Primitive Love Lost In The Rubble!
by ALAN SAMUEL
Prehistoric times never felt so good. Feel the love in The Croods, a dyanamite animated tale from 20th Century Fox now setting the mark for quality fun at Empire Studio 12, Colossus and Cineplex Odeon Theatres around B.C. Made with the help of Dreamworks Studios, that’s Steven Spielberg’s company, the bar is set high in the imagination realm and gets surpassed.
Well written animated films can be a blast. The Croods is no exception. Sparkling dialogue and vibrant colours explode on screen as we follow the growing pain of a caveman/cavewoman family known as the Croods. Talk about a mixed up brood. The clan live in a cave and seldom venture out. All this changes when they see the light, quite literally. Man of the hour and leader of the pack is the scaredy cat Grug, voiced with suitable fear and timidity by Nicolage Cage (National Treasure). This is a guy that has little time for his mother-in-law who gets off lots of funny barbs his way. Having a teenage daughter is also problematic as Eep has lots of growing pains. Busy actress Emma Stone brings life and love to this character, especially when she meets a new guy, appropriately called Guy. Vancouver’s own Ryan Reynolds shows lots of spark and spunk as the man of the hour who tries to lead this group to higher ground.
Done in 3-D The Croods is an animated delight. Flower fans and those folks who like nifty creatures will marvel at the wondrous creations that come your way courtesy of the joint directing/writing team of Chris Sander and Kerk De Micco. Adult dialogue done tongue in cheeck style jives well with the childlike atmosphere that resonates well here. And there’s a beautful moral tone of seeing a family grow and adapt to new surroundings.
Well done on all counts is The Croods, a playful coming of age story of people who learn and grow.
