The Croods

It's that time of year when I take a look at those films nominated for Oscars that I haven't seen, which means mostly animated, documentaries, and foreign films. I hadn't seen any of the nominated films in the Best Animated Film category, probably because I don't have kids.

I start with DreamWorks' The Croods, a passable if overly frenetic story of prehistoric man. The film was directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, with a screenplay by them, and John Cleese, of all people. Suffice it to say it is not anything like he is known for.

The film's title family is a group of cavemen. The dad (voiced by Nicolas Cage) believes in caution to the point of obsession, while his daughter (Emma Stone), wants to explore the world around her, despite its dangers. But their world is changing (the opening sequence suggests that it is Pangaea breaking apart) and she meets a more evolved boy (Ryan Reynolds), who along with the family, look for a better place to live.

This film is mostly directed at small children, as the pleasures for adults are few and far between. The humor is mostly slapstick, along with some funny animal sidekicks (a sloth named Belt likes to vocalize the notes "Dun dun dun" for moments of great import). The voice cast is good, with Catherine Keener and Cloris Leachman as the older females in the group.

But I'm not sure about the message of the film, which says that one shouldn't be afraid. Cage is seen as overly cautious, "Never not be afraid," he says frequently, but at the end he's changed his mind, and says to Stone, "Never be afraid." The truth is somewhere in between--of course don't live life afraid of everything, but fear is a necessary component of survival.

Also, I'm unsure if any experts were consulted on this. I don't know this off the top of my head, but I doubt man was on the scene when Pangaea broke up, and there's some species here that are pretty fantastical. I did like the early whale that still had legs. I'm sure Richard Leakey would have lots to argue with.