The Croods Movie Review

Earlier this year we got our start looking at DreamWorks Animation's caveman family comedy The Croods. Featuring the vocal talents of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Clark Duke, Cloris Leachman, Catherine Keener and much more, the film follows an introverted prehistoric family, who end up guided out of their cave into this dynamic world with a resourceful newcomer (Reynolds) who would bring more stress than relief to the patriarch (Cage) of the family. We now have a new photo of the whole family, Reynolds' character Guy, plus some very detailed character descriptions from the two filmmakers.

Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage): The filmmakers call him up the animated caveman version of well-meaning but hopelessly outdated cinematic dads for example Steve Martin in Father of the Bride or Spencer Tracy in Guess Who’s Visiting Dinner. “Everyone deals with alternation in their family, and who handles change more than a father with kids becoming an adult?” says DeMicco. “Nic Cage has been doing a great job of making him likeable, while at the same time overprotective, which isn't an easy thing to do.”

Eep (voiced by Emma Stone): “Of all The Croods, she was the one that liked the cave they lived in the least,” Sanders says. “The Croods spent a lot of their time in the dark, which was Grug’s way of keeping his family safe. When their cave falls down and they’re instructed to go on this journey, most people are a little freaked out - although not Eep.” She’s eager to do some traveling. “For The Croods, anything new is super scary. New isn't good. On this journey, everything they come across will probably be new. For Grug, it’s a nightmare. For Eep, it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to her.”

Ugga (voiced by Catherine Keener): “She’s probably more open-minded than Grug with regards to change, but she’s greatly his partner within this thing,” Sanders says. “For a mom, she's the world’s hardest job. Keeping this family alive is difficult. Just getting lunch is really a life and death situation. This really is the universal thing - dads, moms all wish to keep their family safe. ‘How much freedom will i let them have? … I wish I possibly could keep them in sight all the time, because then everything is going to be okay.”

Sandy the baby: Sanders calls her “half Tasmanian devil and half child.” She doesn’t speak; growling is much more her thing and Oscar-winning sound designer Randy Thom (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant and much more) is building her voice from compiled creature noises. “She’s still ferocious, still bites, and it’s type of the way that Grug wants his kids to become. She’s a survivor. She may be the one to make it much better than any of them.”

Gran (voiced by Cloris Leachman): “She’s such as this ferocious, almost crocodile-type woman,” DeMicco said. “We always say: ‘She’s over the age of dirt - some say she’s 45. She's lived a very longevity in a short amount of time.” She's the main antagonist for Grug, Nicolas Cage’s pater familias.

Thunk (voiced by Clark Duke, Spa Time Machine): This middle-sibling is explained DeMicco as “6-foot-9, 320 pounds, and Nine years old. He’s so big and thus wants to be like his sister and the dad. He has the best heart and the worst coordination.” Though everyone in the household is evolving, Thunk may be at the zenith of his intellect. (Think about him as the caveman Fredo.) “I don’t think Thunk is ever going to catch up,” Sanders says. “We love him.”

Co-director Chris Sanders says,"Guy is individual 2.0; he’s less a strong as the Croods but he’s much more about using his brain. Once they discover he can make fire, they kidnap him, stick him inside a hollow log, and him." But the plan works out to stir some difficulties for the family's leader. Sanders says, "This is actually Grug’s nightmare. Guy is filled with ideas. Croods don’t really have ideas.” This will make Emma Stone's character be seduced by him pretty hard. In the end, introducing people to the idea of shoes would be a pretty smooth proceed to get all the cave ladies.

How you can Train Your Dragon collaborators Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco are co-directing this prehistoric animated feature film, that was also developed with the assistance of Monty Python troupe member John Cleese. The film follows The Croods, an introverted family, who end up guided out of their cave into this dynamic world with a resourceful newcomer (Ryan Reynolds) who would bring more stress than relief to the patriarch (Nicolas Cage) of the family. Catherine Keener, Emma Stone, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman also voice characters in the DreamWorks Animation film slated to theaters in 3D on March 1st, 2013.