Really reminded me of 'THE FLINTSTONES'.

Rating: 5/10 (9 August 2013)

'THE CROODS': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Blockbuster DreamWorks Animation film about a family of cavemen venturing outside their cave for the first time. It stars the voices of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman. It was directed and co-written (with actor John Cleese) by Chris Sanders (who also does a voice in the film) and Kirk De Micco. Sanders is also famous for co-directing such animated blockbusters as 'HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON' and 'LILO & STITCH' (which he also voiced the title character Stitch in). He also co-wrote those films as well as 'THE LION KING', 'ALADDIN', 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST', 'MULAN' and others. This film doesn't quite live up to most others on Sanders' resume but it is a decent animated kids' film.
The movie follows a family (the 'Croods') living in the fictional prehistoric time known as the 'Croodaceous' period. The time was populated by a lot of fantastical creatures and a very small amount of humans. The Croods were lead by the father, Grug (Cage), who was obsessed with never letting his family do anything dangerous or try anything new (and kept them mostly hidden in a cave). This drove his teenage daughter Eep (Stone) crazy, who constantly dreamt of adventures. One day Eep does venture outside the cave and meets a very intelligent young man named Guy (Reynolds). The rest of the family goes out looking for her when their cave is destroyed. The Croods then must travel across the land, with Guy as a guide, in search of a new home and safety.
The film is colorful and visually pleasant. It's also funny and adventurous at times. All of the cast is more than adequate in the film (especially Cage in the lead). What it really reminded me of was 'THE FLINTSTONES', with Cage playing a character very similar to 'Fred Flintstone'. I grew up on that show so the movie is mildly entertaining to me. If you enjoyed that cartoon you'll probably enjoy this movie as well (and kids will probably love it). It's nothing spectacular but it is decent family entertainment.
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