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Animated comedy film directed by Kirk DeMicco

If curiosity always lead to danger, we would never discover new things like The Croods did. This animated comedy film directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders explores the wonders of being curious and adapting to changes. A cave family of seven, protected by Grug the father (Nicolas Cage), has to secure his family from the dangers of the world with the help of his wife Ugga (Catherine Keener). The only one who doesn’t like to listen to his rules is Eep (Emma Stone) she likes to be outside the cave and explore. His other two children Thunk (Clark Duke) and Sandy (Randy Thomas) always obey him. Part of the family is also grandmother Gran (Cloris Leachman) whom Grug is always hoping she dies. Along comes a nomad boy named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) to help them follow the light. The movie was released in the US on March 22, 2013 and was created with a budget of 135 billion dollars. This movie is well made because its not only humorist but includes symbolism in the sun and the cave, important messages about being open minded, and not being afraid.

The movie is modeled after the evolutionary theory of ape-like men. The characters have sloping foreheads, run on all four limbs, and eat what they can find. They don’t completely act like humans. Guy is illustrated more like a modern day human. Beyond their appearance the sun is very important to the Croods. Eep is always trying to touch the sunlight during the sunsets. Through her eyes the sun means hope and promises a better tomorrow. When they have to leave their home the sun is who they follow. They do that because to them the sun leads the way to the land of tomorrow. When they almost approach it the land cracks and black smoke covers up the sunlight. They start thinking the tomorrow land has really been destroyed, but as this happens Grug sees the lights and tosses everyone across. He does this believing he is helping them get to a better place. He is now alone with the world falling apart around him but he puts faith in the invisible to see the visible.

The cave to Grug represents safety and the only way to live, but as Eep said, That wasn’t living! That was just not dying, theres a difference. His father always wants to keep them in the cave and tell them that is why they don’t die, but they really never get to live. All they do is hide. This leads to the aspect of being open minded. Nothing good will ever happen if you only listen to your opinions and not those of others. At the beginning Grug makes everyone do what he wants to. This is why the presence of Guy causes conflict, he makes the rest of the family disobey Grug and go and take risks. At the end he realizes its not all about what he says, but that he needs the opinion of other people. The world is full of people with different ideas which helps open minded people experience growth and development.

Change is something that often scares us, although it shouldnt because it may lead to better things. Being afraid will get you nowhere. Grug always told his children Never not be afraid, he said this because it was his way of surviving. Survival to him was living, but not to Eep she wanted to see beautiful things and she hated the dark. A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing will ever grow there. You have to have the courage to step out of your zone like Grug did at the end. He realized that there was so much more to new things than just danger. Change is something we can’t avoid, the best we can do is simply not fear it.

The Croods isn’t just a good movie to watch for fun and enjoyment, but also because it teaches some valuable lessons. Critics really enjoyed it because its engaging and it captures the curiosity of discovering time and coming across new things. This movie is one of my favorite because it has a unique plot and it makes you realize that you can’t live your life with fear. It also shows how we shouldnt forget to say what is important. Eep almost lost the chance to tell her father how much she loved him. We must always take a risk or we will stay in doubt of what could have happened.

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