Review of Early Man (2018) by Trina B — 14 Mar 2018

Grade: B-.

Rating: PG, 89 minutes.

In a Nutshell: If you're a fan of the Wallace and Gromit stop-motion, cheeky, clay animated series like I am, then you're always happy when the Aardman team creates anything new.

Unfortunately, this isn't their best work. Still, it's family entertainment that will make everyone giggle at least a few times.

Tips for parents:

No profanity.

Some gags and jokes that some kids won't understand.

It's super silly.

Uplifting theme:

Teamwork.

You can be or do anything you set your mind to.

Girls can play soccer too.

Things I liked:

Lots of visual gags and puns.

The talented voice cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Timothy Spall, and Richard Ayoade.

I thought all of the characters' accents were funny and ridiculous.

Wallace and Gromit are actually in a couple of the crowd shots. Yay!

Things I didn't like:

How sad that I was actually glad when the movie ended. I hate to admit I was bored at times.

The trailer doesn't really show what the movie is about. As it turns out, it's a soccer movie ala Stone Age vs. Bronze Age.

Americans won't catch a lot of the British jokes. For example, there is a zebra pelt on the ground when Dug first enters the Bronze-age village. Apparently, it refers to the British term "zebra crossing.".

Some people won't get the duck joke. I didn't.

The story is pretty thin with characters I didn't feel very invested in.

Visually, it felt dark and rough. I suppose that's supposed to make us feel like we're in the Stone Age, but it made me sleepy and uninterested.

Predictable ending.

Funny lines:

"Sliced bread! That's the biggest thing since...well, ever!" - lady in the market.