THE CROODS: A NEW AGE – Review

In a time when many families are opting to forgo the big, big get-together and reunion, perhaps they may want to try instead a big cinematic reunion. It’s one that’s seven years in the making, though this particular family goes back several thousands of years. One of 2013’s surprise box office hits was THE CROODS from the hard-working folks at Dreamworks Animation which was indeed a worthy addition to their SHREK, DRAGON, and KUNG FU PANDA franchises. So is this adventure worth a return to the caves, let alone the theatres (no streaming-on-demand for this one…yet) ? Well, let’s dust off the old “loin-cloth” and visit that “family down the street” (oops, wrong animated ancestors) for THE CROODS: A NEW AGE.

It all starts with a fairly somber flashback as we witness young Guy’s last moments with his parents. Not to worry kids, we’re soon right in the thick of the action as the Croods, along with now teenage Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds), cling tightly to the fur of their charging faithful “macawnivore” Chunky as they evade all manner of predators (those “kangadillos” are really pesky) as they seek out the new homeland they call “Tomorrow”. The main concern of papa Grug (Nicolas Cage) is finding food, but he’s distracted and extremely annoyed by the blossoming romance between Guy and his eldest daughter Eep (Emma Stone). Suddenly he’s stopped in his tracks by something Grug has never encountered: a wall, made of tied-together trees. Using his noggin (literally) he plows through to a wild, multi-colored utopia, a land-of-plenty with all manner of over-sized fruit and veggies. As they recover from their glutinous stupor, two odd shapes slowly come into focus as they get nearer. People! Humans! The duo is husband Phil (Peter Dinklage) and wife Hope (Leslie Mann) Betterman, who wear clothing that’s not fur (a softer thing called cloth), sandals, and tie their hair in buns and ponytails. Plus they know Guy, as they were friends of his folks. When the Croods are brought back to their tree-house domicile (!), they meet the third Betterman, teenage daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran). While Phil and Hope seem welcoming, they’re secretly devising a plot to hook-up Guy with Dawn. But will Eep thwart their plans? And what is the dark secret that makes Phil forbid Grug and his clan from feasting on those luscious bananas that pile up everywhere? Can this really be “Tomorrow”?

The returning voice cast slips back into their roles like easing into a well-worn tiger-skin “one-piece”. Cage is affectionately dim-witted and surprisingly warm as the patriarch Grug, a great counterpoint to Catherine Keener as his calmer, understanding, and nurturing spouse Ugga. Reynolds eases up on his motor-mouth wiseacre screen persona as the energetic, often frustrated Guy, who is a delightful romantic comedy partner to Stone as the spunky, tough, and tender Eep. Cloris Leachman is a feisty force-of-nature as the gravelly-voiced Gran, while Clark Duke gives pre-teen Thunk an endearing distracted vibe. All of them contrast superbly with the talented trio introduced here. Tran makes Dawn a beacon of joyous delight as she encounters the delights of having an adventurous BFF in Eep (she’s okay with Guy, though). Mann is a devilish passive-aggressive diva as Hope, perhaps a prehistoric take on today’s social media “Karens”. But the biggest laughs are generated by the hysterical Dinklage who imbues Phil was so much smarmy snark making him a devious “hipster” prototype oozing with condescension. If he weren’t such a hoot, we’d be impatient for Grug to throttle him (although there is a nice comeuppance).

First-time feature director Joel Crawford brings a wonderful visual style to the story (credited to six writers…uh uh) filling every backdrop with dazzling eye-popping colors (you almost need shades at times) and imaginative animal-creature hybrids (I’d fancy a “wolfspider” stuffed toy, thank you). Its main strength may be in the characters, both familiar and new. Even when some scenes become “dialogue-heavy” we’re engaged due to the superior physical acting with each family member engaging in their specific “body language’ (essential with the feral, sound-effects spewing baby sister Sandy). The lil’ ones will be entranced by the “eye candy” and slapstick even as the plot enters the one-hour mark “lull” (a problem with live-action comedies too). A five or ten minute “trim” might have helped the now 95-minute flick. A few of the more “heavy-handed” gags come to mine. TV addiction is hammered home with Thunk’s obsession with the Betterman’s tree-house widow. He just wants to sit and stare (“Not now, Mom! The birds are on!”). Then there are the big female-empowerment sequences (the whole Eep/Dawn bonding is fun at first) leading to the huge battle/rescue finale as Gran gives her “sistas” tough code names (“You are ‘Bog-Water’!”) before leading the charge, complete with lots of MATRIX-inspired “bullet-time” bits). The score by Mark Mothersbaugh is quite rousing without being too bombastic. But, as with most Dreamworks films, the classic pop tunes are over-utilized, especially one nearing 50 made popular by a singing TV sitcom family. Despite its fumbles and flubs, the great vocal crew and them “purdy pitchers” make THE CROODS: A NEW AGE a worthy sequel sure to be a tasty cinematic dessert after you finish the big (well, not as usual) “boid”.

3 Out of 4

THE CROODS: A NEW AGE opens in selected theatres on November 25