Searching for a safer habitat, the
prehistoric Crood family discovers an idyllic, walled-in paradise that meets
all of its needs. Unfortunately, they must also learn to live with the
Bettermans -- a family that's a couple of steps above the Croods on the
evolutionary ladder. As tensions between the new neighbors start to rise, a new
threat soon propels both clans on an epic adventure that forces them to embrace
their differences, draw strength from one another, and survive together.
Director: Joel Crawford
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan
Reynolds, Catherine Keener,
Release Date:
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rated PG for peril, action and rude humor.
Runtime: 1 h 35 min
Review:
The Croods: A New
Age which randomly appears 7 years after the original is more unfocused than
the first film but still a fun family film.
The story in this sequel is more straightforward but it allows Joel
Crawford to move the story into weird and surprisingly psychedelic areas. Crawford moves the story along a steady pace
getting into the story fairly quickly introducing the new characters/cast. The returning cast easily gets back into their
characters and have great chemistry with newcomers Peter Dinklage and Leslie
Mann. Dinklage and Mann play great foils
to the Croods as the hipster Bettermans who are slightly more evolved. Dinklage and Cage in particular seem to be
having a ball throughout the film with it all climaxing with a great Punch
Monkey finale. Stone, Keener, Leachman,
Mann & Tran also get their time to shine with a strong girl power story
thread that has them all saving the day.
Its message is sweet but it’s not anything revelatory like some of the
prestige Pixar films. This sequel isn’t
as consistent as the original but it’s still a lot of fun in parts but be
warned some sequences might be a bit too intense or scary for very small children.
B
