When I received the invitation from to an advance screening of The Croods, I did not have high hopes for liking this film. I found myself wondering just how great a movie could be about a caveman and his family. Would it be too silly or just some sort of knock off of The Flintstones? Well I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful animation and the smart storyline of this movie about a caveman family in transition.
The Croods is the story of caveman Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) and his family. The Croods are the last family left in their area since all the other cave families have been wiped out by the day-to-day dangers that go with being cavemen. Now Grug is overprotective and keeps his entire family inside a dark cave most of the time and only allows them out to hunt for food.
Most of the family seem to be alright with this dreary way of life, expect for Grug's teenage daughter Epp (voiced by Emma Stone). Epp is tired of playing it safe and wants to experience life, even if it means staring danger right in the face. So one night she sneaks out of the cave when she sees what she thinks is the sun. She follows the light and ends up meeting Guy (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) who has discovered how to make fire and a whole lot more "modern" inventions.
Guy tells Epp that she must come with him because the land where they now are will not be there by morning. But Grug finds his daughter and makes her return to their life of hiding - but they all learn that Guy is right and everything that they have grown use to is about to change. Now they must all come out of hiding and find a way, with the help of Guy, to stay alive in a new land that is as fascinating as it is strange.
The Croods is a beautiful movie with breath-taking animation and action scenes that warrant paying more to see it in 3D. I was totally blown away by the animation and both I and my son at times just wanted to reach out and touch the fantasy world in this movie. And not only is the movie beautiful, but the storyline is also wonderful.
The Croods is a wonderful family movie that is smart, funny, tear-jerking and beautiful to watch. Tween and teen girls will like the romance, boys and girls will love the action, and parents will love the storyline that centers on family. DreamWorks totally hit it out of the park with a movie that has something that every member of the family will enjoy.
The Croods is in theaters now and is rated PG with a runtime of 1 hour 38 minutes.
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Enjoy!
Disclosure: I and my son received media passes to attend an advance screening of The Croods. All opinions are my own.
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