The Croods

The Croods aren't "crude" at all. They are, however, the stars of the latest 3D animated film from Dreamworks. And as earlier reported, it's also Dreamworks's first film to be distributed by Fox.

The Croods are the last Caveman family around. They survived because papa Grug (Nicolas Cage) keeps them in their cave. But daughter Eep (Emma Stone) loves to explore the outside world. One night, Eep sneaks out and meets Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and Belt the Sloth (co-director Chris Sanders). Guy tells her that the world's ending; the next day, their peaceful canyon is destroyed in a quake.

Beyond their destroyed home is a jungle land with exotic creatures. Further beyond, there's a place that Guy calls "Tomorrow." They bring Guy and his "modern" inventions along to help them on the Road to Tomorrow.

It's a fun, silly caveman adventure co-scripted by Sanders, co-director Kirk DeMicco and John Cleese. Its slapstick escapades, including the Croods' first experience with fire, were certainly entertaining. The Croods themselves are fun characters who are likable throughout the film. Especially fun is Sandy, the youngest, most feral of the Croods. Rather than a celebrity voice, sound designer Randy Thom created her growls from animal noises.

The Jungle Land the Croods travel through was also amazing. Everyone of its creatures, from a land-bound whale to the killer flamingo-parrots (I think), were wonderfully exotic. A few of them even join the road trip as characters.

Its only flaw was that it felt long, even at ninety-eight minutes. But in this cinematic landscape currently barren of good cartoon movies, The Croods fills that need quite nicely. As usual, I'll leave the 3D or Flatscreen decision to you, the paying consumer.