"The Croods" are an eccentric family of cavemen, who survive the harsh terrain by living accordingly to a strict set of rules. But when their home is destroyed in the wake of an impending disaster known as "The End", they are forced to leave their home of shelter and security, and into the wilderness of the unknown to find a new home. Meet the Croods, the only caveman family still alive because they think new discoveries are dangerous. One night, their oldest child, Eep (stone), sneaks out and meets Guy (Reynolds), an inventive person who knows things the others don't. Later, in the morning, their cave is crushed by what he calls "The End". Grug (cage), Eep's father, is sad their cave is gone. Now they need to figure out how to survive with the help of Guy in a new set of open land. It's Easter and there's a slew of films to distract your children. If they're very young and you're desperate the current animation, The Croods may get you though 90 minutes of the school break.<br/><br/>To be fair, the old man who sat across the aisle from me with his grandchildren bellowed with laughter for much of it. However, he was in the minority (of one) and I'm sure I saw him dribbling. Conversely, my five-year old nephew sat virtually silently throughout and spent some of it with his head on my shoulder. Trust me, he's a great deal more animated every single time he watches Monsters Inc. and the Toy Story canon. I reckon that just about sums up The Croods.<br/><br/>The Croods is 'nice' but there's nothing magical or even particularly memorable about it other than it's one of the few films involving Nicholas Cage where he doesn't SHOUT AT US THE WHOLE TIME.<br/><br/>After their cave is destroyed, the reluctant Grug (rhymes with slug, hug, bug and any other damn thing the writers can squeeze into the script in their search for a shallow smile) leads his family of cave dwellers out of their dark world into an exciting, colourful land with the object of his daughter's affection, Guy (Ryan Reynolds).<br/><br/>That's not just the introduction; that's pretty much it. Grug doesn't think much of his mother-in-law; his son, Thunk (Clark Duke), is a dunce; his daughter, Eep (Emma Stone), wants adventure; and his wife, Ugga (Katherine Keener) is long-suffering. Oh, he has a baby that's more of an animal that the creatures they encounter.<br/><br/>There are some pretty moments as the world opens up to them (in a diluted Avatar kind of way), some mild humour, courtesy of a Sloth called Belt and his one, repetitive joke, and a few moments of insipid danger.<br/><br/>The emotion is slight, the lessons heavy-handed, obvious and simplistic enough for even the youngest of children to grasp: hiding in darkness bad, walking towards light good, sometimes dad being boring is best. Blah, blah, blah.<br/><br/>Don't bother unless you're desperate. But if you are desperate, take a strong coffee and use the time to learn to knit.<br/><br/>Better still, take the children out for a long trudge through the woods or a game of rounders and save the cinema treat for Monsters University.<br/><br/>For more reviews from The Squiss, subscribe to my blog and like the Facebook page. Ironically, the biggest strength of Dreamworks' bright new animated adventure - which follows an anachronistic family from the prehistoric era - is the cast that are never seen. As the adolescent daughter yearning to explore the world, and the reason the Crood clan must leave their sacred cave, Emma Stone adds a level of vibrancy and energy that has now become expected from the super talented actress. In a bolder, but no less wonderful casting choice, Nicolas Cage is exceptional as the stubborn father who only wants to protect his dearly beloved yet drives them away because of it. The chemistry between Stone and Cage's characters is the film's greatest asset, however Catherine Keener's long-suffering mother/wife, Clark Duke's lovable moron and Ryan Reynolds' modernistic outsider all have their own shining moments, with Cloris Leachman's granny the only weak link among the players. Story-wise there's not much to write home about - the ages old 'living-safe-is-not-living-at-all' message drives the narrative yet thankfully isn't shoved down our throats - and the animation is of the usual standard without ever surpassing it; improvements to both, and a few more laugh-out-loud moments, would've nudged The Croods into real awesomeness. As it stands, this is still a fantastic time-waster come school holidays. A spirited and eye-popping stealth charmer.
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