The Croods, released back in 2013, is an unsung gem in the DreamWorks Animation catalog – and one with a very complicated, improbable history. It started life as one of the Aardman films that DreamWorks was coproducing in the early-to-mid-2000s and featured a script by comedy legendJohn Cleese(his title for the project was the much wittierCrood Awakening). When the Aardman/DreamWorks partnership fizzled out prematurely, DreamWorks kept the idea and, years later, Aardman made their own caveman movie (2018’s lacklusterEarly Man). This new, Cleese-less version was assigned toChris Sanders, a Disney veteran whose storytelling sensibilities were only rivaled by his singular design sense (and who DreamWorks headJeffrey Katzenberghad previously assigned to do similar triage on their troubledHow to Train Your Dragonproject) andKirk DiMacco, a gifted writer and director with a long history in animation. Together, the filmmakers turnedThe Croodsinto a wild prehistoric jamboree, full of crazy creatures (many bearing the signature stamp of Sanders) and a family (led byNicolas Cageand includingEmma Stone) whose life is turned upside down by someone more evolved (Ryan Reynolds) entering the picture. It spawned a TV series and a sequel was developed and effectively canceled in 2016. But a year later it had returned, this time without Sanders or DiMacco, but with some similar story elements. Against all odds (and in the middle of an uncontrollable worldwide pandemic),The Croods: A New Ageis here. And, even more improbably, it’s actually great.
After an applaudably bleak flashback that shows the origin of Reynolds’ character Guy (his parents are literally sinking in tar as they call out to their young son),The Croods: A New Agepicks up pretty much exactly where the first film ended – everyone’s second favorite prehistoric family (which also includes matriarchCatherine Keener, grandmotherCloris Leachmanand younger brotherClark Duke) are out in the world, fending off insane creatures and attempting to survive one catastrophe after another. But daughter Eep (Stone) and Guy (Reynolds) are looking to start their own life away from the suffocating family and the constant nervousness of Cage’s antsy, meathead-y dad Grug. Everything changes when they stumble upon a valley that is utilizing advanced agrarian techniques to raise vegetables and farm animals (including a bizarre chicken/seal hybrid) and has a vast, sophisticated treehouse home.
This lush, palatial utopia is the home of the Bettermans – Phil (Peter Dinklage), Hope (Leslie Mann) and Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran). As it turns out, these more modern humans knew Guy’s family and welcome him in with open arms, while keeping the rest of the caveman family at arm’s length which, for a neanderthal, is pretty long. There’s a tension that is immediately created from what Guyshould doand whathe wants to do. And his decision ultimately affects the rest of the Croods (and the Bettermans too).
Much of the early part ofCroods 2is devoted to this heightened comedy of manners, with the family failing to understand or just outright destroying the civility and calm that the Bettermans have taken pains to maintain. And while Dawn is initially established as a potential romantic foil for Stone’s Eep, the filmmakers (this time led by directorJoel Crawford) wisely turn Dawn into her comedic sidekick instead. There’s a wonderful extended sequence where Eep eggs her on to leave the compound, along with the Croods’ lovely, colorful cat Chubby, and they have a number of thrilling adventures, culminating in Dawn getting stung by a bee, which leads her to feeling verygroovy.
What is fascinating too is how much ofCroods 2is framed through Grug’s emotional response to what is happening. Cage, particularly in the past few years with his turns inTeen Titans Go to the MoviesandSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is particularly adept at voice acting, giving some of his more memorable recent performances. He gives the characters more pathos and depth than you would expect and when he’s needed to go big (like he is here), he brings it in a way that only he can. So to have so much of the movie filtered through him is a bold move that ends up paying off hugely towards the movie’s third act, which expertly turns the tables on what you’d expect. (Also it’s got a giant,King Kong-y beast and a new heavy metal girl power anthem by San Fernando Valley iconsHaim.)
But Cage being the rich emotional center of the movie is one of the many surprises you’ll experience while watchingCroods 2. This is a movie that is arguably well past its sell-by date, with an entirely new creative team (shoutout to artistJoe Pitt, aGravity Fallsveteran who does marvelous work here) entering into a decidedly uneasy marketplace. And yet the movie is a nonstop delight, full of bright, colorful visuals and a storyline that is unafraid to occasionally drop its central narrative altogether in favor of a series of big, disconnected, extremely hilarious gags (all without losing sight on the underlying emotionality). All of the new voice actors are committed and superb (Dinklage oozes oily privilege and Tran is pure, unbridled enthusiasm) and the animation is top notch, capping off a wonderful (and very weird) year for DreamWorks Animation, who finishedTrolls World Tourright as the world descended into chaos.
And, to be sure, the film might pack more of a wallop just because it’s such an out-of-left-field joy. In other words, you might walk intoCroods: A New Agewondering why they bothered making a sequel. But you’ll walk out of it wondering why it took so long.
