The Croods: A New Age
Starring Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Peter Dinklage
Directed by Joel Crawford
"The Croods" was a surprise hit for DreamWorks back in 2013, earning over $187 million dollars domestically and green-lighting a sequel almost immediately. Then the years passed and rumors of a sequel kept sprouting up, but disappearing almost as soon as it was uttered, until no one expect it to come to fruition. Then the Coronavirus pandemic occurred, and it was during this time that "The Croods: A New Age" was birthed, being released nationally in theaters on Thanksgiving Day - being one of the few actual blockbusters to do so - resulting in the film having the biggest box-office opening during the pandemic. While the story seemed to be regurgitated from the original, it was still a fun, funny, action-packed animated film with lively animations and exceptional voice talent that easily takes you away from the fears of the real world.
The Crood clan - father Grug (Nicolas Cage), mother Ugga (Catherine Keener), son Thunk (Clark Duke), youngest daughter Sandy, Gran (Cloris Leachman), older daughter Eep (Emma Stone), and her beloved Guy (Ryan Reynolds) - are traversing the unforgiving neanderthal countryside in search of Guy's tomorrow - a world promised by his parents when he was younger who perished in a tar pit. As they search for this tomorrow, Eep and Guy's relationship continues to blossom, and Grug fears that she'll eventually leave their clan, and he feels that the clan is strongest when they're together.
Eventually Grug discovers a land that's ripe with vegetation, food, and water, and the clan feels like they found their tomorrow - until they learn they've stumbled upon land owned by the Bettermans - father Phil (Peter Dinklage), mother Hope (Leslie Mann), and daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran), who knew Guy's parents before they passed away. They take the Croods to their home and shows them the modern amenities that they've been lacking, showing them to be more neanderthal than they thought, and hatch a plan to take Guy away from Eep and hook him up with their daughter instead - but a looming threat threatens their very livelihood.
"A New Age" basically re-tells the story of the first film, with Grug still concerned about Eep and Guy's relationship and the fear that he has with possibly loosing Eep to Guy - a fear that pretty much every father can associate with. With the sequel, however, this concept is doubled as now Phil is dealing with this same issue with his daughter but in a different way - he wants Guy to be with Dawn, and will stop at nothing to break Eep and Guy up. It's an interesting diatribe between the two fathers and the love they have for their daughters and the (often) mismatched ways they go about showing it.
Apart from that story, the other underlying one is the relationship between Eep and Guy, especially when they land on the Betterman's world. Guy is quick to assimilate himself into their lifestyle - sleeping in a bed, showering, wearing sandals, and putting his hair in a bun - that Eep struggles more with. She - along with her family - are nomads, who thrive on the violence of the world, but they find themselves in small ways adjusting to a more "suburban" life, especially Thunk and his continuous comedic running gag of finding out the invention of a "window" as most teenagers would associate it with a television.
There's also a running gag with the idea of bananas, and Grug's desire to eat one, but Phil keeps forbidding it for strange reasons that come to light later on and leads to the action-packed second act that unites the two vastly different families to save both their clans, which leads to a mutual understanding and a great moral message that's as timely now as it was apparently in the Stone Age. To accomplish this, you need a stellar voice talent that's committed to the project and truly cares about the product, and everyone - from the voice cast from the first film to the new talent here - truly give it their all to provide deep character development and a rich story for an animated film that's not under the Disney mantle. Throw in lavish, colorful, lively animation and gut-busting humor and you've got the perfect escapist film that the entire family can enjoy, complete with an important message about family and letting go of the past to embrace a new exciting future.
One of those rare long-gestating sequels that's actually decent, "The Croods: A New Age" comes just in time for us to escape our harrowing real-life struggles and enjoy a lively, lavish animated action-adventure featuring another family dynamic that's as important now as it was back then.
The Score: A
The Crood clan - father Grug (Nicolas Cage), mother Ugga (Catherine Keener), son Thunk (Clark Duke), youngest daughter Sandy, Gran (Cloris Leachman), older daughter Eep (Emma Stone), and her beloved Guy (Ryan Reynolds) - are traversing the unforgiving neanderthal countryside in search of Guy's tomorrow - a world promised by his parents when he was younger who perished in a tar pit. As they search for this tomorrow, Eep and Guy's relationship continues to blossom, and Grug fears that she'll eventually leave their clan, and he feels that the clan is strongest when they're together.
Eventually Grug discovers a land that's ripe with vegetation, food, and water, and the clan feels like they found their tomorrow - until they learn they've stumbled upon land owned by the Bettermans - father Phil (Peter Dinklage), mother Hope (Leslie Mann), and daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran), who knew Guy's parents before they passed away. They take the Croods to their home and shows them the modern amenities that they've been lacking, showing them to be more neanderthal than they thought, and hatch a plan to take Guy away from Eep and hook him up with their daughter instead - but a looming threat threatens their very livelihood.
"A New Age" basically re-tells the story of the first film, with Grug still concerned about Eep and Guy's relationship and the fear that he has with possibly loosing Eep to Guy - a fear that pretty much every father can associate with. With the sequel, however, this concept is doubled as now Phil is dealing with this same issue with his daughter but in a different way - he wants Guy to be with Dawn, and will stop at nothing to break Eep and Guy up. It's an interesting diatribe between the two fathers and the love they have for their daughters and the (often) mismatched ways they go about showing it.
Apart from that story, the other underlying one is the relationship between Eep and Guy, especially when they land on the Betterman's world. Guy is quick to assimilate himself into their lifestyle - sleeping in a bed, showering, wearing sandals, and putting his hair in a bun - that Eep struggles more with. She - along with her family - are nomads, who thrive on the violence of the world, but they find themselves in small ways adjusting to a more "suburban" life, especially Thunk and his continuous comedic running gag of finding out the invention of a "window" as most teenagers would associate it with a television.
There's also a running gag with the idea of bananas, and Grug's desire to eat one, but Phil keeps forbidding it for strange reasons that come to light later on and leads to the action-packed second act that unites the two vastly different families to save both their clans, which leads to a mutual understanding and a great moral message that's as timely now as it was apparently in the Stone Age. To accomplish this, you need a stellar voice talent that's committed to the project and truly cares about the product, and everyone - from the voice cast from the first film to the new talent here - truly give it their all to provide deep character development and a rich story for an animated film that's not under the Disney mantle. Throw in lavish, colorful, lively animation and gut-busting humor and you've got the perfect escapist film that the entire family can enjoy, complete with an important message about family and letting go of the past to embrace a new exciting future.
One of those rare long-gestating sequels that's actually decent, "The Croods: A New Age" comes just in time for us to escape our harrowing real-life struggles and enjoy a lively, lavish animated action-adventure featuring another family dynamic that's as important now as it was back then.
The Score: A
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