Nic Cage In a Loincloth: The Croods Review

    And so we begin this year's venture into the world of animation with DreamWorks' take on the prehistoric misadventures of cavemen. What's that? This year's animation already started with Escape From Planet Earth? Hehe, silly reader, pretending that movie actually matters. I mean, it's not like it's my job to judge a movie fairly, especially if I haven't seen it yet. Oh, wait...crap. Well, anyhoo, here's my review of The Croods.
    Eep (Emma Stone) is a young girl who is part of a family of Neanderthal cavemen. Eep gets fed up with the rules set down by her overprotective father Grug (Nicolas Cage), who believes strongly that the outside world is nothing but trouble, curiosity will lead to disaster, and that the only place that's truly safe for his family is inside of a dark cave. The rest of Grugs's family, by the way, include his laid-back wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), his idiot son Thunk (Clark Duke), his hyper toddler daughter Sandy (Randy Thorn), and his wise-cracking mother-in-law Gran (Cloris Leachman). In the middle of the night, Eep is lured outside by a mysterious light (fire), which she soon discovers belongs to a strange young man named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) who warns her that the earth is changing and that she needs to get to high ground if she intends to live. Soon, Guy's warning comes true and Eep and her family are set off on a journey across a strange new land to find a new home.
    When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was deeply skeptical. I mean, the overprotective father plotline has been absolutely done to death, and this seemed like a really poor, almost forced attempt at it. I was amazed to find out, however, that this movie actually had the heart to back up the story, and then some! The Croods is an extremely fun 100 minute ride through a beautiful and extremely creative world that only animation masters such as DreamWorks could provide. The animation in the film is stunning, and the character design is so flawless, it's incredible. Even for a cartoon kids' film, The Croods does a lot to make the story and characters very three-dimensional and relatable. On a sidenote, speaking of three-dimensional: when it comes to movies that are released in 3D, it's very rare that you'll hear me comment on the 3D, because I have a very strong moral stance against the gimmick, and I avoid it whenever I possibly can.
    Now, of course, the convincing character animation wouldn't mean all that much if the characters themselves weren't interesting. And, I'm happy to report, the cast in this movie is wonderful. Special props to Nicolas Cage for proving to us that he can actually pull off a responsible father figure. That's not to say that this movie is not filled with Cage's usual schtick. He certainly has his time to bring us the Nic Cage craziness we've all come to know and love, but it's balanced really nicely with a warm-hearted, sympathetic father role. Emma Stone does really well as Eep. Ryan Reynolds is very funny and charismatic in his role. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the legendary Cloris Leachman as the grandma. To this day, Cloris has not lost her touch, and she was definitely a highlight as well.
    Speaking of highlights, let's get into the comedy. This movie has a delightful sense of humor, mostly found in physical comedy, but very good, commendable physical comedy; the kind you don't see a lot of in kids' films today. Some of it was almost (notice I said almost) Looney Tunes style. But, this film's sense of humor, I think, can best be summed up in Guy's little companion Belt (Chris Sanders). Belt is a small sloth with an Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks-esque voice who accompanies Guy on his journey, often seen hanging around his waist (hence the name). Belt provided some really great and memorable comic relief, and is definitely one of the first things to come to mind when I think about this film. One recurring gag with Belt occurs whenever something dramatic or even mildly bad happens. Everything will go silent, and, all of a sudden, Belt will pop up out of nowhere and, with his little chipmunk voice, utter the "DUN DUN DUUNN" music cue that we as moviegoers have become so familiar with. And it gets funnier every single time.
    Overall, this was a truly great and memorable moviegoing experience for me. The animation was spectacular, the acting was fantastic, and the film had me laughing nearly constantly, joke after joke and gag after gag. It's a big recommendation for people of all ages. There is something for every age group to appreciate in this film. It's clean, wholesome, and colorful enough for the kids, but the parents, grandparents, and even those in between, namely teenagers, can find something to appreciate. This is a film that knows how to keep the entertainment level high and not leave a single age bracket out of the fun. It's a glowing example of animation done right. Check it out, and, as always, thanks for reading!! :D