“Dad, I don’t have a brain.”
“We’ve gotten along just fine without brains until now. Cavemen don’t need brains. We have these. (throws fists) … Ideas are for weaklings.”
The Croods follows the journey of the last remaining caveman family as they struggle to find food and avoid getting eaten by larger creatures like the bear owl. At the head of the family is Grug (Nicolas Cage), who believes the only way to stay alive is for the family to strictly follow the rules written on their cave wall. He fears anything new, and only allows his family to leave their dark cave once a week to briefly gather some food. However, his teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone) yearns to get out, expeirence the sunlight and see the world. The rest of the family consists of Grug’s wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), their other two children feral newborm Sandy (Randy Thom) and dimwitted son Thunk (Clark Duke), and—much to Grug’s dismay—his mother-in-law Gran (Cloris Leachman).
One night Eep sneaks away from the cave and runs into a human boy named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his pet monkey/pants accessory Belt. Guy teaches her about fire, and warns her that the end of the world is coming and that she needs to leave. The Croods soon find themselves joining Guy on an adventurous journey to find a new, safer place to live. However, Grug is stubborn in his ways and doesn’t appreciate all of Guy’s modern ideas—and is jealous of the attention his family is paying towards Guy.
I really enjoyed this film—it’s funny and has an interesting premise and likeable characters—I dare you not to fall in love with Belt (DUN DUN DAHHH)! The Croods family has such chemistry and works so well together as one. This is evident right from the start of the film when the family acts like a well-tuned football team while stealing an egg for dinner—constantly passing it among the family members to keep various creatures from claiming the meal as their own. I also really enjoyed the adversarial relationship between Grug and Guy, and the blossoming romance between Guy and Eep.
This film is loaded with humor—whether it’s The Croods’ confusion over basic “modern” technology, Thunk’s unwavering belief in his father, or Grug’s constant hoping that his mother-in-law falls prey to some deadly misfortune. Some of the humor is reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote— where characters are smashed around and fall from huge heights without any harm—or Bugs Bunny, with elaborate (and ridiculous) costumes and plans to fool predators. However, The Croods is also an action/adventure film. The family is constantly being chased by creatures, threatened by natural disasters, or trying to escape from some precarious situation.
The film looks and sounds amazing. At times the picture is so photo-realistic at times that you feel like you have been transported into this Jurassic world! (There are several scenes that you can tell were designed for 3D, so if you have 3D capability at home, consider an upgrade to the Deluxe Edition of the set.) The audio of the the film is excellent, utilizing the full spectrum to envelop the viewer in the word of the film. There is also a really catchy soundtrack—especially the “Shine Your Way” song that plays during the film’s credits.
The bonus features on this Blu-ray set are nice, but a little slim. I really enjoyed the animated “The Croodaceous Creatures of The Croods” and “Belt’s Cave Journal” features which serve to better explain the world of the film and its characters. There’s also 8 minutes of deleted scenes and a 35 minute demonstration of how to draw some characters from the film, but I would have preferred a more general behind-the-scenes look at the entire process of bringing the film to life, including footage of the cast recording their parts.
That said, The Croods is a fun, entertaining family film with an excellent Blu-ray presentation that comes highly recommended.
What’s Included:
Film (1:38:36):
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, French DD 5.1, Arabic: DD 5.1, Polish: DD 5.1, Greek: DD 5.1, Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1, Icelandic: DD 5.1, Polish DD 5.1, Portuguese: DD 5.1, Romanian: DD 5.1, Serbian: DD 5.1, Turkish: DD 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Arabic, Greek, Icelandic, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Turkish
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Audio: English DD 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Surround DD 2.0, French Surround DD 2.0
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- iTunes Digital Copy (requires disc)
- UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Vudu or Flixster
DVD:
Digital Copy: (Redemption Deadline 10/1/2015)
Extras (Blu-ray only, except where noted with an *):
- The Croodaceous Creatures of The Croods (6:12)
Eep and Thunk describe all of the various creatures seen in the film. Play All or select from Bear Owl, Piranhakeet, Belt, Liyote, Punch Monkey, Turtle Dove, Turkey Fish, Girelephant, or Shakodile. - Belt’s Cave Journal (6:15)
“Hi, my name is Guy and this is my friend Belt. Cook. Conversationalist. Navigator. Also, he keeps my pants up.” Belt has illustrated his and Guy’s adventures in his cave journal. Guy narrates one of these adventures that took place before the events of the film. - Croods’ Cuts (Lost Scenes) (8:20)
Writers/Directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco introduce this collection of deleted scenes that didn’t make it into the final film. Before each clip, they explain why it was cut. Clips are comprised of drawings in various states of completion. Play All or select from “Introduction”, “Crazy Grug”, “It’s Rain”, “It’s a Great Cave”, and “Termites”. - Be an Artist! (35:16)
Sean Sexton, one of the Supervising Animators on the film shows viewers how to draw creatures from The Croods. Play All or select from “Introduction”, “Belt”, “Macawnivore”, or “Mousephant”. - Theatrical Trailer (2:11)
- Sneak Peek* (8:09)
Play All or watch trailers for “Turbo”, “Shrek the Musical”, “Epic”, “Holiday Favorites”, or “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters”. - World of DreamWorks Animation* (6:18)
Watch music videos for various DreamWorks animated films. Select from “Shrek” — “I’m a Believer” (1:16), “Madagascar” — “I Like To Move It, Move It” (1:03), “How To Train Your Dragon” — “Fly High” (1:52), or “Kung Fu Panda” — “Kung Fu Fighting” (2:07).
Final Thoughts:
The Croods is a fun family-friendly film, that’s got action, adventure, lots of humor and is voiced by a talented cast. The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, and contains some fun bonus features. This comes highly recommended, but those with 3D TVs should consider upgrading to the Deluxe Edition.
