If there was any surprise release that 2020 brought to cinemas, it would be the sequel to the 2013 "The Croods". While the first film made a good amount of money, it received a lukewarm reception and the proposed sequel by Chris Sanders was left in developmental limbo due to the studio and Universal being unsure of the film's success. Despite a brief cancellation, the sequel actually managed to be released last year in theatres. But, what was the seven year hiatus worth it? The story picks up from before with the Croods family still searching for a place to call home while surviving the treacherous wildlife. When Grug manages to find an oasis containing an endless supply of food, the family is shocked to find another family, the Bettermans. The Bettermans are a condescending couple who flex their intelligence and lifestyle to the brutish and unintelligent Croods, while also trying to hook up their teenage daughter with the long-lost Guy. The family tension continues to rise until a turn of events forces the squabbling family to partner together for a new adventure. I haven't even begun to mention everything that the story contains and it's already an improvement from the original. True, the sequel tends to borrow elements from other Dreamworks hits such as "Over the Hedge" and "How To Train Your Dragon", but the story is constantly shifting at a fast pace, which helps to the film's comedic edge. Unlike in the first film, where it was half goofy comedy and half serious drama, the sequel goes all the way into the comedy and goofy nature and it manages to really shine because of it. There are little dramatic elements and heartwarming moments, but they don't override the film compared to the first film. On top of that, the comedy probably makes this one of Dreamwork's funniest films to date with well-written banter, deliveries, innuendos, and slapstick.
One of the biggest surprises that the sequel offers is the full return of the cast reprising their roles, including the now A-list Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone. Stone returning as Eep continues to offer her charisma and the rebellious nature of the character is now played up for comedy rather than drama. Reynolds as Guy feels far more in nature with the actor's persona and makes Guy the wholesome yet clueless partner of the blossoming romance. Nicholas Cage as Grug almost steals the entire film as Cage manages to go full "Cage" and overact like never before. Grug was already enjoyable, but now he's one of my favourite characters that Dreamworks has put out. Another neat surprise is that some of the side cast has actually improved from before. Catherine Keener as Ugga manages to get a lot of milage from her rivalvry with Mrs. Betterman and her bond with Grug and Eep. Cloris Leachman, in one of her last performances, completely hams it up as Gran and her fixation of the female-empowered clan she once took part of known as "the Thunder Sisters". Even Chunky the Death Cat and Douglass have more personality as the loyal pet and mode of transportation for the family. However, the same can't be said for Belt and Thunk. Belt is far more minor compared to the previous film (mainly due to Sander's lack of involvement in the story), which is good since the sloth's humour was a bit hit-and-miss. But Clark Duke's Thunk has actually reduced in his character as his running gag is that he's obsessed with his window/screen. To be fair, Thunk does have some of the funniest moments of the film, but you almost forget that he is a character in the film since he's the only one to not have a type of arc or relevance in the film. And then there are the Bettermans, who some people can't stand because of their awful personality. However, I think it's their personality that actually makes them so enjoyable as well as their mini-character arcs for accepting the Croods. Peter Dinklage is practically competing with Cage in how much he can overact as the laid-back and egocentric Phil, Leslie Mann is hilarious as the passive-aggressive Hope, and Kelly Marie Tran is so loveable as the bubbly and carefree Dawn who manages to befriend Eep rather than spite her. Overall, I think the characters (minus Thunk) manages to greatly improve from before as the returning actors and actresses are far more comfortable in their roles and the energy of the sequel, and the newcomers are talented enough to be on par with the seasoned cast and making their characters stand out.
The animation is frankly a huge improvement from before, despite it seeming like a downgrade at first. The first film had the odd decision to utilize motion-capture for the character animation in order to make them feel more realistic and grounded in their movements despite their cartoonish designs. Because of the pandemic and the reduced budget, the sequel completely ditches the motion-capture and just made the characters fully animated. This decision manages to benefit the movie in so many ways. Not only does the animation contrast better with the tone and elements, but it manages to actually make the film even funnier. The various expressions and exaggerations from the characters can be priceless at times and there are so many little gags in the facial responses alone that it makes the film ooze with personality. The only drawback of the switch in animation is that the textures of the characters aren't as detailed, aside from the hair, which is not a bad thing considering the uncanny valley the original film had to endure from people. The colours are also even more vibrant than ever and there's still variety in the use of colours depending on the setting and atmosphere. The world also manages to expand with the new vegetation, new animals such as the wolf-spiders and even expansion on established elements such as the punch-monkeys having their own society and agenda. The score by Mark Mothersbaugh replaces the one from Alan Silvestri with only a few renditions of Silvestri's work used in the sequel. While Mothersbaugh's music works fine for the film and respective scenes, Silvestri does have more memorable themes and cues from the first film. However, the soundtrack almost blows Silvestri's offerings out of the park as the sequel manages to use a spaced amount of established and original songs. "I Think I Love You" by the Partridge Family is so well utilized to enforce Eep and Guy's teen romance and the end credits uses an awesome cover version of the song by "Tenacious D". The film also has an original rock song called "Feel the Thunder" during the climax that actually works so well that I legitimately thought it was an already existing song from a couple decades ago. Overall, it's no secret that first-time director, Joel Crawford, made the sequel his own and has quickly been promoted to save another sequel from developmental hell, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish".
"The Croods: A New Age" is shockingly great, despite the first film's reputation and the sequel's production troubles. While the story is a bit unoriginal at times, Thunk is still a nothing character, and Motherbaugh's score isn't as memorable as Silvestri's contributions, that's all the flaws the sequel endured. The tone is unapologetically goofy and fast-paced, the comedy is extremely sharp with dozens of jokes offered left and right, Eep and Guy offer a cute and funny relationship thanks to the talented Stone and Reynolds, Grug is even better than ever with Cage being himself as always, Ugga and Gran have much more to do now than just being reactionary characters, Phil and Hope are fantastically overracted by Dinklage and Mann, Dawn is so innocent and wholesome thanks to Trans's performance, the animation has improved extremely thanks to the revamped character movements and expressions, the colours and world-building are built up upon, and the lyrical songs introduced use a familiar favourite and a catchy original that add to the personality of the film. If the mistakes were patched up, this would actually be a comedic masterpiece. As is though, it serves as a healthy reminder that Dreamworks is still able to produce great content, even if it comes from the most unexpected of projects.
Verdict: 8.5/10. An amazing sequel to an average Dreamworks film. Hopefully this does sets a new age for the once-glorious animation studio...
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