The Croods: A New Age movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Croods: A New Age

Now available in theaters

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

This colorful sequel to the fun animation adventure The Croods is now available in theaters after being put on hold in 2016 by Universal Pictures. It’s actually the longest we all have had to wait for a DreamWorks Animation sequel, seven-and-a-half years! It’s Joel Crawford’s directorial debut.

It’s great family fun with enough humor that will make viewers of all ages laugh out loud. In a Covid world, this is a delightful distraction.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Shirtless men (animated)
Low-cut dresses are worn by girls and women (animated)
People and creatures in perilous situations.
Someone says, “What the eff?!”
Name-calling
Lots of punching
There’s a scene where a person yells obscenities, but the words are covered up with other sounds. When that happens, another person breaks the fourth wall and says to the camera, “This movie’s for older kids.” ha ha

THEMES:

“Follow the light and you’ll find tomorrow.” – Ugga (Catherine Keener)
“The pack stays together.” – Eep (Emma Stone)
Jealousy and competition
Teamwork
Family togetherness
Stronger together
Courage
Female empowerment (you’ll learn about the Thunder Sisters)
Change can be a good thing

THINGS I LIKED:

The animation is stunning. In fact, this movie has some of the best voice-to-facial-expressions matches we’ve ever seen.
The voice talents of the cast are fantastic. For starters, Ryan Reynolds voices “Guy”, Eep’s new love interest.
A lot of Millennials and GenZer’s make fun of Nicolas Cage, but they would have to admit that he does a great job voicing the prehistoric dad, Grug, in the movie. This is his 100th film credit!
I’ve loved Cloris Leachman for years, so it’s such a pleasure to see her…or in this case, hear her voice the character of Gran. Can you believe she’s 94 years old? That’s amazing!
Leslie Mann’s voice is just so doggone sweet. Be on the lookout for her in an upcoming movie in 2021 called, “Blithe Spirit.” I’ll be posting my review of it in a few weeks.
Other fun voices include those by Peter Dinklage, Emma Stone, and Kelly Marie Tran.
So many cute visual and spoken gags.
Totally adorable sloth sidekick. Seatbelt mode. ha ha
Hearing the two new girlfriends squeal with delight at 100 decibels was hilarious.
Lots of fun new creatures and characters.
Man cave…ha ha Land-sharks. ha ha
Rapid-fire, non-stop action.
A few Mad Max: Fury Road Easter eggs for adults.
There’s an insightful discussion about the scars we see from our pain and the internal wounds we can’t see.
One of the Croods is amazed by the concept of a window, resulting in a reminder to experience the real world, rather than be sucked into watching TV or any of our other digital screens on the world.
I was worried the story was going to take an ugly, cliched turn with the two young women, but I was thrilled with the direction it went instead. Very sweet.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

If you didn’t see the first movie or forgot what happened, there isn’t a quick recap to get you up to speed. Not to worry. This movie can be enjoyed without seeing the first movie or knowing any backstories.
So much frenzied action. I wanted to see things slow down a bit so I could really see what was happening and enjoy everything in each frame.
Like so many Hollywood movies, men are shown as incompetent fools.
It’s cute and fun, although a lot of critics are saying it’s not fresh and original enough for people to get really excited about.
The tone of Act 3 is very different from the others.

FUNNY LINES:

“You accessorize with a sloth? I accessorize with a sloth!” – Guy (Ryan Reynolds)
“I’m fluent in punch monkey.” – Guy (Ryan Reynolds)

INTERESTING LINES:

“Privacy promotes individuality.” – Phil Betterman (Peter Dinklage)
“Perhaps the window through which I view the world is flawed.” – Thunk (Clark Duke)
“Words as weapons?” – Guy (Ryan Reynolds)