THE CROODS ("SUMMER TREAT")

April 19, 2013

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone.

Director: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders.

For some reason or the other animation films that release during vacation time are sure to become hits irrespective of the content. The only difference with respect to The Croods is that it’s rich in content as well!

Set in a period 4 million years ago, the croods (as their family is called) lose their cave during the geographical shifts taking place on earth. The over protective Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) along with his family is forced to trek through alien lands with the help of Guy(voiced by Ryan Reynolds). Grug’s daughter Eep (voiced by Emma Stone) falls for Guy.

With a weird family consisting of a wife, a cowardly son, a dog like daughter, and a crazy mother in law (apart from Eep ofcourse) the trek with Guy offers plenty of entertainment for the viewers. The antics of the family itself will leave you in splits.

Though it is a simple story the breathtaking visuals and stunning 3D are sure to transport you into a dreamland. If you take kids along you can see them trying to catch the objects on screen every now and then. It’s equally appealing to adults as well. The visual effects and animation team surely deserve a pat on their backs for creating such a visual masterpiece. Some scenes might remind you of ”Avatar” mainly because of the similarity in the landscape and the animals.

Then comes the different animals some of whom most of the time are trying to kill the croods (for food of course). Now do not get me wrong these are not the dangerous sort that you might have seen in “Avatar” for example; these are the funny type and you have to give it to the character development team for making them so endearing. The fluffy colourful adorable scary looking but cowardly tiger, Guy’s belt (that’s an animal for your information), Grug’s son’s pet are just some of the animals you are most certainly going to fall in love with!

The cinematography and some action set pieces are simply stunning and some of the finest that you have seen in the recently released animated movies.

But the strength of the croods lies in it’s brilliant script, knowing it’s limits(not attempting to stuff in unnecessary details), that keeps you entertained throughout and the wonderful direction that remains faithful to the script.

Iam giving a 3.25/5 for The Croods. Be prepared to take your kids for repeat viewing!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

3 to 3.25                      -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                      -           Great.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.