The Nut Job Coloring Pages

The Nut Job coloring pages: 24+ free printable PDF designs featuring Surly the squirrel, Andie, Buddy the rat, Precious the pug, Raccoon, Grayson, Mole, and Cardinal from the 2014 animated film. The set also includes two connect-the-dots pages and two dot-to-dot activity pages. Every page is available to download as a PDF or color directly in the browser, with no account or payment required.

The Nut Job is a 2014 computer-animated film directed by Peter Lepeniotis, following Surly, a self-centered purple squirrel banished from his park, who hatches a heist on a nut shop, unaware it is a front for a criminal gang.

These pages suit fans of the film, younger children who enjoy animal characters, and families looking for a variety of animal types in one coloring set.

The most interesting coloring decision in this set is also the first one: Surly is purple. Real squirrels are brown and grey, but the filmmakers made him purple to signal that he is an outcast who does not belong. Every other animal follows the same logic: color in this film is character, not biology.

Quick Answer

The Nut Job coloring pages are a free set of 24+ printable PDFs and browser-based coloring sheets from the 2014 animated film, covering the main animal cast, the villain characters, and connect-the-dots and dot-to-dot activity pages.

Best for: children aged 4 and up, fans of the film, and families who enjoy animated animal adventures

Formats: printable PDF and online coloring

Popular pages: Surly solo and with Andie, Precious, and the activity dot pages

Creative uses: a character palette study, a hero vs. villain color comparison, an activity page session, and a full cast portrait display

What’s Inside The Nut Job Coloring Pages

The set covers all seven main characters with solo pages and shared scenes, plus four activity pages.

Surly

Surly appears in the largest share of the set, with multiple solo portraits at different moods and energy levels, a scene holding nuts, and paired scenes with Andie and Precious.

Coloring Surly: Surly is purple: a medium, slightly cool purple that reads as distinctive without being neon. His eyes are a warm amber-brown, providing the only warm accent against his cool-toned body. His bushy squirrel tail is the same purple as his body. This is not a realistic animal coloring exercise. Purple Surly works when the purple is confident and consistent, not tentative or brownish. Children who want to stick closer to natural tones can make him a dark grey-brown, but the purple is what makes the character recognizable.

Andie

Andie, the red squirrel protagonist, appears in several solo pages and in group scenes with Raccoon, Precious, and Surly.

Coloring Andie: Andie is a red squirrel, which means she is the one animal in the cast colored closest to her real species. Her coat is a warm, slightly orange-red; her underside is cream-white, and her eyes are a clear, warm brown. She is the most naturally colored animal in a cast of deliberately stylized characters, which gives her pages a warmer, friendlier quality than Surly’s. The contrast between Andie’s warm red-orange and Surly’s cool purple is visible on every shared page.

Precious

Precious the pug appears in solo pages and in a group scene. Her connect-the-dots page is one of the activity highlights of the set.

Coloring Precious: Precious is a fawn pug with the classic pug color scheme: warm beige-tan body, a darker warm brown around the muzzle and ears, and deep brown eyes. Her wrinkled face has natural shadow areas that reward slightly deeper shading. She is the most domestically colored animal in the set, soft and warm, with no stylized color departures.

Raccoon

Raccoon, the film’s antagonist and park leader, voiced by Liam Neeson, appears in a solo page and the group scene with Andie and Precious.

Coloring Raccoon: Raccoon follows the natural color scheme of his species more closely than Surly does, but with a cooler, more controlled quality. He is grey with a darker grey mask pattern around his eyes and darker rings on his tail. His coloring is deliberately restrained compared to the other animals, which suits a villain whose power comes from control and authority rather than physical presence. Using slightly cooler, more desaturated greys for Raccoon, compared to warmer tones for Andie and Precious, reinforces the character difference.

Buddy the Rat

Buddy, Surly’s loyal but silent rat companion, appears in two solo pages and alongside Ron in the group shots.

Coloring Buddy: Buddy is a brown rat with a long tail, large ears, and a small, expressive face. His palette is warm earth brown, lighter on the underside. His simplicity of design makes him one of the easier pages in the set, while his expressiveness makes him one of the most rewarding to get right.

Grayson and Mole

Grayson, the park’s self-proclaimed hero and an overconfident grey squirrel, and Mole, the bumbling underground worker, each have dedicated pages.

Coloring Grayson: Grayson is a grey squirrel in natural tones, medium grey with lighter underside and a slightly warmer brown-grey face. His design is intentionally generic compared to Surly’s, reflecting his role as the conventional hero type who turns out to be less capable than he claims.

Coloring Mole: Mole has the pinkish-grey, almost hairless appearance common to cartoon mole designs. His eyes are tiny, and his paws are large and digging-shaped. His pale, slightly pinkish skin tone is distinct from every other animal in the set.

Activity Pages

The set includes four activity pages: a connect-the-dots for Surly, a connect-the-dots for Precious, and two dot-to-dot pages featuring Andie. These pages work well as a warm-up before coloring or as a standalone activity for younger children.

Printable PDF and Online The Nut Job Coloring Pages

All pages are available as printable PDFs or in the online coloring tool. The activity pages print best for younger children who will use them alongside the coloring pages as a combined session.

What These Pages Do

The Nut Job gives children a coloring set where coloring is considered extra work. Surly is purple because purple reads as different and isolated, not because squirrels are purple. Andie is warm red-orange because warmth reads as trustworthy. Raccoon is cool grey because desaturated tones read as controlling and withholding. Working through this set teaches children something beyond staying inside the lines: colors carry meaning, and a color choice communicates character before a single word is spoken.

That is a more active engagement with color than most animal coloring sets ask for, and it arrives naturally because children already want to get Surly right.

The AAP notes that activities asking children to make intentional choices, rather than just filling shapes, support the development of creative reasoning and decision-making.

Art therapy practitioners note that coloring characters with deliberate, non-literal palettes tends to slow children down in a productive way: they spend more time with each color decision, building the kind of focused attention that transfers to other detail work.

How to Color The Nut Job Coloring Pages Well

Commit to Surly’s purple. The single biggest mistake on any Surly page is coloring him brown because squirrels are brown. He is purple by design, and a tentative or muddy purple loses the character entirely. Use a confident, medium-cool purple, and the rest of the page falls into place around it.

Use Andie’s warm red-orange as the counterweight to Surly on shared pages. The contrast between her warm tones and his cool tones is the visual language of their relationship. When both are present, keep her warmer than him across every element: coat, eyes, expression.

Raccoon’s grey should feel controlled, not colorless. There is a difference between grey that reads as neutral and grey that reads as cold. For Raccoon, lean toward a blue-grey rather than a warm grey, and keep the tones more uniform and less textured than Andie or Precious. He should look composed.

The dot-to-dot pages work best with a sharp pencil first, then color. Complete the connection dots in pencil before adding color, so the number marks do not interfere with the coloring once the lines are complete.

5 Creative Craft Ideas with The Nut Job Coloring Pages

Character Palette Study

Color one page each of Surly, Andie, and Raccoon and display them in a row. Add a label under each: “Cool Purple,” “Warm Red,” “Controlled Grey.”

A three-character display that shows the film’s deliberate use of color to communicate personality. Takes about twenty minutes.

Hero vs. Villain Comparison

Color Surly (once his arc is understood, he is the hero) and Raccoon side by side on a dark card. Label them: “The Outcast” and “The Controller.”

Two characters whose moral positions reverse across the film, displayed as a before-and-after of how color can mislead and reveal. Takes about fifteen minutes.

Precious Activity Session

Complete the Precious connect-the-dots page, then color the finished pug using her natural fawn palette. Display the finished dot page alongside a colored solo Precious page.

A two-step activity: first, build the character, then color her. Works especially well for younger children. Takes about fifteen minutes.

Full Cast Portrait Row

Color one page each of Surly, Andie, Precious, Raccoon, Buddy, Grayson, and Mole, and arrange them in a row with names below.

The complete main cast in a single display showing the full range of the film’s color palette. Takes about forty minutes.

Surly and Precious Pair

Color the Surly and Precious paired page, keeping Surly’s purple cool and confident and Precious’s fawn warm and soft.

The film’s most unlikely friendship, with the color contrast between the two characters as the visual anchor. Takes about fifteen minutes.

FAQ About The Nut Job Coloring Pages

Are these The Nut Job coloring pages free, and can I color them online?

Yes. Every page is free, with no account, email, or payment required. Download the PDF to print at home, or open it in the online coloring tool to color on screen.

What is The Nut Job?

The Nut Job is a 2014 computer-animated film directed by Peter Lepeniotis and produced by ToonBox Entertainment and Redrover International. Released on January 17, 2014, the film follows Surly, a self-centered squirrel banished from his park, who discovers a nut shop and plans a heist, not knowing the shop is a front for a criminal gang. The film grossed $120.9 million worldwide.

Who are the main characters?

Surly, voiced by Will Arnett, is the protagonist, a self-centered purple squirrel who learns the value of cooperation. Andie, voiced by Katherine Heigl, is a compassionate red squirrel. Buddy is Surly’s silent rat companion. Precious is a pug owned by the criminals who guard the nut shop. Raccoon, voiced by Liam Neeson, is the park’s manipulative leader and the film’s true villain. Grayson, voiced by Brendan Fraser, is the overconfident park hero. Mole, voiced by Jeff Dunham, works for Raccoon.

Why is Surly purple?

Surly’s purple color was a deliberate design choice by director Peter Lepeniotis to visually set him apart as an outsider and outcast among the park animals. Real squirrels are brown or grey, but the film uses color to communicate character rather than biology throughout its animal cast.

Is there a sequel to The Nut Job?

Yes. The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature was released on August 11, 2017, also directed by Peter Lepeniotis. It continues the story of Surly and the park animals.

What are the connect-the-dots and dot-to-dot pages?

Four of the 24+ pages are activity pages rather than standard coloring sheets. Two are connect-the-dots pages (Surly and Precious), and two are dot-to-dot pages (Andie). These pages are best suited for younger children and can be completed before or alongside the coloring pages.

Are these official The Nut Job coloring pages?

No. These are fan-made coloring sheets for personal use and are not affiliated with, licensed by, or endorsed by ToonBox Entertainment, Redrover International, Open Road Films, or any other rights holder of The Nut Job.

What age group are these pages best suited for?

The activity dot pages suit children from age three. The standard coloring pages work well for children aged four. Older children will find the character study pages, particularly the Raccoon and Surly contrast, more engaging.

Start Coloring

Download any page by clicking the design. No account, email, or payment is required. Pages print directly from the browser at full resolution or open in the online coloring tool for screen use. Share finished pages on Facebook or Pinterest using the share buttons at the top of each design page.