‘The Croods: A New Age’ Builds a Bigger World but Loses Its Heart

“The Croods: A New Age” wants to be a sequel that pays off the first film’s promise of a bigger world beyond the cave. It mostly delivers on spectacle, but the script can’t keep up with its own ambition. This is a movie that knows how to build a prehistoric set piece and doesn’t know how to make its characters feel like people who matter.

Trailer, via Universal Kids.

The Crood Family Returns

The film picks up years after the original. Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) and Ugga (Cloris Leachman) now have a teenage daughter named Dawn (Emma Stone). Their sheltered existence is threatened when a massive storm sweeps through their valley, forcing them to flee into the unknown.

The setup is simple and effective. The family dynamic carries the early scenes, with Dawn chafing against her parents’ fear and Grug struggling to protect her while also acknowledging that he can’t shield her forever.

Emma Stone Carries the Weight

Stone is the reason the film works at all. She plays Dawn as a young woman desperate for independence, but also as someone who genuinely cares about her family. Her performance grounds the story in emotion even when the plot gets silly.

Cage is fine in the lead role, playing Grug with the same gruff warmth he brought to the first film. Leachman and Peter Stormare round out the family unit as Ugga and Gran, delivering solid support without much room to shine.

New Characters Fall Flat

The film introduces several new characters, including a mysterious stranger named Guy (Ryan Reynolds). Guy is meant to be a foil to Grug, a confident outsider who knows the world better than the Croods do.

The problem is that Guy feels like a plot device rather than a person. His motivations are thin, and his interactions with the Croods are often played for cheap laughs rather than genuine stakes.

The World Beyond the Cave

The film’s biggest asset is its world-building. The Croods travel through lush forests, icy mountains, and strange underground caverns. The animation is top-notch, and the action sequences involving storms, floods, and giant creatures are genuinely thrilling.

But the world is so big that the film can’t fully explore it. Locations come and go without much sense of consequence, leaving the audience wondering why these places matter.

Where It Falls Apart

The middle stretch drags. A series of set pieces are introduced without much purpose, and the film spends too long circling around its own premise without committing to it. The climax arrives late and feels rushed, resolving conflicts that weren’t given enough weight to matter.

The humor leans heavily on physical gags and slapstick, which works in moments but becomes exhausting over the film’s runtime. There’s a lot of yelling and chasing, less actual character development.

A Schedule of Set Pieces

What Works and What Doesn’t

• Emma Stone elevates the material with a grounded, committed performance
• The animation is stunning, especially in the action sequences
• The world-building creates a sense of scale that few animated films attempt

• The family dynamics remain the emotional core of the story

• Ryan Reynolds’ Guy feels like a cartoon villain rather than a real threat

• The middle act drags with too many set pieces and not enough payoff
• The stakes are rarely made clear, making the climax feel hollow
• The humor relies too much on easy sight gags rather than wit

The Verdict

“The Croods: A New Age” is a technically impressive film that fails to become a great one. It has a strong cast, beautiful animation, and a bold world to explore. But it never commits to its characters or its stakes, leaving the audience watching spectacle without feeling.

For families looking for a fun afternoon at the movies, there’s plenty to enjoy here. For anyone expecting a deeper story, the film comes up short.

animation · Croods · Emma Stone · movie review · sequel