The Croods
Time to travel back in time for one of the first animated films of the new year. Does this film deliver promise for the animated films of 2013? Let's find out.
The movie opens with our main character, Eep (Emma Stone), explaining her sheltered life and how one day, something happened that changed everything. Afterwards, we meet her family. Her father, Grug (Nicolas Cage), her mother, Ugga (Catherine Keener), her grandma (Cloris Leachman), brother, Thunk (Clark Duke), and little sister, Sandy (Randy Thom). One night, Eep sneaks out of the cave to explore, but runs into a man named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his pet, Belt (Chris Sanders). Guy tells her about his prediction about the end of the world and how he's going to survive, which would help Eep and her family survive. Unfortunately, his prediction comes true, so now Grug tries his best to keep the family safe.
For starters, this movie is beautiful. The scenery, the animation of the characters, and the creative designs of the animals are all so awe-inspiring. They're almost worth the price of admission alone. However, pretty pictures can't be the only thing going for it, otherwise we just have another, more CG, Avatar. Thankfully, the dialogue from the family is both interesting and hilarious. This keeps this tiring story just that little bit away from being boring. It can also get pretty emotional at times too.
Now for what I didn't like. As I stated earlier, the story can get pretty boring at times. Why? Because it's the same story we've seen several times in several different movies. It's the over protective parent that only wants what's best for their kid(s), but one of the kids gets curious and starts breaking rules and that rule breaking ends up saving the family's life. I had the entire movie planned out from start to finish of pretty much what would happen and I wasn't wrong, except for a few parts. There's also the incredibly boring first act that lacks any of the creativity or life that the later portions have, which may turn some people away. However, it's only that way for around 30 minutes, so the life comes in quick.
So should you watch The Croods? If you've got a family or don't feel like seeing anything else at the theaters currently, then yeah. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie, but it could have been a lot better. It just suffers too much from a cliche story and a terrible first act.
The movie opens with our main character, Eep (Emma Stone), explaining her sheltered life and how one day, something happened that changed everything. Afterwards, we meet her family. Her father, Grug (Nicolas Cage), her mother, Ugga (Catherine Keener), her grandma (Cloris Leachman), brother, Thunk (Clark Duke), and little sister, Sandy (Randy Thom). One night, Eep sneaks out of the cave to explore, but runs into a man named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his pet, Belt (Chris Sanders). Guy tells her about his prediction about the end of the world and how he's going to survive, which would help Eep and her family survive. Unfortunately, his prediction comes true, so now Grug tries his best to keep the family safe.
For starters, this movie is beautiful. The scenery, the animation of the characters, and the creative designs of the animals are all so awe-inspiring. They're almost worth the price of admission alone. However, pretty pictures can't be the only thing going for it, otherwise we just have another, more CG, Avatar. Thankfully, the dialogue from the family is both interesting and hilarious. This keeps this tiring story just that little bit away from being boring. It can also get pretty emotional at times too.
Now for what I didn't like. As I stated earlier, the story can get pretty boring at times. Why? Because it's the same story we've seen several times in several different movies. It's the over protective parent that only wants what's best for their kid(s), but one of the kids gets curious and starts breaking rules and that rule breaking ends up saving the family's life. I had the entire movie planned out from start to finish of pretty much what would happen and I wasn't wrong, except for a few parts. There's also the incredibly boring first act that lacks any of the creativity or life that the later portions have, which may turn some people away. However, it's only that way for around 30 minutes, so the life comes in quick.
So should you watch The Croods? If you've got a family or don't feel like seeing anything else at the theaters currently, then yeah. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie, but it could have been a lot better. It just suffers too much from a cliche story and a terrible first act.