The Croods isn't exactly one of DreamWorks' more popular movies. It was released during that brief time period in the 2010s where DreamWorks' animated films were more often than not box office bombs - however, unlike most of DreamWorks' releases during that time, this one actually did well at the box office. And this was also the same time period where DreamWorks was teaming up with Netflix to do shows based on their animated movies. Shows like Turbo: F.A.S.T., All Hail King Julien, The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show, even Home got a show for Netflix at one point. You can see where I'm going with this, right?
And so, Dawn of the Croods premiered on Christmas Eve 2015 on Netflix. The show took place before the events of the movie, detailing the adventures of the Crood family in the valley where they lived before they met Ryan Reynolds' character Guy. Fifty-two episodes were produced.
According to the show's producer, Brendan Hay, "I loved how [The Croods] managed to carefully balance a modern, relatable family dynamic between characters with a caveman's point of view. I love The Flintstones, but it was always about transporting the modern world's conveniences into its time period. The Croods took the time to create an experience based on how a cave family would live, which surprisingly hasn't been done that often, at least for comedy. The only condition going in was that Dawn of the Croods had to be a prequel, because the next feature film is going to be a sequel. So my thinking went into what the first family sitcom in history might be like. There's a sentence in The Croods' prologue where Eep explained that they used to have neighbors, which sounded like a fun world, so we decided to build that out. What would be The Croods' version of The Simpsons' Springfield? If we put them into situations that modern families like ours understand and take for granted, how weird, strange, or funny could it be?"
The show differs from the film in a few ways. First of all, it's 2D as opposed to CGI. The crew wanted the show to have a cartoonish look, but it's really hard to do cartoony squash-and-stretch in CGI on a television show's budget. Second, all of the characters have been recast because the celebrities who voiced them in the movie were likely too busy or too expensive to do the show. So, instead of Emma Stone we have Stephanie Lemelin as teenage cavegirl Eep (not the first time - she previously did Eep's voice for a video game), Dan Milano of Robot Chicken fame instead of Nicholas Cage as her father Grug, Cree Summer instead of Catherine Keener as her mother Ugga, AJ LoCascio instead of Clark Duke as her dimwitted younger brother Thunk, Grey DeLisle-Griffin instead of sound designer Randy Thorn as the rambunctious baby of the family Sandy, and Laraine Newman instead of Cloris Leachman as wisecracking grandma Gran.
I've never watched a single episode of this show before, but I did like The Croods (and I thought its 2020 sequel was pretty good too) and find DreamWorks' 2010s Netflix shows to generally be pretty good. So let's take a look at Dawn of the Croods and see if it's a fun show or if it's a blast from the past that should have just stayed in the past. We're reviewing the tenth episode of the second season and the twenty-third episode overall, which consists of the segments "Croodtopia" and "Hands on a Hard Egg". Why an episode of the second season? Because I've noticed that I usually review an episode of a show's FIRST season and I feel like it's becoming a bit repetitive. Let's get started.
"Croodtopia" begins with Eep, like all cartoon teenage girls, whining about how her parents never let her do anything fun. In this case, Grug and Ugga are telling her and Thunk to stop licking rocks - wow, if this is what cavepeople considered to be a fun activity, thank goodness they invented things like bicycles and televisions.
 |
| In the movie, Ugga wasn't a redhead, she was a brunette. In hindsight, it's a little weird that Eep was a redhead when in the movie both of her parents were brunettes... maybe the colorists thought so too? |
The reason why Grug and Ugga don't want their kids licking rocks is because there's a case of something called "the Sneezles" going around. If you get "the Sneezles", your nose leaks out, your stomach does somersaults, and your boogers turn purple. Grug demonstrates all of these symptoms, so I wonder if HE'S been licking rocks too...
 |
| "Ugh, there's nothing more disgusting than getting barfed on by Grimace..." |
Now that Grug has the Sneezles and Ugga and Gran have been sneezed on by him, there's only one thing for Eep, Thunk and Sandy to do: leave the cave until they've got the Sneezles out of their systems. A few seconds later, they run into their pals Lerk (also Grey DeLisle-Griffin) and Womp (also Dan Milano). All five revel in their newfound freedom - with the parents not around, they can do whatever they want. They can go swimming, watch animals fight like professional wrestlers (complete with a "pro wrestling is fake" joke)...
 |
| A scene from the long-awaited WWE/Where the Wild Things Are crossover. |
Eventually, the kids come to a disagreement. They're hungry, and Eep and Lerk want to hunt a tasty-looking mosquitoad, one of the many bizarre animals that live in their world... so, is the Croods' valley just a prehistoric version of the Land of Wuz? Is this show a prequel to The Wuzzles? That's my new headcanon.
 |
| Since he's part-bug and part-toad, he lives in a constant state of turmoil regarding whether or not he should eat himself. |
"I'm not in the mood for mosquitoad. How about spike-apples?" Thunk suggests. Womp agrees, he's not so much a huntER as a huntEE. "Fine. You do what you want, I'll do what I want, and Sandy... do what Sandy wants," Eep tells them. And what Sandy wants to do is chase after a cross between a chicken and a fish.
 |
| Look, it's a literal Chicken of the Sea! |
Thunk and Womp head for a tree bearing spikeapples, which are apples with spikes sticking out of them (which sounds dangerous to eat, doesn't it?). Because Thunk is an idiot, he winds up having three of them FALL INTO HIS EYEBALLS. Ouch! That's not funny, that's just painful! Meanwhile, Eep and Lerk's attempt at hunting the mosquitoad (they throw rocks at it) is a total wash too, which Eep blames Thunk for. For some reason. She's so mad that she draws a line in the sand and we do the "This is my side, and that is YOUR side" cliche.
 |
| "This side's the best! That side STINKS! You're on the JERSEY side of this cesspool!" |
More problems arise. Eep and Lerk are promptly attacked by what looks like a cross between a vulture and a dinosaur, while Thunk and Womp are chased by a moler bear... you can probably guess which animals THAT is a fusion of. Once they're dealt with, Eep and Thunk start arguing again, and then the chicken-fish... or, as the characters call it, a Chickuna... shows up and they get into a tug-of-war over it. Then Sandy appears, grabs the Chickuna in her mouth and runs up a tree with it. Seeing their sister in danger, Eep and Thunk realize that working together is good or whatever and save her through the power of teamwork... and then all three of them fall out of the tree, but it's a cartoon, so of course they survive.
That night, the three Crood kids arrive back at their cave and beg Grug and Ugga to tell them what to do, much to their confusion. Then Sandy sneezes at the camera, covering it with purple glop. Uh oh, she's got the Sneezles!
Our next segment, "Hands on a Hard Egg", begins with Grug, Thunk, and Eep ready to eat. Fortunately, Ugga has something for them to munch on: sticks! Because... I guess she now thinks that they're beavers.
 |
| Ugga's homemade "fish sticks" leave a lot to be desired. |
Why sticks? Because there's a food shortage going on - the trees aren't growing fruit and prey is scarce. Because there's not enough prey to go around, Eep points out to Grug that he'll probably need some extra help to find it, wink wink, nudge nudge. Grug is all "No, you're too young to help me hunt!" and then goes flying into a pile of rocks, which (since this is a cartoon) does NOT crack his skull open like a coconut but rather sends all the rocks flying, revealing a giant egg. And upon seeing that giant egg, all of the cavepeople in the valley are suddenly craving omelets.
 |
| "POACHED!" "FRIED!" "SCRAMBLED!" "SUNNY SIDE UP!" "OVER EASY!" |
Since they all grabbed the egg at the same time, they decide to have a little contest: whoever takes their hand off the egg is disqualified, and whoever's remaining after everyone else has taken their hand - or some other body part - off the egg gets it. I think people actually have contests like this, but it's usually for a new car or something. Not a giant egg. Mostly because giant eggs are very hard to find nowadays (maybe if moas weren't extinct...). And in case you're wondering, no, I have never taken part in any of these contests. I don't even drive, what would I want with a new car?
This isn't as easy as it sounds. First, it gets really hot. Then, when the sun sets, it gets really cold. By morning, the first caveperson has dropped out, and then a Chris Parnell-voiced caveperson decides it's not worth it and walks away while he still has his dignity... off a cliff, where he is promptly mauled by a moler bear.
Meanwhile, back at Casa Del Crood, Thunk and Ugga are trying to get Sandy to eat. But she's not a fan of eating sticks, and Thunk's most recent attempt at feeding her results in her hallucinating that he's a rejected Wuzzle.
 |
| "Two kinds of fun, wrapped up and rolled into one..." |
Eventually, Eep falls asleep, and when she wakes up, she discovers that she's the only one still holding the egg. Did everyone else leave? Nope - the egg is alive, and it's carnivorous! And now it's going to eat HER! Boy, this episode took a dark turn all of a sudden...
 |
| Talk about a rotten egg. |
Despite Eep's efforts to gnaw her arm off, she is promptly eaten by the sentient egg. Just kidding - she's just dreaming about the egg being alive. She really needs to stop taking acid if this is what her dreams are like.
When Eep wakes up, Grug advises her to just go home... only for Eep to trick him into taking his hand off the egg. Mind games: they're so easy even a caveman can do them. I'm sure everyone's going to get THAT reference, right? It's not dated at all, is it? Surely everybody reading my blog remembers that ad campaign, don't they?
Now it's down to Eep and her teacher, Squawk (Dee Bradley Baker), who like all teachers (in cartoons, I mean. Most of my teachers were nice) is a master at torture. Can Eep endure his incredibly long spiels about the history of wet dirt? Maybe if she holds the egg over her head and runs around with it, dragging Squawk along for the ride...
 |
| Wow, Squawk is much stronger than he looks... |
After some WHACKY SHENANIGANS, Eep winds up the winner of the contest and brings the egg home for everyone to eat. They don't cook it, of course - they just crack it open and help themselves to the yolk. Except Sandy. She actually likes eating sticks now, and after hallucinating that Ugga is Groot's sister, she decides to eat HER. The episode ends with her lunging at the camera while Ugga screams. I know Ugga's presence in the movie, with this show being a prequel and all, makes it clear that Sandy did not actually eat her, but that's the indication I'm getting here.
Actually, maybe she DID eat Ugga and the Ugga in the movie is a different caveperson. It would explain the different hair colors...
What's the Verdict?
As far as cartoons based on DreamWorks movies go, this isn't as good as The Penguins of Madagascar or The Adventures of Puss in Boots (note to self: review that show at some point), but it's much better than Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness or that crappy Monsters vs. Aliens show they had on Nickelodeon. I think the main problem is that so much of it is focused on Eep and Thunk, who to be honest aren't super-engaging characters. Eep is your typical rebellious teenage girl, and Thunk is basically just a typical cartoon dumb guy. Regardless, this show is genuinely quite funny, the animation is pretty good, the voice actors are giving it their all, as a whole the show's pros outweigh its cons and I found it enjoyable. If you like the movie, you'll probably like Dawn of the Croods. If you haven't seen the movie, I'd recommend watching it first and THEN checking out the show.
Oh, by the way, another Croods show taking place after the second movie came out in 2021. It's called The Croods: Family Tree. It wasn't on Netflix, it was on Hulu and Peacock. Unlike this show, it was CGI. Once again, they didn't get Nicholas Cage, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener etc. back, but for some reason the only actor to reprise their role from THIS show was AJ LoCascio (Ryan Reynolds didn't reprise his role either, Guy was now voiced by Darin Brooks from Days of Our Lives). I remember watching one episode and finding it mediocre. Maybe I'll do a review of it too, maybe I won't, we'll just have to wait and see. It got eight seasons (same number of episodes, though), so clearly SOMEBODY must have liked it...
No comments:
Post a Comment