Film Review: The Croods

Emma Stone & Nicholas Cage, The Croods premiere,
cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com

We decided to have a family trip to the cinema on Saturday. It’s often hard to find something that both Lucy and Jack want to do, but Jack agreed to go along to see ‘The Croods’, as Lucy was so excited about it, and Emma Stone is one of his favourite actresses.

The premise

The film’s heroine is Emma Stone’s character, feisty teenager Eep. Set in prehistoric times, the cave-man family includes over-protective father Grug (Nicholas cage), mother Ugga (Catherine Keener) and siblings: Thunk and Sandy.

Grug wants the family to spend most of their time in the safety of their cave, but Eep wants to explore the world. When she sneaks out one night, meets Guy (voiced by Ryan Reyolds) who warns her that the world as they know it is about to end. Guy helps the family flee to the mountains, while Grug protects them along the way. 

The film is an excellent lesson in the importance of family, and working together to overcome all challenges, despite any differences you may have. It shows the positives of change and experiencing adventures together, which are all nice messages for our children to see in a film.

Was it child-friendly?

The Croods is suitable for all the family, but Lucy did find some parts a little scary – I would suggest that a child under six or a particularly sensitive child may find some parts frightening. The film does deal with some pretty heavy themes – the threat of death and danger, and worries about the end of the world. But this is done in such a way that children won’t find it too upsetting, and the survival of the whole family of course results in a happy ending.

Was it any good?

The film is visually bold, but the storytelling is obvious and un-imaginative, which lets it down a little. However, it’s fast-paced and funny enough to make it enjoyable enough to accept these flaws, and young children especially won’t be so over-familiar with the style of storytelling.

Overall, the film was a fun and action-packed adventure, watchable for all of us. There were enough amusing moments to keep parents and older children entertained. It wasn’t breaking any new ground, but was an enjoyable enough way for us all to spend an afternoon together.

Have you and your family been to see The Croogs yet? Let me know what you think!