Preview: The Croods (2013)

Synopsis:

A spirited young cavegirl is too adventurous for her cautious father, but as an accident reveals a beautiful paradise beyond their dreary cave, the whole family embarks on a grand adventure.

• Poster: (B) / C

Review:

(It's richly detailed, carefully constructed and lacks the generic cast photo feeling of most animated feature poster designs.)

Another passable poster replaced by a gimmicky, full-cast shot. It doesn't work very well as an inventive design, but as a marketing tool, it works adequately.

• Trailer: C / C+ / C-

Review:

I was immediately struck by how similar the protagonist felt to Pixar's Brave Merida. Then other animated film similarities began to creep into the production (not to mention non-animated ones). That lack of a feeling of originality makes for an uncomfortable time watching the trailer.

This is a much better explanation of what the film's about, but that doesn't make it look any better. Matter of fact, it's beginning to look like DreamWorks is trying to be more like Fox Animation and less like Pixar.

The more I see of this film the less interested I become. Every trailer focuses on out-of-place humor, lazy writing and cheap entertainment. This looks like third-rate DreamWorks.

Oscar Prospects:

It may be a box office success, but it will need strong support form critics to be more than a fleeting Oscar contender.

Release Date:

• March 22, 2013

-Wesley Lovell (October 7, 2012) Original

-Wesley Lovell (December 9, 2012) New Trailer

-Wesley Lovell (March 17, 2013) New Trailer / New Poster