Cute "GUY" From The Croods

Last night, after working a grueling 11 hour shift at work, I went to see The Croods.  I have been avoiding any and all media related to this feature, so I could be as surprised as possible while I watched it.  I didn't know the plot, or the characters going in.    I found it to be a refreshing fun little movie.  It has some amazing visual effects and an awesome prehistoric world for the characters to explore.  The animals of the Croods seem to mostly be a mix of various species put together.  Basically, this is about as close to a Wuzzles movie as your gonna get.  (The more common comparison I am waiting to hear will probably be people claiming they ripped off Avatar The Last Air Bender while working on ideas for their bestiary.)  Either way, you wind up with some amazingly creative and at times jaw dropping prehistoric beasts.  Like so many older productions, the creators just went with their imaginations and didn't really look to the scientific for their animals.  It's just one nod of many that the movie gives to other 'Caveman' films.  For someone like me, these were very nice touches.  There's even a gag that mirrors a scene from the recent 10,000 B.C..  (A favorite of mine.)     

I am not sure who my favorite character is. It's a tough choice.  The main character Eep is a great cavegirl.  She takes inspiration from many sources like Raquel Welch, but gives Welch and any movie cavegirl before her a real run for her money.   I think she makes Braves Princess Merida look like a sad novice at survival and outdoor actives in comparison. :P Then there's 'Guy', a total cute early human (not a caveman) who is voiced needlessly by Ryan Reynolds.  I honestly couldn't tell it was him voicing this character.  For a moment I even thought it was Dennis Leary.  I don't know why studios keep insisting on bringing in people that are good looking in real life, but have no qualities that make their voices stand out.  Seems strange to me when there is so much talent out there.  Ryan does a great job though, unlike Nicholas cage who voices the father Grug.  Grug would instantly be my favorite of the bunch, if not for the ineptitude of Mr. Cages voice acting skills.  I really like him as an actor and really wanted to enjoy his performance here.  At times he does shine, but any time the character had to act angry, or gruff, it's painfully obvious his voice just wasn't the right choice for the character.  He just can't bring the anger.  So off was his performance, that at times it made me feel like the Croods was made in another language and I was watching a dub.  That's not to say Cage can't bring the heart and humor to the character, but it's not nearly as strong as say, John C. Reilly's Wreck It Ralph.  Personally I think that someone like comedian John Pinette would have been a better choice then Cage.

There was only inconsistency with the plot that bothered me.  The family is originally shown as living a life close to starvation, but despite how hard life is, they share food equally and are all very close.  Later on, they get into a feeding frenzy that causes one member to go comically cannibalistic.  It's done to freak out Guy and make the audience laugh, but I felt it was a missed opportunity to show him that they had some positive qualities.   I'm not going to do a full review of this one.  I certainly had a great time watching it.  Overall I would recommend the Croods.  Maybe not as strongly as Wreck It Ralph, but it's certainly one of the freshest and fun animated movies to come out of Dreamworks since Dragon. 

Guy is a really cute twink. Should we porn him up a bit?

These cups are available with the kids meals at theaters.  The Theater I went to didn't have them.  It's funny that Guy and not Eep, or Grug is featured.  Check out the high res for a particularly sexy image of him on the cup.

I have a feeling merchandise for this movie is gonna be hard to come by here in Canada.  This sticker book isn't getting an English release from what I can tell. I want those animal stickers! :P

Art Print featuring the original hand drawn concept art.  Dang..I miss the days of 2D animation. :(

Anyone else feel Eeps little sister was like an extreme version of Fang from Dave the Barbarian?