[REVIEW] ‘The Croods’ Reinvents DreamWorks’ Animation Wheel

When I first saw clips for The Croods, I was a bit put off. I couldn’t get past the strange character designs and the films’s premise really didn’t capture me. Well, I can tell you that after seeing The Croods, I was pleasantly surprised and retract my negative statements. The Croods is a great animated film!

Grug (Nicolas Cage) is the leader of his prehistoric family known as The Croods. With a mantra of “anything new is bad”, he forces his family to live in fear in their dark cave. One night, his curious daughter Eep (Emma Stone) leaves the cave and follows a flickering flame carried by a mysterious guy, conveniently named Guy (Ryan Reynolds). Guy is a much more advanced human than the Croods and takes the family on an adventure to that teaches them to break out of their comfort zone, explore the world, and ultimately evolve.

I really liked this movie. I think it had less to do with the fact that I had low expectations going in, but rather had more to do that it was generally a great film. The visuals are really incredible (some of the best I’ve seen since Rango), the story is somewhat unique and compelling, and, let’s be honest, the film was just plain hilarious. I took my nieces, nephews and older sister and all were laughing every few minutes (in some cases, seconds)! At times, the adults in the audience were laughing harder than the kids–myself included. (Be prepared for a lot of stone-age jokes and a lot of people getting hit in the face. It’s funny, trust me.)

The Croods may be our neanderthal ancestors, but it appears we humans lost their superhuman powers of strength and speed in the evolution process. (Seriously, the family race across the desert and speed climb up mountain walls, you’d think this was a caveman superhero film). All joking aside, the cartoony and unrealistic world of The Croods is what makes it so much fun.

Looking back, I shouldn’t have been worried about The Croods‘ quality considering one of the co-directors is Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How To Train Your Dragon). He hasn’t let us down yet and certaintly didn’t let us down here!

You will love the fun, vibrant, quirky world of The Croods. I don’t say this too often, but I highly recommend it!

★★★★

Da da duuuum! (You’ll get it after you see it.)

 

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