DAVID ADAMS checks out The Croods…
The Croods (PG)
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The Croods “(I)t’s funny, heart-warming and ticks all the boxes that you’ve come to expect these days when venturing out to see a DreamWorks animated feature.” |
The Croods may be just the latest disfunctional family to hit the big screen but they have got more reason than most to hide in their cave. After all, as is pointed out in the opening scenes, they’ve only managed to survive thus far by being careful.
Set some time before history began, The Croods follows a well-trodden storyline – the family, headed by Grug (voiced by Nicholas Cage), is all about routine until Grugg’s adventurous daughter, Eep (Emma Stone), meets with stranger, Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who warns her the end of the world (da, da, dah!) is nigh.
Not that much warning is needed – by the time Eep has introduced Guy (and his rather clingy pet Belt) to the family, the world that they’ve known has already started crashing down around them.
Forced to abandon the life they’ve known (and their cave) and put aside their fears of the ‘new’, the family and Guy set out on a journey into a world they’ve never known.
Not surprisingly given the subject matter, there’s some considerable similarity with the Ice Age series and just as in that franchise (particularly the later movies), the family – who include engaging characters like Gran (Cloris Leachman), brother Thunk (Clark Duke), and a growling baby, Sandy – encounter an increasingly weird and wonderful cast of creatures, some of whom turn out to friendly – and some of whom do not – as they journey through a strange and wonderfully colourful land and learn about the value of trying something different.
While there’s nothing that sets The Croods far above any other of DreamWork’s offerings, it’s funny, heart-warming and ticks all the boxes that you’ve come to expect these days when venturing out to see a DreamWorks animated feature. A comfortable film to take the family to.
