In our modern world we forget what it takes to just survive and the pearl of DreamWork's animated feature film "The Croods" is to remind us to "come out of the dark and into the light."
Can you imagine living with your family in Caveman times? I can. In fact, the Croods brood kinda resembles my family!! I saw a little bit of my dad, mom, myself, my sister and our hubby's and children in the Croods characters, and I loved every single one more than the next.
Would your family survive a day in the wild without modern conveniences and your corner Starbucks?
We've since cast off our animal predators into zoos, reserves and forests and have our local supermarket where we do our hunting. The Croods find themselves among several species vying for the same chicken coop for breakfast guarded by a momma chicken not so keen on sacrificing her unborn offspring.
The way of the Croods may seem savage to some, but completely normal to them. They were literally triumphant to make it through the long fearsome nights and met the morning sun with the salutation "STILL ALIVE!!"
It was not their survival instincts alone that saved them night after night, but their togetherness and stories of their ancestors that filled the silence. Albeit the stories never seemed to end so well with everyone dying and all. The cavemen were indeed the first known storytellers.
Daddy Crood was the family's protector and hell bent on instilling the fear of life into their family to ensure their survival. One thing daddy Crood knew for certain is - the outside world is bad, staying together is good.
His daughter, Eep voiced by Emma Stone, like most teenagers want to test the limits. She's not so happy being cooped up in her cave night after night. She wants to explore the world and her curiosity brings her "closer to the edge as the more she can see, the more she can hear and feel."
Along comes a guy, who considering there are no other prospects still alive, is a good bet for the survival of the species. Guy, a civilized caveman possesses the unique gift of ideas.
To this evolved guy, the Croods are about as crude a species as they come, not holy recognizable from the animal species. The Croods have two speeds - wander and hunt. Guy introduces the Croods to fire, shoes and the concept of invention by utilizing the tools at nature's disposal to work with you rather than being seen as your mortal enemy.
With trepidation they follow Guy and slowly move out of their cave to fight the generational deep instinct to flight back into another cave and hole up for the rest of their lives, to try their fate at something new and scary, namely, living freely in the light.
Living with a newfound appreciation they learn to channel their fear into adventure, discover their true nature and have a bit of fun along the way.
The Croods are an example of how you can survive in fear or thrive in love.
Mommas Pearls Meter: 3.5 oysters
The Croods
Dreamworks, Rated PG
Directed by: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders
Trailer
*note there are scary action sequences and a violent undertone of hunting and being hunted
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