Swift shot: A story that evolved from a conversation with John Cleese, developed into a great find at the theaters almost a decade later. The Croods stars some of the most sought-after talent in Hollywood’s voices, Nic Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and rounded out by the ever popular, Cloris Leachman. You are almost immediately immersed in the Croods’ world from opening title sequence to final credits, as the Looney Tunes style of cartoonish laughs pervades your experience, you still really care about this family on the world’s first road trip!
At its heart, The Croods is that, a road-trip flick, but not by choice, as the father of the group Grug (Cage) has to finally leave the eternal safety of his beloved cave. His cave, his sanctuary, his back-drop for many stories that always have the same theme, explore outside the cave after the sun “leaves” and you die. Pretty simple rule to remember, until his teenage daughter, Eep (Stone) reaches that troublesome age of exploration . . . where curiosity killed the cat is not just an outdated saying, it’s reality.
Her dim-witted brother, appropriately named Thunk (Duke) worships his dad and follows his instructions to the T-bone. Well, actually, because Grug doesn’t have very many bright ideas, they don’t feast on T-bone too often, in fact, one drop of egg-yolk per family member per week sustains them! Grug’s family is rounded out by a toddler named Sandy who is more like a wild animal than a human, even a neanderthal, his wife Ugga (Keener) and his mother-in-law, Gran (Leachman). No word on why they gave Gran a tail, yea, I can’t imagine why they did that!
Eep is a rebellious teenager, of course; she manages to sneak a peek outside the cave one night, and learns about many new things . . . chiefly though, she meets a boy! A boy named Guy (Reynolds) who is filled with imaginative ideas, he has harnessed fire and has discovered the first pet . . . Belt. Belt is a scene-stealing sloth, voiced by co-director Chris Sanders. Sanders incidentally voiced Stitch, and Madison and I interviewed both directors, Kirk De Micco and Sanders prior to release in South Beach.
We got to meet Stitch/Belt! Kirk De Micco was great too! Read the interview here!
After Guy and Belt make the acquaintance of The Croods, he pretty much informs them the world is ending and the Earth is swallowing itself with fire. Ya know, kinda a damper on the whole, who are you, why are you hitting on my daughter conversation Grug would much rather be having with this interloper. Fairly shortly after meeting Guy, he is proved accurate in his wild prediction, and Grug has to reluctantly accept his cave is no longer inhabitable. See, Grug has a great motto, “Never not be afraid.” It has served him well in life, and he assumes just being big and strong and hiding behind rocks is enough to survive. He’s not too bright, but his heart is the size of a Macawnivore. A what, Rick?
Oh, I forgot to mention, the story-tellers used some incredible creative licensing by incorporating a kind of evolutionary phase that is the mad scientist era. Where evolution is still testing out new mutations, if you will, of various creatures. I can list them all for you here, but it might be more fun for you to name (and spot) them on your own. My favorite were the flying sea-turtles . . . I wish evolution left those alone, of course it would make flights a lot more . . . interesting. “Sorry folks, we are about to hit a flying turtle, smoke ’em if you got ’em.”
As Guy and the family travel the wild plains, they discover new creatures and new challenges, all while forming an emerging bond with Guy’s help. Yes, Grug is none too happy about being one-upped by this little genius who has designs on his daughter, but he grows to no longer fear change but to accept that change breeds growth and stagnation leads to living in constant fear. That’s no way to live. Thankfully, De Micco and Sanders spared us the annoying cave-man speak, Me Grug, Me No Like, etc. They do have their own appropriately novice language, but it isn’t buffoonish. It simply uses their, VERY limited, experiences to develop their idea on words and the world. It’s kinda fascinating, actually.
So, as the Earth splits from Pangea to the new continents, The Croods make for high ground to . . . “jump on the sun and ride it to tomorrow.” Sure, that sounds legit. I know their fate, but you won’t unless you give this family friendly adventure a chance. Personally I wasn’t expecting to be laughing near as much as I found myself, but when I heard Cleese’s name associated with the story I thought – – – well, there you have it!
With not so slight nods to Looney Tunes (where De Micco cut his teeth) and some really funny physical humor, The Croods is sure to please the kids and the kid in you. Don’t look for any really thought-provoking drama though, and remember this is a kid’s movie, so expect the expected.
Now, get out of your cave and take a road-trip to watch The Croods, it’s a journey of ideas where your imagination is free to fly. Oh, and Chris Sanders learned a lot about 3D when he directed How to Train Your Dragon, and what he learned there he did a wonderful job incorporating into the envelope-pushing 3D in The Croods! In short (too late), see it in 3D!!!!
