THE CROODS is a 3D comedy adventure that follows the world’s first modern family as they embark on a journey of a lifetime when the cave that has always been their home, is destroyed. Traveling across a spectacular landscape, the Croods are rocked by generational clashes and seismic shifts as they discover an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures — and their outlook is changed forever.
Animation
Unfortunately, I will want to see all animated films in 3D now. I know, I know … I may be slow to the 3D movement. Admittedly, I have resisted it. Hats off to the creators of THE CROODS for winning me over. The colors are vibrant, the creatures are lively and the beauty of the new world landscape is almost breathtaking. It would not be the same without 3D. Many are hailing it as ‘The Avatar for children.’ They are right!
Storyline
The challenges that this family face are universal despite the movie being set in pre-historic times. A stubborn dad, Grug (Nicolas Cage), is extremely protective of his family and teaches them:
“fear is good; change is bad”
After all, that is what has kept his family safe thus far. His wife, Ugga (Catherine Keener), and their son, Thunk (Clark Duke), are happy to stay safe and follow Grug’s lead. Even though mother-in-law Gran (Cloris Leachman) pokes fun of Grug every chance she gets, she follows suit.
However, the rebellious teen, Eep (Emma Stone), just won’t stand for always being inside the cave. She finds her way out one night only to encounter Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who tells here that the world will end and shares his vision of a new place called “tomorrow.”
The family travels in search of tomorrow and to stay alive after their home is destroyed in the beginning of the end of the world. Grug resists change and still wants his family to ‘never not be afraid’. As their journey goes on, it becomes evident that fear will prevent them from finding ‘tomorrow.’ And the father-daughter dynamic climaxes when Eep refuses to go back to the way things were.
[quote] “To live in fear isn’t living: It’s just not dying.”[/quote]
What I liked:
The challenges that the family face are universal. And the movie is about familia. I’ve already mentioned how much I loved the movie in 3D! And I liked the way the story ended but I won’t spoil that for you.
What I didn’t like:
If I over-think about the message in the movie, it is almost overshadowed with the stereo-types in the movie. Neanderthal dad, subservient wife, dim-wit son, annoying mother-in-law and worst of all: the baby who is more like a creature than a human. Even though the teenage daughter has a brain of her own, the gushing over ‘the boy’ and ‘the shoes’ puts her in the stereotypical teenager role. Honestly, it could be me over-thinking it … it is a movie about cave men people.
Overall, take your family to experience THE CROODS in 3D. It’s worth the visual graphics alone! The movie is in theaters FRIDAY, March 22, 2013. It is directed by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco and produced by Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell.
Photos courtesy of DreamWorks.
