The Croods. Rated PG (mild themes). 98 minutes. Written
and directed by Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders.
Verdict: A visually dazzling adventure about the importance
of learning from one another.
While live action
filmmakers are often preoccupied with futuristic worlds riddled with explosive
conflict and war-mongering, animators have been equally preoccupied with the
distant past. From The Flinstones
(1960–1966) to the Ice Age
films (2002–2012), there is something liberating about imagining pre-historic
possibilities – perhaps that the imperative for the results to be as
‘life-like’ as possible is eliminated. What we get instead, are pure flights of
fantasy and imagination – hallmarks of the great, animated adventures of recent
times.
