirrel and the 2011 short film Nuts and Robbers. He then appeared in the animated feature film The Nut Job (2014) and it's one and only sequel (2017). He is voiced by Will Arnett.
A reviewer for the Washington Post described Surly as a "selfish scurrier" with a "grouchy attitude and a "mind for schemes", concluding that "He's not a very fun character to travel with".[1] In 2014, a reviewer in IGN described the character as "admittedly quite surly", but also "trapped in a bizarre and contradictory social commentary about the importance of sharing and the dangers of socialism."[2] A reviewer for the New York Times described the character as a "dour squirrel" prone to tantrums.[3]