Not Clear on the Appeal

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2014)

After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy (Ryan Reynolds).
How "The Croods" made it into the final circle of the Academy Awards (while pushing out "Monsters University") is a bit of a mystery. Reviews, although generally positive, were mixed and everyone seems to be in agreement this was no ground-breaking animation or top shelf humor. And yet this leads to a cartoon show and a video game...
The connection between this story and Plato's allegory of the cave has been pointed out, but it is a loose connection at best. If the allegory is boiled down to the basic (and inaccurate) idea that life is more fulfilling outside of the cave, there is a similarity. But any deeper meaning Plato was trying to offer is completely absent in this film which offers no valuable advice.
In fact, some aspects seem to be a step backwards. There are more than a few mother-in-law jokes (we still do those?) and even a subtle anti-feminist message. While early on Eep comes across as a strong female lead, once she meets Guy, she is back in the shadow of a man telling her how to live. What could have been a "girl power" film was instead turned into a generic father-reluctantly-gives-daughter-away story.
Again, this film should probably not have been nominated and hopefully has no chance of winning an Oscar. Despite a few clever moments (Nicolas Cage's idea rant stands out) this is a forgettable dud.