It's hard to describe... really, I don't know if I liked it or not.

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2014)

The Croods... there is a lot to say about this movie. The movie is unlike any animated movie I have seen, which is weird because one wouldn't suspect that BECAUSE it is like so many other animated movies but ISN'T! The Croods steps into a weird territory where it does a lot of things familiar but then does all of the familiar things in a nearly unrecognizable manner. This is why I consider this movie a good movie because it is one of the ONLY animated movies that really confuses me... and I'm not easily confused.
The movie starts off with explaining that The Croods are the last of what was once a neighborhood of cavemen. Sadly, all died, so now the Croods stick by the rules and live in fear. What makes this movie ingenious is that it doesn't know who the main character is. Eep seems like the main character, but Grug gets a lot of screen-time as well. Also, the movie was very smart. Grug could've been the bad guy. He could've had no redeeming features. HOWEVER, it is established early on that the only reason any of them are alive is because of his strength and endurance to keep everyone alive. Grug isn't smart, but he will risk his life and do anything to keep his family safe. Heck, he even doesn't eat food for over a week just so that his family can eat. That is a loving father. This is one of the reasons I like this film. A lot of movies have trouble making a good father character, but this one gets it... at times.
If you've seen the trailers, you know that a newcomer comes along named Guy who is an inventor. The nice thing this movie did is that showed right off the bat how physically epic the Croods are in strength and just how weak Guy is compared to them. Eep lifts Guy up with her wrist and nearly kills him within the first couple seconds of meeting him. Speaking of strength, this movie has its momentum done right. Whenever the Croods are moving, they move with A LOT of speed and are incredibly strong (punting rocks hundreds of feet away).
I'm getting distracted. The real thing I find interesting about this movie is that it is one of the only animated movies I have seen that has blended incredible realism with Looney-Tunes slapstick. The movie is gorgeous. It really is. The water made me pause for a second and realize that it wasn't real water... but I thought it was for a moment. Most movies either use CGI for the beautiful shading but still have cartoony visuals (Madagascar, Tangled, Frozen) or either they use incredible realism (Beowolf, Rise of the Guardians, Brave) but this movie combines both. The humor and the movement is directly taken from several Pink Panther skits and Merry Melodies, but the animation rarely stretches of squashes. They still move like they are real. It confuses me because naturally that sounds like a horrible idea... but... this movie pulls it off. I can't say that I have ever seen a movie that has done animation this way.
The story itself if pretty good as well, but is fairly kid-oriented. There are some laughs for adults, but some jokes seem a little too... kiddish at times. Which is another weird thing: this is an animated movie that isn't trying to be dark and serious! Really, this movie is perfectly content with being light-hearted, funny, and really laid-back. It has its dark moments and its sad moments, but overall it is upbeat and happy. It is refreshing to see this kind of movie get released.
Also, the soundtrack is really good along with the character interaction. None of the characters are obnoxious and they all interact with each other in a very realistic manner. I think half of this movie's humor comes from the "subtle" jokes or the little gags that fly by in a second. There is a lot going on in this movie, but it may be hard to pick up on the first time.
All in all, The Croods DOES have some hiccups and you will notice them when watching it. However, when I look back on it I realize that this is a special movie. It is unique in almost every way and ISN'T really unique at all. I wouldn't mind being stuck in the world that was created... for just a couple minutes more.
Oh yeah, and the creatures were cool. Not basing it off of real animals is clever.