Review of The Croods (2013) by Brett B — 12 Feb 2014

I expect that, had I seen THE CROODS as a child, I would have been quite taken with it. These days, though, I need a little bit more to chew on from my animated films, and while this one is certainly entertaining, there's not much going on under the surface.

Sure, it makes a few attempts at warmth and sentiment, but it mostly falls short of being satisfactorily affecting; it's a fairly slight film in that sense. That said, the voice cast is certainly game and energetic (and it is amusing to watch how the animators handle Nicolas Cage's occasionally.

.. unique... cadence and delivery), and the single best element of the film is the really fun and inventive creature design work, which fills out the edges of the world in a neat way. The animation is dynamic and colorful, and there's a madcap zaniness to some of the action sequences that's exciting, but it does start to grow a bit tired and grating heading into the third act.

Ultimately, it's certainly passable family fare, but there's nothing in it to truly push it over the top, and I was left feeling just a bit indifferent towards it.