Film: The Croods
Director: Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco
Voices: Nicholas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds
Genre: Animation | Adventure | Comedy
Dreamworks’ latest offering “The Croods”
relies strongly on spectacularly luminous 3D effects and slapstick comedy as it
doesn’t have anything new or significant to say in terms of story.
Set in pre-historic age, The Croods family consisting
of six members led by Grug (voiced by Nicholas Cage) works in sync to - gather
food, fight dangerous creatures and persist against various violent geologic
events. Grug is a responsible, caring father who manages to take care of his
family in hardest of the times but in doing so he becomes over-protective,
encouraging his daughter to follow the certain set of rules which according to him
is the master- key to survival. His sprightly daughter Eep (voiced by Emma
Stone) wills to break and bend those rules to see the world she is never permitted
to. She thinks world she hasn’t seen yet must be beautiful. She is filled
with hope and curiosity. Grug thinks curiosity can thwart their lives so
curiosity ends up being tagged as sinister. There’s nothing Eep can
single-handedly do about it. Whole family mostly lives inside the cave (or you
can say they are stuck!) but on one fine day tectonic plate shifts vicissitudes the course of their boring lives by destroying their cave. It's the end of darkness they've been embracing since years. What follows is an exhilarating adventure with a smart chap named Guy (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) which changes their lives forever.
If you are an ardent fan of animation films,
you’ll easily conclude that the tiff that transpires between father-daughter is
no different than Hotel Transylvania and Ice Age 4. “Follow the light” and
“adaptability” are the messages this 93 minutes long animation film strappingly
focuses on. 6-13 year olds will find it inspiring unlike adults who are generally
cynical about life. Apart from that, those things are already said by other
animation films, in a more subtle manner. The thing which they were trying to
convey through pets seemed hurried. It just didn't work for me.
Weirdly funny characters, excellent voice
work (by whole cast) and 3D effects make up for simplistic plot. Guy’s pet Belt
impressed me with his cool tricks & outstanding IQ. Guy and Belt are my
favorite characters amongst all. Simple reason for that is: they are
imaginative and can provide timely solution to a problem. Isn’t that a rare
combo ?
There’s no denying that 3D effects are
exceptionally charming. Children and even adults will actually try to
experience the gorgeously colorful flora and fauna by touching them. I myself
tried it more than twice. Animators here had the ample opportunities to explore
as they were supposed to animate varied landscapes. And by utilizing wide
varieties of bright color palettes, they triumphed, literally. Each and every
frame of this film is colorful enough to set it as desktop wallpaper.
It’s not a great, path-breaking animation
film but it easily manages to deliver wholesome entertainment, despite the
clichés and melodrama. Believe me, no matter how old you are, you are not too
old to enjoy this film.
