Saturday, March 23, 2013

"The Croods"




“The Croods” PG
Dreamworks
3 Stars

What was it like for a family back in the day?  Way back in the day, so far back in the day that you weren’t the top of the food chain. “The Croods” might have an answer for you or it could just be an entertaining film for your family.  

Eep (voice of Emma Stone) is a teenager who must deal with living in a cave for days at a time with her family.  She has to live by the rules set by Grug (voice of Nicholas Cage), her father.  Those rules include one that states; never be not afraid.  The other rule that has kept them alive for so long is never leave the cave.

Being a teenager, and a very curious one at that, Eep leaves the cave to explore a light that she sees.  She then discovers Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds) and he can make fire.  This is a new experience for the family who usually find themselves in the dark each night.  

After a small earthquake the family must face life without their cave.  They are forced to travel and find a new home.  Little do they know that not just the way they have to think is changing but so is the whole world around them. 

“The Croods” is a good film for the entire family.  Parents will enjoy it as well as the kids.  There is plenty of humor to make everyone laugh.  The story moves along at a good pace and there are some touching moments as well.  Plus, the filmmakers included a very good message about families.

The violence in the film is the same as watching a cartoon.  No blood is ever shown and the characters bounce back.  Since this is an animated film that is probably not a surprise.  The rest of the content is also easy to handle for kids.  There are moments when animals are attacking and feeding, but again nothing very scary.   

The Croods are savages so when it does come time to eat something, they don’t exactly have table manners.  Then again they don’t have a table.  The relationships within the family seem true,  there are moments of contention but things work out.
If you are looking for family entertainment this would be the movie to see.