Trailer Tuesday: The Croods

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You may, like me, still be smarting from the fact that this year's Oscar for Best Animated Feature went to the least impressive of the nominees (my review of Brave here). This said, there was some justice when Wreck-It Ralph (my review) received the same accolade at the 2013 Annie Awards - which are chosen by industry animators and animation fans alike. Yay!

Well, the annual competition for the best of the best animated flicks has just reset. And one of the first contenders out the gate in 2013 is DreamWorks Animation's The Croods.



Screening in 3D and 2D, this prehistoric adventure follows the "world's first family" as they're forced  out of their comfort zone (AKA their cave) by an earthquake and journey across an amazing, unfamiliar world. Naturally some members of the family handle the upheaval better than others. Dad Grug (Nicolas Cage) definitely falls into the latter camp while his teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone) has been lusting after adventure and change her entire life. She gets both in spaces when she meets nomadic Guy (Ryan Reynolds) - who pops up with his pet sloth in the film's second trailer. Other actors providing voices for the film include Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman.

Coming across like some amalgamation of Ice Age, The Land Before Time (remember that one?) and The Flintstones, The Croods looks fantastic so far in its promotional material - sweet, colourful and filled with a sense of wonder as opposed to wacky gags. As an added bonus, the filmmakers haven't just hauled in big names stars to voice the characters. All of the actors involved here have strong comedic sensibilities, which is always a smart move as they tend to bring a relaxed confidence and naturalism to proceedings. The Croods is definitely an opening weekend movie for me.

The Croods releases in North America on 22 March. The film opens in South Africa a week later, on 29 March, just in time for the Easter long weekend.

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