by Shane Conto
Who doesn’t love the class 70’s pop hit “I Think I Love You” by The Partridge Family? Well if you don’t…you will never be able to un-hear the song after watching The Croods: A New Age! But besides that point…Dreamworks creates a new hit franchise with this fun band of cave people as they bring a sequel to theaters. But how many people will get to see it? I streamed The Croods on Netflix earlier in the day and then drove 30 minutes to a field at Navy Yard to watch The Croods: A New Age at a make-shift drive-in with the screen draped over a pile of shipping containers.
But was this all The Croods day worth it?
Dreamworks has had quite the mix of quality when it comes to their films. They have a few franchises with some being great in every installment (How to Train Your Dragon) and some started that way (Shrek). The Croods is a solid bit of fun that is filled with crazy characters, strong visuals, and imaginative creatures. A New Age brings a more (somewhat) focused plot about the Croods meeting a more evolved family called the Betterman’s. Can they co-exist? Will their differences lead to issues? This plot was ripe for some great themes and commentary when it comes to acceptance and understanding others from different backgrounds. The film does a fine job with that but…what about the rest of the film? The runtime of the film is 93 minutes and most of this story is wrapped up in the first hour. What comes next feels more like a lazily tacked on monster battle. Does it look cool? Sure…but it is quite unoriginal and just feels like it lacks the energy of the first few acts.
But when the film focuses on character dynamics instead of fighting giant monsters, does it work?
Well the main issue to start is that Guy wants to start his own tribe with Eep (queue “I Think I Love You”) as we see them and their loving new romance through a fun and zippy montage. This causes great issues with Grug who does not want to have change and see his daughter go. But then they find this wonderful oasis where they meet the more advanced Betterman’s who knew Guy from his childhood. Then the “odd couple” antics ensue as the two fathers try to break-up Guy and Eep’s romance for their own selfish reasons. This part of the film deals with plenty of issues from over-parenting, judgment of those different from you, and etc. This can be a meaningful experience for kids to see those dynamics and honestly fun for the old people in the audience.
The Croods: A New Age is a fast moving and energetic romp (for most of the film) and that has a lot to do with Joel Crawford who took over directing the sequel.
This energy is a driving force for the greater part of the film (even if it drags a bit towards the end when the plot feels stretched out too much). The visuals are fantastic with beautiful colors in abundance and a creative world. The creatures are tons of fun as ever with creative combinations of real-life animals. The creatures do lead to some of the least funny and laziest of physical comedy though (like the language of Punch-Monkeys…which you can probably imagine). The film is also filled with fun performances. Nic Cage is…Nic Cage…which is plenty of manic fun for the film. Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone are charming as ever. Cloris Leachman continues to be a standout from the first film. Peter Dinklage is a great addition with his condescending and know-it-all nature. Some of the rest of the cast feels a bit underused like Catherine Keener and Leslie Mann.
At the end of the day, what do you want from a film like The Croods: A New Age?
Fun, right? Does the film deliver? It does! But does it deliver too much else? Not really. But I think that is okay. Heck…at least we get some Tenacious D during the credits too (now you will certainly never unhear “I Think I Love You”).
Grade: C+