The Croods

A story of a family of neanderthal cave men who are forced to move out of their cave and into the open by an ever changing earth, The Croods has all the right ingredients for a good animaiton film in ample doses- generation gap, the ide aof taking risks and daring to explore the unknown, and the concept of sticking on for the family- yet while it provides for a decently engaging watch, one ends up wishing the film would try to be more original. 

Crug is the patriarch of a cave family whose daughter Eep is the constant teeange rebel wanting to break free of her fathers rules. The family is forced to move out of their cave due to an earthwuake triggered by the earth chaning shape, and guided by Guy, a stranger who has made fire his freind, they embark on the journey to the new land, or "Tomorrow" as they put it in a brilliantly worded set piece. infused liberally with cheap laughter and some breathtaking set pieces, The Croods distinctly lacks a strong story idea that can wow you. 

The movie starts brilliantly. establishing the environment and the quirky characters with ease. some crazily fun scenes, especially the ones involving hunting of food each time, make for side splitting fun. The lead characters of Crug voiced by Nocholas Cage and Eep by Emma Stone have the meatiest part and make the most of it with their zeal. Side charactes of Crug's ma in law and his deranged wild toddler add spice to the proceedings. 

Alas, much of this promise never takes off the ground, for the story chooses to remain simple, leaving the majestic grandstanding for the visuals. And stunning visuals there are aplenty here. From the surreal multi colored new world, to the star lit night sky, the visuals transport you almost to an animated Avtar again. Sadly none of the imagination and ingenuity shown with the settings and visuals is seen in the story telling. 

The Croods sorely misses the wow factor a usual Pixar film has. What it does make up for it with is some stellar scenes and a good dose of clean simple family fun. Watch this with the kids especially, they are bound to fall in love with the movie. 

The Croods is such a wonderful film. Animated films rarely disappoint. Out of all the animated Hollywood offerings in the past decade, only 3 might actually be bad films. I’m probably over-estimating that number. The point is that The Croods is as enjoyable as they come.

The Croods is about one of the first families on earth. If everything in this film is to be believed, the pre-historic times look way more fun than the current time. There are animals that probably never existed and the vivid colors in the jungle that make remind of you Avatar (2009). The animation is fantastic, which is backed by superlative imagination. Not just in terms of visuals but also in terms of making it funny and relatable to kids of today’s generation.

One of the film’s funniest jokes is the invention of photographs (among other awesome things). The family portrait at the end made the audience in my theater applaud out of sheer reflex of unbelievability. The belt in the film (which is some weird animal) is hilarious.

While the film is full of adventure, laughs and general fun, it also has heart. Through most of the film, the father goes by the motto: fear is good, change is bad. Yes, evolution is inevitable and what a delightful way to introduce that concept to the kids. The father-daughter relationship manages to touch you on occasion.

This year has a brilliant slate of films. After The Croods we have Epic, Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, Planes, Turbo and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if all of them turn out to be some of the best films of the year and The Croods is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope this has helped break the ice in making you want to watch the film and seek out some fun.

“The Croods” is not an exceptionally out-of-the-box animated flick, but it most definitely is one of those films that draw a fine balance between entertainment and driving a noble message into our thick skulls. Coming from the directors of films such as “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Space Chimps”, fun is found in abundance in this film that harps on the importance of family.

Grug (Cage) is the alpha dog of his caveman family comprising of daughter Eep, son Thunk, wife Ugga and granny Gran. While the family spends most of its time hunting during the day, it bunks in a cave at night, courtesy safety. They are the last remaining family in an arid desert landscape.

Each member of the family is expected to follow Grug’s rules, which mostly includes staying in the cave after dark and not bringing anything new into the family. However, there is always one rebellious member in a family. Here, it happens to Eep (Emma Stone), who in an effort to break free, rebels with her father and wanders on her own. This results in a chance meeting with the highly inventive Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who warns her about the end of the world.

When the Croods' cave is destroyed, the family is forced on a journey into a strange world where Grug's brawn clashes with Guy's techniques for survival.

Watching “The Croods” reminds one of his own family from the word go. An entertaining film is good, but when entertainment comes neatly wrapped in a box filled with familial values, you embrace it with a smile. While most of the humour in the film is physical and slapstick, it doesn’t fail to make one think at regular intervals.

Revolving mostly around the relationship of a family through a course of events, the film throws light on a father-daughter relationship, trust and family bond. Here, we have an over protective father who likes to have his daughter under his watch at all times. It’s not because he hates or doubts her, but because he doesn’t know to let go. Even though the father-daughter relationship goes through several phases along the course of the film, it never loses its charm. In fact, the entire film rests on this relationship that gets stronger and stronger with every passing minute.

Besides the whole family plot, the film also touches on the idea that it's unhealthy to live a sheltered life. The conversations between the family members are funny, especially scenes featuring Grug and Gran.

Cage is a peculiar choice for the voice of Grug, but he doesn’t disappoint. Ryan and Emma in their respective roles hit it off quite well. Director Sanders chips in with his voice to a character named Belt, always found clinging on to Guy.

While the animation is sharp, 3D is totally wasted. I say it’s wasted because there is barely any 3D enhancing moments in the film. “The Croods” can’t obviously match the heights of films such as “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda”, but it achieves what it set out to accomplish.

The Croods are a family belonging to the pre historic era. They are the last family alive on earth.  The man of the house Grug (Nicholas Cage) believes that anything new is bad and keeps the family in the cave and the only time they come out is when they have to hunt for food. But, Grug’s daughter Eep ( Emma Stone)  is a misfit who is bored of this life. She is curious and wants to explore the world outside the cave. She meets Guy ( Ryan Reynolds) who tells her the world is about to end.  When the Croods’s cave is destroyed in a natural disaster they along with Guy are forced to go on a journey that is filled with adventure and mysterious creatures

The Croods is a perfect family film to take your kids along. It will keep you entertained and leave you with a very happy feeling.  Director’s Kirk de Micco and Chris Sanders create an imaginative world filled with creatures such as a walking whale, turtles that can fly and a dog with the face of a crocodile.

The animation is so rich that most of the times you will just marvel at the visual beauty of it. Then you have the eccentric family of Croods to provide guaranteed laughs with some smart one liner thrown in. 

Word of mouth – its fun, funny and a mast see on the big screen

Rating - **** ( Superb, just go for it)

Ticket meter – worth 250 bucks