The original Croods came out in 2013. While I did not see the movie when it originally released I did watch it online with my chldren a few times and thought it was a fun movie. It was good for what it was: an escape movie. Now we are in 2020 and The Croods: A New Age is being released into the theaters. What new adventures will the family get into? Let’s find out.

This time around the Croods are looking for a new place to live and they meet a family called the Bettermans and yes, this family is a little bit better at most things than the Croods. While meeting the new family is a great addition to the Crood universe it is a fun way to mirror today’s family dynamics. 

Now I don’t want to give away too much of the movie but some of the parralels in this movie to real life was facinating to see. The entire concept of “window time” and “screen time” is played by the way Thunk is facsinated by this new “technology”. As a parent of a son who is almost the same way, I could relate to Grug and trying to make his son enjoy the real world as opposed to the virtual one. 

As a child of the early 80s i remember playing outside until the lights came on and never having to relay on the internet to keep me entertained. I feel a lot of parents feel that their children are losing the instinct on how to have fun by themselves without using computer devices and Phil goes through something similar with his daughter Dawn. When you are raised in a “modern civilization” you forget how to use your instincts to survive. This is why the friendship between Eep and Dawn is so great to watch. They are both learning a lot about each other and showing how friendships are very important to everyone.

There is a lot more we would like to say but the movie comes down to dads learning that they have to let go and can not always be the one there for their children. It is almost the same lesson pointed out in the first movie, but this time there are new characters to reinforce that. 

Here some more information about the movie: 

The Croods have survived their fair share of dangers and disasters, from fanged prehistoric beasts to surviving the end of the world, but now they will face their biggest challenge of all: another family

The Croods need a new place to live. So, the first prehistoric family sets off into the world in search of a safer place to call home. When they discover an idyllic walled-in paradise that meets all their needs, they think their problems are solved … except for one thing. Another family already lives there: the Bettermans.

The Bettermans (emphasis on the “better”)—with their elaborate treehouse, amazing inventions, and irrigated acres of fresh produce—are a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. When they take the Croods in as the world’s first houseguests, it isn’t long before tensions escalate between the cave family and the modern family.

Just when all seems lost, a new threat will propel both families on an epic adventure outside the safety of the wall, one that will force them to embrace their differences, draw strength from each other and forge a future together.

The Croods: A New Age features the voice talent of returning stars Nicolas Cage as Grug Crood, Catherine Keener as Ugga Crood, Emma Stone as their daughter, Eep; Ryan Reynolds as Eep’s boyfriend, Guy; Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine) as Thunk and Cloris Leachman as Gran. They’re joined by new stars Peter Dinklage (HBO’s Game of Thrones) as Phil Betterman, Leslie Mann (Blockers) as Hope Betterman, and Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: Episode VIII-The Last Jedi) as their daughter, Dawn.

The film is directed by Joel Crawford, who has worked on multiple DreamWorks Animation films, including Trolls and the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and is produced by Mark Swift (Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted).

Final Thoughts: My son thought the movie was “Funny, entertaining, heartwarming, and adventureistic”. I agree with him. There are a lot of funny moments in the film that will haveyou laughing out loud. The theme of family and relationships is strong in this movie and that is always something that is great in sharing with our children. 

Kid-Friendly: The movie has some questonable words said throughout the film, but nothing that hinges on adult language. There is some toilet humor in the movie and that always gets a laugh from children. 

Violence: If your children have seen most animated movies that have been released, they will see the same amount of slap-stick violence in the Croods. There is a fight scene that involves various monkeys that might be too much for little ones.