The Croods: A New Age provides a lot of laughs and important lessons we can all learn from. A beautifully made film, looking fantastic on 4k, has it all. Fans of the film, or even first time viewers, will find a lot of entertainment in this one!
“The first prehistoric family is ready for another rocking adventure! The Croods have survived fanged beasts, natural disasters, and even young love, but now they must face their biggest challenge yet: another family! In search of a new home, the Croods discover a walled-in paradise created by the sophisticated Betterman family (emphasis on the “better”). As they try to coexist, the differences between the two families escalate into a full-blow feud, but when a new threat forces both families to embark on an epic adventure, they must all learn to work together…or they’ll all go extinct! Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and Peter Dinklage star in this hilarious animated comedy for the whole family!”
The film opens with the Croods family, and Guy (Ryan Reynolds), traveling day to day, narrowly escaping the clutches of death everywhere they turn, with wild creatures and natural disasters always around the corner. Despite the constant danger, Guy and Eep (Emma Stone) see only each other and the new love that they’ve found. Finally finding his ‘tomorrow’ in Eep, and desiring their privacy, Guy asks Eep to leave her family to start their own pack and find a home. To Eep’s father’s, Grug (Nicolas Cage) dismay, who has been listening to their conversation, she agrees. But, as he goes for a walk to process this information, he stumbles upon a giant wall, housing a paradise of food and shelter, the perfect reason for his daughter not to leave. They quickly discover the inhabitants of this paradise: the Betterman family, (Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann), and their daughter, Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran), who knew Guy when he was a child, and built this sanctuary to protect their daughter so nothing like what happened to Guy’s parents would happen to her. The Croods marvel at the weird inventions the Betterman family use to make their life easier: walls, windows, shoes, and other conveniences that help them survive. While Guy embraces the new way of thinking, The Croods are resistant in changing who they are and how they live. Phil Betterman devises a plan to keep Guy in their sanctuary and make the Croods leave, something both he and Grug seem to want, but before that can happen, a dark secret about the sanctuary comes to light.
The Croods: A New Age, perfectly combines exciting action, hilarious comedy sequences, and important themes to come together and make an overall very fun and entertaining film that anyone will enjoy, regardless if you’ve seen the first. Dreamworks handles their animated films quite well, and if the How to Train Your Dragon films have taught us anything, is that they know how to craft a heart-warming story with a blend of humor that can make you laugh and cry at the same time. This story does all that and more, not focusing so much just on the relationship between Guy and Eep, but the Croods place in a world that is rapidly changing.
The themes in the film focus on that change, beginning with the resistance to it. While everyone in the family seems to love having their own room and bed, Grug doesn’t want things to change. He misses the pile of bodies all around them when they sleep in a giant ball out in the wilderness, and sees the Betterman family as an enemy of his set ways. The same goes for Phil and Hope Betterman, who look down on the Croods because of how they live. In all of their hospitality there is still that condescending tone that they aren’t good enough to stay, that they represent everything beyond the walls they are trying to shield their daughter from. It’s a good lesson for children, but maybe more importantly for adults, given the divisive nature of our country currently, to be able to accept people for who they are, don’t be so resistant to change, and find a common ground with those who aren’t like you. Out of all the themes in the film, I found this one to be the most poignant that everyone can relate to.
Video
The Croods: A New Age is presented in 2160p Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1 featuring HDR10 and Dolby Vision. I can’t say enough good things about how this film looks in Dolby Vision. The colors are absolutely vibrant, with the best thing about this film being the wild and imaginative creatures that exist in this world, often combinations of different animals, the Wolf Spiders being my absolute favorite. The picture is crystal clear, with the Dolby Vision providing the best possible levels in each scene. Animation these days has gotten so impressive, considerably improving upon the first film, everything looks so smooth, and certain things so life-like. If you’re going to see this film, 4k is the way to go.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos, and is another impressive technical quality of this set. There is plenty of action going on in the film, with wild creatures coming in from all directions at times, really working those surrounds channels. The center channel sounds crystal clear and concise with dialogue, and the score is hilarious and fitting for each sequence, especially the beginning and ending sequences.
Special Features
This set is packed with extras, including 2 all-new exclusive shorts, so you’ve got more content to explore or to entertain the kids with.
These include:
- Dear Diary: World’s First Pranks
- Family Movie Night: Little Red Bronana Bread
- Gag Reel
- To: Gerard
- Deleted Scenes
- The Croods’ Family Album
- The Evolution Of…
- How to Draw: Caveman Style
- Famileaf Album
- Stone Age Snack Attack
- Audio Commentary with Director Joel Crawford, Producer Mark Swift, Head of Story Januel Mercado, and Editor Jim Ryan.
The Croods: A New Age fills that void of animated family entertainment that we’ve been lacking over the past year. It’s a hilarious sequel packed with a lot of laughs and heartwarming themes that are perfect learning lessons for children, and adults alike. Pick this one up on 4k today!
