So I just watched the first 40 minutes of DreamWorks “The Croods”. Is it fair to review a movie I didnt watch all the way through? No. But this is just a Facebook post...so who cares? I was really excited when this was first announced, due to the involvement of co-director/co-screenwriter Chris Sanders, (“Lilo and Stitch”, “How to Train Your Dragon”). But it doesnt feel like a “cousin” to those two films. He was paired with Kirk DeMicco (“Space Chimps”), who Im not as familiar with. The main conflict is between Eep (Emma Stone), a rebellious teenage cavegirl, and her overprotective father, Grug (an unmistakable Nicolas Cage). Most of their conversations go like this: EEP: “I dont want to stay in the cave! I want to do something new and different!” GRUG: “No! New things are dangerous and bad!” Im not exaggerating the bluntness of this exchange. The other main conflict is between this very familiar setup and the moral that people shouldnt be afraid to try new things. One thing I like is that Eep doesnt have the traditional Disney Princess body type...but of course, they had to make her a cavegirl to do it... Things do indeed change for the Croods when Eep meets Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a fire-toting cro-magnon dude who warns of the end of the world, (underscored by his lemur sidekick named Belt - “Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUN!”) The next day, an earthquake destroys the Croods cave, sending them off on a road-trip adventure to find a new home. The mom Ugga (perpetual movie mom Catherine Keener) can be pointed to as an example, for all those who wonder why the moms are almost always killed off in animated movies. Not that shes an annoying character, the filmmakers just dont seem to know what to do with her, since all of Eeps resentment is directed at Grug. Theres a running gag about how Grug hates his mother-in-law Gran (a wasted Cloris Leachman) because shes his mother-in-law. She, in turn, hates Grug because hes her son-in-law. The baby is a more extreme version of the rabidly teething baby from “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, right down to having similar-sounding names (here “Sandy”, there “Sunny.) Eeps brother Thunk (Clark Duke)...is the more obedient child. I mention him only because Ive talked about all the other characters and it would be weird to leave him out. The thing that kept me watching as long as I did was the visual inventiveness in the world and the creatures that inhabit it. I would much rather be hanging out in this colorful CG environment than, say, the one from “Oz the Great and Powerful”. Unfortunately, outside of a few, “Oooh, you guys have got to see this!” moments, we rarely pause long enough to appreciate it. In the first 40 minutes, the Croods run from a momma bird whose egg they stole for breakfast, run from other animals trying to get the egg, run from a mammoth, run from a tiger chasing the mammoth, run from an earthquake, run from the tiger...again...fall off a cliff, run from a different tiger, run from some monkeys, run from some birds, run from a fire...and thats about when we gave up. Also around that point, the Croods kidnap Guy, as Eep aggressively flirts with him. If Guy were a girl and Eep were a guy, this would be disturbing and pretty much make the Croods into mustache-twirling villains. But Guys a GUY...so its OK? Im open to the possibility that after that point, The Croods may have turned around and became a delightful and emotional animated epic. I was put off by “Madagascar 3”s bombastic opening action sequence, and found the later circus stuff to be charming. But that sequence was 10 minutes at most, not 40. The nonstop action reminded me of Spielbergs Tintin” movie, which I also quit around the same point. If you liked that, you may also enjoy “The Croods”. Also, maybe Belt would have gotten more screen time later in the movie. Hes voiced by Sanders, who also voiced Stitch, and hes apparently a master at these squeaky, not-quite-human voices.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:32:44 +0000
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