DreamWorks Animation
Honestly, I am not sure who asked for a sequel to the 2013 DreamWorks animated film The Croods. The prehistoric family animated movie was simply fine. It offered bright colors and zany characters that was worth a one-time watch. I think this sequel should have come out a few years ago, but I was still excited to see the film since many big, animated films have been moved and I was looking for something new to watch with my family.
The Croods family, along with Guy (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), are looking for a safer habitat and discover a walled-in paradise run by a more advanced family, the Bettermans (Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann, and Kelly Marie Tran). Most of the Croods are excited with this opportunity to live in a place that meets their needs, but the father (voiced by Nicholas Cage) sees this a way of his pack separating. Tensions rise amongst both families but a much larger threat challenges both families and they must work together to survive.
In many ways, The Croods: A New Age is better than the first film. The script is a lot tighter which allows for the story to have a natural flow. My problem with the first film was that the movie felt all over the place. It didn’t have a concrete story to latch onto, but this time around, that has changed. The film offers enough development for both families and manages to build towards a third act that was thrilling. Most films have a hard time juggling so many characters, but it seemed to work in this movie. I was interested in seeing how relationships in the Croods family, mostly Guy and Grug, have progressed since the first film. I thought the realistic approach to have both Guy and Grug care for each other was a heartwarming aspect of the film.
Everything seems fine at first for both families but when we learn that Hope and Phil Betterman want their daughter to date Guy, they no longer want the Croods around, which causes tension amongst the group. The film presents many different storylines for different members of each families and by doing that, we get an appreciation of all the characters and how they can work as a team. Once we move towards the third act, each family starts to learn more about the other family and realizes that things can work if they are willing to get along.
Most DreamWorks animated films have beautiful animation and that also goes for The Croods 2. The film still feels cartoony but offers plenty of bright moments when the Bettermans are introduced. Since they are a step ahead of the Croods, there are moments where the prehistoric family learns of a different way to live and the film gets creative. From the Bettermans’ way of watching TV to doing the dishes, reminded me of how the Flintstones lived, which allowed for some funny reactions from the Croods family.
DreamWorks Animation has had plenty of sequels throughout the years from a few Shrek films to a couple of Kung Fu Panda sequels. The Croods: A New Age is one of the rare sequels that has improved from the first film. I can’t say the same for the most recent DreamWorks film, Trolls: World Tour, but with a year where plenty of films have been moved, I got to applaud DreamWorks Animation for releasing two films this year and testing their films during the pandemic.
The Croods: A New Age has a run time of 1 hour 35 minutes and is rated PG for peril, action and rude humor.
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