Review of Early Man (2018) by Charlie P — 29 Mar 2018

During the wild Stone Age, Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his beloved tribe spend their days hunting rabbits and dancing. But when the greedy Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) steals their land to mine Bronze, Dug challenges Nooth's Bronze Age city to a game of football in order to save the valley from being destroyed. But even with the help of his pet warthog Hognob and a sympathetic citizen named Goona (Maisie Williams) with dreams of her own, training a bunch of cavemen for a football match is going to be easier said than done...

Almost a decade after directing the final Wallace and Gromit short A Matter of Loaf and Death, Nick Park, the creator of everyone's favourite cheese-lover and his loyal dog himself brings his first solo directing effort to new heights for Aardman Animations.

Although the story doesn't really explore the interesting Stone Age enviroment as it mostly revolves around a formulaic underdog sports narrative, Aardman's skill at stop-motion animation, extremely funny comedy and creative set design is what keeps Early Man from going extinct.

As with other Aardman films that are mostly focused on comedy such as Flushed Away and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, most of Early Man is ram-packed with gags with the funniest jokes coming from Rob Brydon's messenger bird and the numerous nods to football culture.

Overall, Early Man may not be Nick Park's best effort, but it's charming delivery, impressive stop-motion and lovable characters scores another home run for the house that Gromit built.