[Mild SPOILER Alert]
The Croods debuted at the Berlin Film Festival on February 15th, to a surprisingly enthusiastic crowd. According to Jim Hill Entertainment writer for he Huffington Post:
An audience of 2000 got to its feet and began to applaud wildly for this silly, sweet yet surprisingly sophisticated animated feature.
Apparently the entire structure of the film relies on two things:
One: The lack of a hard, traditional villain. Instead, what pressures this family in the film to move forward, is constant change itself. The continent has split, and their environment is consistently changing, challenging their ultimate survival.
Two: The entire film is centered on the 3rd act. Co-directors Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders structured the film in such a way that the first two thirds of the film contain most of the lovely slapstick comedy we have come to expect from most animated films. It’s the 3rd act that pushes one of the characters to make an immense sacrifice, that evidently won over the BFF audience.
Whether it be for animation style, story synopsis, or the fact that Dreamworks is about to cut 20-25% of their employees, there have been many reservations in regards to The Croods. Hopefully, for the sake of the studio, this wonderful reception at the BFF, is a sign that they have a good film on their hands.
The Croods opens in theaters in the US on March 22nd.
