“I’d passed on The Croods last week in favor of more home time, but I figured it would pair well as a nice contrast to today’s GI Joe. Totally the right call.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. This was no Wreck It Ralph, to pull a recent example of awesome, but it’s still superior to a lot of the kiddie crap you see nowadays. The Croods were unique and clever. I certainly had my doubts going in. On paper, it doesn’t sound like the most exciting film. But there were so many gags and puns and silly jokes that I was really enjoying it.
Something that really sold it was the cast. Yes, it was just their voices, but you can tell when someone is phoning it in vs when someone is really giving it their all, trying to bring their character to life. With that said, well done Ms Emma Stone. Her lines were delivered with such excitement and wonder that she had me right there with her the whole time. Surprisingly, Nicholas Cage also had a similar effect. I was also overwhelmed with the cuteness of baby Sandy and obligatory fuzzy friend Belt. Belt actually was a big source of the clever, and had me laughing out loud many times throughout the movie.
There were some things that bothered me, such as Eep’s, shall we say, advanced parkour skills. But the emotional connection I felt towards the characters more than made up for it. Such a better film than I would have guessed it to ever be.
The Croods – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/