Some sequels you just don't ask for. Either the first film was enough, or it was too much. I would classify 2013's "The Croods" comfortably into that category. I don't think no one went into the animated movie and howled, "More 'Croods' please!"
But here we are. Seven years later, and "The Croods: A New Age" has dropped on our COVID-19 holiday doorstep. A pre-Thanksgiving treat designed to remind people that a little story about competing cavemen families will ease the fact that the living room looks more sparse and the leftovers a tad more plentiful. So, does it work?
Look, there are worse ways to spend your time on a rainy, cold holiday evening. I wasn't a big fan of the original, so the sequels feel like a rehash of the first one with some extra spice mixed in. That comes in the way of the Bettermans, a rival family to the Croods who claim to be more advanced and prepared, but obviously have some secrets. Most of them are silly and played for laughs, and none of it will completely bore you. Your eyes will roll a lot, but there are a couple of genuinely funny sequences in this film.
But at 95 minutes, the screenwriters here try to pack about two seasons of a television series into a single film. Once Grug (Nicolas Cage), Ugga (Catherine Keener), Eep (Emma Stone), and company set off on a journey that will only find them more trouble and another adventure to go on, the film takes off and doesn't slow down for a second. There isn't enough time to spend with Cloris Leachman's hilarious Gran, or enough minutes to fully develop Leslie Mann and Peter Dinklage's Betterman family. All of it is sloppy and a little too stuffed in the end to really endorse the film.
Again, the culprit here is the story. Most of it is underdeveloped and unnecessary. A scene with wild berries and fruits 14 minutes in had me rolling, but the next 45 minutes nearly had me snoozing. I don't give animated films an easy pass just because they are designed to please young kids and engage families. Since Pixar and Disney have crafted such stellar films to rely on, the messages of family values and sticking together starts to sound overcooked and repetitive. Far too little of "The Croods: A New Age" comes off as superficial and lacking much of a spark.
The cast shouldn't be blamed. Cage, Keener, and Reynolds don't do much to lift the material up, but they do their jobs as best as one can with the screenplay given. Mann, Stone, and Dinklage fare better, because their characters have a little more nuance and playful energy. Cage seems bored about ten minutes in. This is paycheck-cashing work for the most part. Just wait for Leachman's "Thunder Sisters" rally cry about an hour in. That's one of the few well-written and funny scenes. More of those scenes were needed for me to give this one a passing grade.
Here's the thing. If you liked the first film, this film should do the job for you and the family. It serves up similar material at a higher rate, which means a lot more bland jokes, but also an infatuation with bright colors that wore me out faster than "Trolls: World Tour" did. If that's your need here, this sequel does the job. For some, this will just come off as silly and unnecessary. Something to skip.
The final word? Non-Croods fanatics can steer clear here.
