Review - The Croods (2013)

Starring Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds.
Directed by Chris Sanders.

The Croods is the latest addition to Dreamworks studio and I quite enjoyed it. The film follows the primitive Croods family who set out for a new beginning after their cave home is destroyed. With the help of a young, less primitive and energetic Guy (Ryan Reynolds), the family sets out across unfamiliar terrain in hopes of reaching "Tomorrow".

The movie opens up with an entertaining and high speed chase where we see the family hunt for breakfast. From there on, the film becomes fast-paced fun, although it does slow down a few times midway. The storyline is familiar; it's nothing you haven't seen before, but what I liked about The Croods is its settings. As in, the movie is set in prehistoric times but The Croods features its own world. As it goes along, the settings and even the animals/creatures are different - almost like a mash of a prehistoric land and a colorful fantasy land. As a result, the film features some beautiful visuals. I thought the script and voicings were good for each character - you'll have some laughs here and there.


The characters are pretty much stereotypical in this movie but nonetheless they are fun. We meet the head of the household - Grug (Nicolas Cage). He is the over-protective, strict father and husband, who for most of the film, is only trying to do what's best for his family. Eep (Emma Stone) is the somewhat rebellious daughter who refuses to conform to her routine cave life and as expected, starts to form a bond with Guy throughout the movie. Grug's wife Ugga (Catherine Keener) is the token cave wife while Guy's pet sloth Belt (Chris Sanders III), Gran (Cloris Leachman) and Thunk (Clark Duke) are the silly comic reliefs.


Fire is portrayed and looked upon as magical by the Croods. It furthermore showed how deeply primitive the family were prior to their adventure. As the movie goes along, we see them adjusting to their new environment outside of the dark caves that they were accustomed to. A lot of modern ideas and tools (such as photography) were infused in the plot in a creative way, which I thought really added to it.

Though the storyline is familiar and The Croods isn't close to Dreamworks best animated work, I found it to be rather fun and enjoyable prehistoric ride.

Rating: 7.5/10



Movies Also Watched:

Where The Wild Things Are (2009)
An adorable, unique and tear-jerking children fantasy film which left me in total awe. - 9.5/10

Clerks (1994)
One of the best comedies I've ever seen with oh so entertaining dialogue and characters. - 10/10

Cache/Hidden (2005)
Michael Haneke's unique, tense, well shot and written way of portraying how one's past can come back to haunt you. - 9.5/10

Office Space (1999)
A decent comedy about the corporate world. Good for some laughs. - 8/10

The Abyss (1989)
A visually splendid sci-fi alien flick which dared to be different. - 9/10

Cool Hand Luke (1967)
A real enjoyable prison drama with some great performances. - 9.5/10