The Croods Rated: PG

Barbara Says:

Out of 10 I give it a 7.  Very pleasant movie with funny lines and nice play on language of the future. I watched it in 3-D and it has several scenes where that works well.  

The basis is a teen daughter rebelling against her father and wanting something more then hiding in a cave. Young man comes along with a smart brain and  he knows their world is changing.  He also has fire and shoes. Something they know nothing about and it scares everyone because they are so used to being scared of what could kill them. 

Forced out of their cave and into the unknown where the very ground under their feet is coming apart they all learn that sometimes the future is worth the risk of dying.   

Not sure I would take a child under say 6 because it has large scary cat with teeth trying to eat them.  Other things that do the same or try too. Mountains shaking and falling. The ground opening up with fire. So could scare a small child and give them nightmares. But for the rest of us...a nice time. Enjoy.

Cat Says: 

If you loved the Ice Age movies then this one is right up your alley. The film opens on a cave man's family, Dad, Mom, three kids and a Gramma. 

The oldest girl, Eep, played by Emma Stone, is growing tired of the "not living, just not dying" way of cave man life. She wants more and one night she finds it in the form of a teen age boy named Guy, played by Ryan Reynolds. He full of stories of how the world is going to end soon with mountains crumbling and fire spewing. 

Dad, played by Nicolas Cage, is totally against anything new. New equals Death and Dad is seeing Guy as something new. Unfortunately for Dad, Guy is right. As the landscape begins to change the cave man's family and it's newcomer, Guy, and his pet, Belt, are running for their lives and trying to find a new life that is not, literally, crumbling under their feet. Along the way Dad has to learn to trust others, learn to let go of Eep a little bit and form a whole new family and life in the end. 

The over all message is a really good one. Life and Family are who and what you make it and that it can end up being the last thing you would expect or plan for it to be. I give it an 8 out of 10. Basically great for the whole family. Might be a bit confusing to those under 5 but I think they would still love the unusual creatures, even if most of the critters are trying to eat the people, and landscapes that the Croods run into and out of along their way.