Star-Studded Prehistoric Animated Adventure Available To Stream Without Netflix
The state of animated cinema has seen diminishing returns in the last few years, with a number of big budget family movies failing to bring in massive box office numbers. Still, one animated outing from 2013 has been turning heads lately, due to its star-studded cast and distinct visual style. The movie, The Croods, performed well on arrival, but became buried by a number of other massive animated outings during its box office run, making it something of a cult classic today.
Massive Talent All Around
The Croods was written and directed by the filmmaking duo of Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, with legendary Monty Python alumnus John Cleese attached as an additional writer. While DeMicco has primarily worked on lesser-known family films, Sanders has major writing credits for classic Disney animated features such as Mulan and Lilo & Stitch. As mentioned before, The Croods touts an ensemble cast of massive talent, including Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, and Hot Tub Time Machine‘s Clark Duke.
Ambitious Animation
The Croods‘ character design and animation style are wholly unique, and manage to stand out among a wide array of cookie-cutter animated films, which have unfortunately become homogenized in the last few years. Obviously, some films such as Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse have broken the mold in terms of distinct variety in animation, though such films have become the exception, not the rule.
Nicolas Cage Is Grug
The narrative of The Croods centers on Nicolas Cage‘s Grug, a prehistoric cave-dweller from the fictitious “Croodaceous period,” who protects his family from the threat of natural disasters and hungry dinosaurs by keeping them locked in the deep reaches of a cliff-side cave. After the cave collapses following a massive earthquake, the family are able to explore the outside world, and all of the dangers that come with it.
Playful Prehistoric Peril
Luckily, the Croods come across a more modern-looking human named Guy, who introduces the family to a wide array of complex inventions such as torches and shell horns which can be used to call for help. As Guy helps the family navigate the perils of the outside world, Grug voraciously searches for a new cave. Unfortunately for the protective patriarch, the family finds that life on the outside is much more fascinating and rewarding, even with the dangers of bloodthirsty prehistoric creatures.
Success Overshadowed By Other Blockbusters
GFR SCORE
The Croods managed to bring in over $587 million at the global box office, making it one of the most successful animated ventures of 2013. Still, that year had a lot of stiff competition, causing the prehistoric romp to be buried under the success of movies like Frozen, Despicable Me 2, and Monsters University. In the decade since The Croods first arrived in theaters, the franchise has expanded to include a theatrical sequel titled The Croods: A New Age, as well as a pair of television streaming spin-offs titled Dawn of the Croods and The Croods: Family Tree.
If you’re interested in catching the animated movie that launched the exciting franchise, you can stream The Croods for free through Amazon Prime Video’s FreeVee today. The film currently holds a certified fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 72 percent.
