“The Croods” teaser trailer

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Here it is, the first trailer from Dreamworks initial 20th Century-Fox release, Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco’s The Croods. Eye candy awaits:

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  • wow

    Bravatar!!!

    • Hey now

      @wow:
      *slow clap*

    • http://www.portfolio-powell.blogspot.com Chris Powell

      Oh goshh…It that what its gonna be called on comment boards from here on in? :)

    • Lala_Marin

      When the girl started climbing, I thought “Oh, prehistoric Merida,” and I promise you, I *immediately* thought of Avatar when I saw the “secret world.” Well done.

      • Chris Sobieniak

        I kinda saw that within the first 10 seconds!

  • kwert

    While stereotypical caveman voices can be really annoying in some films, there is still something uncanny about watching cavemen speak in fully articulated American English. Or perhaps this is just another case of having cast bland actors to do the voices.

    • Bob

      If memory serves no one was complaining much when “The Flintstones” aired back in the 60′s.

      • Jason

        That’s because back then everything was boring.

        • Bob

          Funny, I don’t remember anyone saying that when it aired or when it’s mentioned here.

          • Eman

            When everything is boring, nothing is.

      • kwert

        The Flintstones came to mind halfway through writing my comment, which is why I added the bit about bland actors. Perhaps if their hired actual voice actors instead of big Hollywood names it would be more engaging.

      • http://www.portfolio-powell.blogspot.com Chris Powell

        The Flintstones was different beacuse the whole idea of the Flintstones was a satire of its modern day. They lived in a house with ‘Modern’ appliances, watched tv, played golf etc..so it fit the joke that they would talk in modern day american vernacilar.

        With this it feels strange beacuse everything about the look of these character and where they live SCREAMS neanderthal. I know that ‘Croods’ is a modern day satire too but the voices do sound strange coming from these characters.

      • Conor

        There’s a major difference in tone, premise, and stylization between this and the Flintstones. Really, the one joke running through the entirety of the Flintstones is the juxtaposition of scenarios from modern day (1960s) against the stone age setting, and the modern dialect was a part of that central gag.

      • Richard

        Alan Reed was far from a typical, bland voice. Come on!

    • Nipplenuts McGurk

      Yeah, I felt the same way…the voices don’t seem to match the designs. I got over the voice/accent thing in Dragon, though…so – maybe in the long run it works.

    • Nic

      This would be so, so irritating after the first 20 minutes.

    • Zac

      There is nothing bland about the great Nicolas Cage. The man is a National Treasure… as soon as his movies hit the shelf, you better believe they’re Gone in Sixty Seconds… Whether you’re Leaving Las Vegas, or having a Honeymoon in Vegas, The Family Man in you will agree, Nicolas Cage is really Kick-Ass… So don’t rip your Face/Off trying to fight it, you’d only be Con Air -ing your way out of enjoyment, because watching a Nicolas Cage film is the only way in the world to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

      • http://www.bunkerrow.blogspot.com Chris Powell

        Now THIS deserves a *Slow clap!

    • OtherDan

      I just think it would have been more fun if they spoke like they did in “Caveman”. Based on the trailer, can’t help thinking Brave meets Avatar.

  • steve

    I’m sure I wont be the only person to comment on just how ugly the character design is. And not like “oh, they’re cavemen, they’re supposed to be ugly.” I mean, just ugly CG. And the animation feels overdone, and not honest. I didnt know where to look or how to respond. It just moved.

    It’s too bad. Dreamworks seems to have gotten too big to change course when bad decisions are made.

    • http://tigerhawk01.deviantart.com/ Sam Filstrup

      I’m not gonna say they’re bad but they just don’t appeal to me. I agree with your points to a degree however. Maybe its Nick Cages performance not helping the situation either. I really love Sanders work but this is doing nothing for me. Which is a bummer and while I loved How to Train Your Dragon just like with this some of the main characters voices just don’t work at all.
      No offense to Jay Baruchel (He was great in Tropic Thunder) he’s not a great voice actor. Cage was ok in Astro Boy but he just doesn’t fit here at all. If thats not Cage and I miss heard then my apologies.
      Back to the designs you’re right though why is it Caveman have to be ugly? While the Flintstones is to domestic and Chris may have done very little design its disappointing to not see his charm in this. With HTYD you could at least see it in Toothless and Nicolas Marlet kept up the charm with his beautiful designs.

      • http://cjdoodles.blogspot.com/?zx=33fbcfcd07a192e2 CJ

        They’re not “ugly” in terms of design. That’s how Cavemen or others of the human species looked. They scream Heidelbergensis or Neanderthal. But certainly not ugly…

    • axolotl

      I like the animation. Tired of that plot.
      And yes, I know, when I have a family of my own, maybe I will enjoy watching stories about how the bright kids are misunderstood by their dumb parents and then they all learn a lesson and come together and hug and shit. Until that day I am going to enjoy being cynical.

      • Johnny

        Took the words out of my mouth…there is bound to be some freaking story that kids would enjoy or could be made into an animated film that does not involve “modern” kids overcoming their overprotective parents. I know The Croods was probably in production for some time, and it is wrong to single it out to make an example of it, but that storyline has seriously been done to death.

  • Sotiris

    Fireworks in prehistoric times? Really?

    • http://www.dittybox.co.nz gavin mouldey

      I’m guessing it’s a volcanic eruption, or the Croods ate some shrooms.

  • Jow

    Imagine a Hour and a Half of This.

    Can’t Wait for 2013!

  • Matt Sullivan

    Nicholas Cage’s voice doesn’t match that character.

    Otherwise, not bad :] Quite interesting really.

    • Klyph

      It wouldn’t be Dreamworks unless one of the main characters was voiced by a famous actor whose voice doesn’t match the physicality of his character model in any way.

    • Matt

      I actually didn’t recognize Cage’s voice at first, so it didn’t bother me. overall, I thought the trailer worked. at least kept my interest.

    • http://www.WarnerArt.com Eric

      Nicholas Cage can only play Nicholas Cage. He has ~NO~ range.

      • Jim M.

        Wrong. Watch “Adaptation”.

      • http://weirdurl.com Zekey

        Not so! He played a rock next to a tree in “All the King’s Men” a few years ago. Was robbed of the oscar, too.

        Also this film looks incredibly colorful. Are all the prehistoric critters based off actual things? Like that 4-winged turtle bird? Cause if so, I will officially fund cloning.

  • Pedro Nakama

    Uh-oh! A female lead. The animation industry won’t like that!

    • Jason

      Why would the animation industry care? Are there dudes with carpel tunnel that camp out at Miyazaki’s place all day long?

      • Sarah J

        I think Pedro is referring to the notion that female leads don’t sell as well, though that mindset is prevalent in all entertainment industries, not just animation. The idea that girls will watch things about boys but boys won’t watch things about girls. Though the animation industry differs in that how often it does female characters really fluctuates. Disney loved their fairy tales in the 90′s, but recently they’ve been fearing that they were ignoring male audiences. (hence why the Tangled trailer showed more action and comedy scenes) Pixar didn’t have a movie with a female lead until this year. Dreamworks has been a little better than Pixar on that front, though most of their movies have male protagonists.

  • Julian Carter

    I like what I see.

    And I like the fact that as in Rise of the Guardians, the films appears to take a more serious tone with its story.

    steve, I thought the animation of the cavegirl (don’t know her name yet) as she was climbing the rockface and jumping from ledge to ledge, was quite beautiful.

    • J.M.

      I agree with you about the trailer’s tone. How cool is it that DreamWorks chose a tone of wonder and adventure instead of aiming for an imagined lowest common denominator and/or piling on the ‘tude?

      • Sarah J

        Agreed. One issue I do take with Dreamworks is that their movie trailers always have a really silly tone, no matter how the actual movie is. How to Train Your Dragon, for example, when I saw the trailer I didn’t really expect much and only took a look at it because it had dragons and dragons are totally awesome. I was surprised that it was getting such good reviews, I go to see the actual movie and it’s a bit more dramatic and more emotional than the trailer led me to believe. Yes, it had jokes but it wasn’t some cartoony, non-serious comedy. So I’ve been pretty happy about their trailers for Guardians and The Croods, because it seems they’re actually accurately representing the tones of the movies.

  • Max

    Why are people thinking an animated film with such surreal creatures should be historically accurate?

    • http://elephantmarch.blogspot.com William Bradford

      I agree: and really Ice Age and Dawn of the Dinosaurs (not to mention Pixar’s upcoming film) will contain more nature-based prehistoric creatures, so it’ll be nice it this one opts for more surrealistic creatures

  • http://www.natetheis.com Nate

    Did they give the main female character red hair after they learned about “Brave”? Or is it coincidence? I always find that stuff funny.

    I’ve liked Chris Sanders as a director, so I’ll hold off judgement until seeing the film. Honestly, every trailer for an animated feature makes the film look horrible to me.

    • Julian Carter

      Did they give Merida red hair after they learned about Ariel?

      :P Just teasing.

      • Trond M.

        No, Merida got red hair when they learned about Rebecca Brooks

    • http://dailygrail.com/ Red Pill Junkie

      Irish people have red-hair because they inherited from the Neanderthals.

      Fun fact :)

    • So much red…

      80% of all animated female characters are obligated to have red hair. You’d think that someone in the industry might catch on that other hair colours exist, but till that day, it’ll continue to be raining redheads…

  • http://www.henriquebarone.com Henrique Barone

    And that is how you present a female character! One minute and I already like it more than Brave. Also, is it just me, or the toy bear’s at the beginning (the one that got smashed) slightly reminds of Brave’s 3 little brothers? :)

    • wever

      Are there bear-like creatures in that era? If not, where did the teddy bear’s design come from?

      • Sarah J

        Yes, there were prehistoric bears. Though considering that The Croods appears to take place in an alternate Earth rather than a real one, I’d be willing to let it slide even if bears really didn’t exist.

      • Untitled

        *face palm*

        Google Image: Prehistoric Bear. And pick up a science book every once in a while.

  • Professor Widebottom

    This fIlm looks like it can only be measured by how broadly it can retread all the films it’s copying and still eek out an identity of its own. It’s no doubt made by some skilled people but will sadly wind up on the faceless DVD slagheap bought from Target and covered with toddler saliva.

  • Mike

    Well, the character designs still give me the screaming heebie-jeebies, but the rest of the art is enough to keep me attuned for now.

  • Kyle

    I’m not seeing much of Sanders’ style in this. Seems they might have Neutered it. And plot wise it feels a bit… tangled-y at least in the beginning. Still I’ll see it.

    • wever

      As with Dragon, I see his style translated the best in the gigantic creatures. Why is it that DreamWorks has trouble getting his humans down? And if he DIDN’T design the humans in this film AND Dragon, why was that?

      • Ex

        Simple … it’s a movie that was in the works before he got on it.

        Like in HTTYD, it was in the works before it was handed to him and had all the designs and models in place. The only character in HTTYD that was redesigned once Chris got on it was Toothless and that’s because the ORG Toothless was one of those tiny cat/ dog sized Dragons (like he is in the books) and was too small to ride in Chris’s vision for the story. I assume that the same is true with The Croods seeing as it was being made by someone else before Sanders went to DW.
        (Just like how HT doesn’t have Genndy’s art style in the characters. It was in the works before he got on it)

        I guess the first ORG (as in, made from start to finish) Chris Sanders movie to come out of DW will have his style in it.

        • http://www.shaneglines.net Shane Glines

          This industry is messed up.

    • http://midnightheist.deviantart.com/ Scott

      I totally saw some sanderstyle @ 1:15.

  • Skip

    Nicholas Cages voice doesn’t seem to suit the Rugged caveman character, a casting decision is likely to make me focus my attention on why I am bothered by the voice not matching the character, opposed to caring about what happens to the character.
    Also the well articulated English seems out of place. I realize the comparison to the Flintstones was made, but in the case of the flintstones the characters also had Prehistoric TV sets, and automobiles. and in this film, they are supposed to be in a prehistoric environment that is void of technology or civilization, which is why well articulated english bothers me here, but not in the case of the Flintstones. Also there is also something about the designs that don’t appeal to me, they don’t seem to hold the appeal that Sanders prior work had.

    I am a huge fan of Chris Sanders, I have liked everything that I have seen him do up to this point. I have copies of all of his sketchbooks, and I even have some copies of his Mulan storyboards hanging on my wall. I will probably see this film because Sanders directed it, and so I will also reserve judgment till I see the film. Lets just say that what I’ve seen so far with the Croods, hasn’t given me the anticipation that Lilo & Stitch, or How to train your Dragon did.

  • Aaron

    The lighting and surfacing are really nice. The animation? Seems as though this film is set before the Earth had its current gravitational pull.

  • J.M.

    The fact that the WHOLE TRAILER is centered on the family has only heightened my hopes that this will be yet another Chris Sanders (and Kirk De Micco!) masterpiece. Sanders’ thematic specialty thus far has been the exploration of fractured families. His silly and sensitive insights into the endless struggles of keeping a family together are what made me first fall in love with his work. ‘The Croods’ looks to continue this exploration.

    • http://www.portfolio-powell.blogspot.com Chris Powell

      Thats a good point. :)

  • RRR

    I am having a hard time understanding the design of modern human faces paired with gorilla proportions and movements… freakishly weird.

  • Toonio

    And they let those crappy posters go out in public because….

    Well guess is not as crude as I thought it was, so is back to the “might see” pile.

    • Superdonut

      When you see “those posters” they are usually Sell Sheets for showing concept art and ideas to merchandisers, retailers, toy companies, etc that have to done years in advance of release.

      Those posters you see leaked at the Toy Fair and other professional conventions aren’t typically for public consumption.

      It’s like with live action with showest/cinemacon where you have movies in preproduction with temporary sell sheets.

  • Bobobo

    The character design is alright, at least it’s not too generic. Interesting, I noticed some animals have Chris Sanders’s touch in them, may be he did some animal designs, but not the characters.

    Anyway, the trailer looks fine to me. I remembered the first How To Train Your Dragon trailer was average, but the movie ended up so awesome.

  • d.harry

    Uh oh. First impression – not a good one.

  • http://dtoons.com Dtoons

    I’m not feeling the character designs, I guess the cavegirl is kind of cute. It does feel like it’ll be epic, originally I thought it was more of a comedy.
    Can’t wait to see more from it.

  • http://www.portfolio-powell.blogspot.com Chris Powell

    Hmmm….I was kinda hoping that the characters would actually talk in the traditional caveman manner with grunts and incorrect sentences and such. I kinda dont like how they look like neaderthals yet talk like modern day americans.

    the outside world looks visually creative but im hoping for the unique character dynamics ive come to expect from Chris Sanders. I really hope he does a hand drawn project soon because..MAN, thats the only way to really see his art work pop!

    We’ll see I guess…

    • http://enigmation.de slowtiger

      Cavemen didn’t speak in “incorrect” sentences. Even when their whole language was just grunts and screams, it still was a correct language to them – as any language for any species ever was and will be.

      • http://www.bunkerrow.blogspot.com Chris Powell

        fair Point :)

    • Chris Sobieniak

      I suppose I was thinking of the “Broken/Third Person” dribble too, but perhaps they were concerned of turning off an audience who might not pick up on what was being said in the film (though the visuals could speak for itself if they had handled it in a way that the dialogue was in a language unfamiliar to anyone and we have to rely on the visuals to guide us through).

      One way to view their dialogue in a movie like this is to perhaps see it as if it’s being run through an audible translation device if you wanted to to think what they’re really saying is a lot of grunts and other incoherent syllables. Some movies could pull that off greatly at the cost of confusion among viewers unaware of a different time or place this story takes place in (and we’ve seen plenty of that over the years).

  • Glowworm

    Hmm, I kind of like that the cave people actually aren’t making fart jokes or bashing one another in the groin with their clubs. Dreamworks may actually be growing up a little bit.

    I’ll admit, the “Crispy Bear” story made me laugh a bit.

    • wever

      Chris Sanders said the NEXT trailer will focus on the humor. This one focused on the scale of it.

  • http://allofmyheroes.blogspot.com/ Jeaux Janovsky

    Cave Brave looks like it’ll be ok.

  • Madman Mike

    I like Nick Coppola–I mean, Cage, but yes, I have to agree with my fellow posters here; his voice really doesn’t fit that character.

    Maybe my Flintstones bias is showing, but deep, gravelly voices and patriarchal cavemen go together like wooly + mammoth. Light and affable doesn’t work.

  • Jackson

    From the writer of Quest for Camelot, Racing Stripes, and Space Chimps…….

    Wow. That looks terrible. Especially the characters and color. Where’s Dean DuBlois when you need him?

  • wolfiemo

    I was one of the lucky ones to grab a “Croods” concept poster from Chris Sanders booth at Comic Con and my 11 year old son and I were so excited about this… until we saw the finished character designs. After looking at Sanders’ beautiful work the final result was extremely disappointing. My son felt the same way – “Why did they make the hot girl ugly” was his comment… Add to that the “Avatar” looking forests and Nic Cage’s voice and I don’t think I want to see this very much (though I probably will because Chris Sanders directed it). Sigh…

    • Recent Grad

      Yeah! Because unattractive women can’t be protagonists! Our girls have to realize that if you’re important, being pretty is a given! Forget Shrek and the whole “its whats on the inside that matters” bullcrap. When you’re female, no one will look past your, well, looks!

      Nah I’m just messin’ with you. But really, am I the only one to see that having an unattractive female lead is kind of progressive/risktaking? Moreso than just having a female “princess” lead? I mean, think about it. How many ugly female protagonists have there been in animation?? While we watch “Shrek”, “Troll in Central Park”, “Wall-e”, “Hunchback of Notre Dame”, and “Beauty and the Beast”, you have to wonder: which gender is told “it’s ok to be ugly” when being the hero. Even when we have “ugly” female heros, they’re secretly pretty! (Howl’s Moving Castle, Shrek).

      So yeah. I like the way the character designs challenge the audience. Let’s empathize with an unideal female for a change!

      • Ex

        One thing I really like about DreamWorks is how progressive they can be with these topics without people paying mush mind. For example, Monsters Vs Aliens was actually the first big CGI feminist film and the first CGI film to star a Female Protag from what I can remember. If someone can think of one before that then please, point me to it.

        And THIS … it’s kinda covered up by the general ugly you would expect from “cavemen” but clearly it would have been sooooo easy to just make the girl look like a “Sexy/ Hot cave Girl” with a lil bit of dirt and stank to match her family. But no, they stay true to their story (making her “Neanderthal looking” seeing as the Neanderthals in this story have a certain body type that’s kinda primal-primateish which contrast the love interest’s design with is very human) well still making her appealing-yet-not-very-attractive. She even has jacked up teeth!

        So DWs is the first to make a feminist film/ film starring a Female Protag/ film starring an unattractive female protag in CGI (I would go so far as to say that they’re the first to make a nonsexualized anthro-female cat in a cgi film but that might be pushing it a bit) … and if/ when Happy Smekday! gets done then they could very well be the first to make a feature CGI film starring a Chocolate girl!

        But no, most people can’t see what needs to happen :/

      • http://enigmation.de slowtiger

        I really wonder which concept of “ugly” and “attractive” some people have. Is it that anything besides Barbie is “ugly” to them?

        The main character seems to be the only adventurous, positive, and active one. Oh, it’s a female? Who doesn’t look like Barbie? But has red hair, which is hot but totally uncommon? Call style police!

        It’s as one would say “this face just doesn’t go with that job”. If you want film characters tailored to your tastes, there’s a whole industry just next door providing you with that. But please don’t apply that very same taste to animated movies. Come to think of it, I suggest don’t apply your taste of how people should look like anywhere besides that face in the mirror.

      • Sarah J

        Agreed! One thing that really bothers me about the film industry in general is that female characters always have to be pretty. Their idea of an “ugly” girl is to give curly hair and glasses to a total bombshell. Monster girls tend to be Cute (or Sexy) Monster Girls. There are a lot of movies and shows that try to give the “it’s what’s on the inside that counts!” message but they always have guys as the “ugly” characters, which just sends the message that “it’s what’s on the inside that counts… for guys!” because most of the time, there’s an attractive female love interest that he gets in the end. (bonus points if the guy points out her beauty, indicating it as a reason that he’s attracted to her)

      • Ahem to that.

        What I don’t understand is: people think she’s ugly?

        I’m sorry, I just don’t see it, I think she’s adorable… Personally, I’m sick of the Pixar doll-head mold where every female is either pink or has a perfectly spherical head, tiny nose and tiny mouth. This type of character design, where a female character actually has visual interest in her face is long, LONG overdue.

        • ExF

          I think that’s what everyone’s saying for the most part. That she’s not “ugly” but just not-attractive. Appeal and attractiveness are not one in the same. She’s VERY appealing design wise and I like her look … but she doesn’t look like what you would think of as an attractive female.

    • Hank

      CO-directed. Sanders has never been that great a storyteller. Fun ideas–sure. But needs a strong writer and/ or co-director.

    • Chuck Howell

      This is something that always bothers me! Original concept art, rough sketches, story boards – there’s an immediacy and energy in them, and often a singularity of vision, that seems to get sanded down or washed out in the finished product. I would love to see Chris Sander’s have complete, unquestioned artistic control of something from start to finish – then you’d have… LILO AND STITCH! And that’s a good thing.

      • Hank

        Dean Dubois wrote AND directed Lilo, with sanders. And no, they did not have complete creative “control.”

        For that, there was American dog–a complete, unwatchable mess. And yes, I saw it.

        • Chuck Howell

          I didn’t know there was enough of AMERICAN DOG finished to actually “see” the film. Tell me more…

          • http://www.bunkerrow.blogspot.com Chris Powell

            me too!!

        • eeteed

          chris sanders created a comic strip called “kiskaloo”. he also created a storybook titled “big bear aircraft company”.

          after reading them i have to say that i find chris sanders to be an excellent writer and storyteller.

          both these works are posted online. you can read them and judge his abilities for yourself.

          chris sanders also created a storybook titled “lilo and stitch”. this book became a major motion picture. chris sanders wrote and directed on this film, and after viewing these works i am further committed to my belief that chris sanders is an excellent writer and storyteller.

          to my knowledge neither of these works are free online, but you can easily purchase them using online sites like ebay and amazon. you can then further judge his abilities as a writer and storyteller.

          Hank has a different opinion of chris sanders. Hank feels that “…Sanders has never been that great a storyteller…”

          for proof of his opinion Hank offers up “american dog”, a film that he judges to be “… a complete unwatchable mess …”

          does he offer us a way to see this film and judge for ourselves? no.

          does he offer any proof that it is an unwatchable mess? no.

          does he offer any proof that he has actually seen it? no.

          what we are offered is a variation of the old line… “come on, baby, who are you going to believe? your eyes, or me?”

          i’m sorry, but i refuse to take a stranger’s word over physical evidence. until the chris sanders bashers offer concrete proof of his shortcomings i will suspect that their criticisms are motivated petty jealousy and or some type of spurned affections.

          • Hank

            Sanders’ artwork is very nice. And his storyboards are fine. And his ideas are fun. I don’t care much for his comics aside from the drawings, but I know some folks who do.

            But making a movie takes a lot more than just that, and his work is best when he has a great editor and writer and another director to shape things. I bet he’d admit that. It’s not a slam, just reality. He’s certainly NOT the only one who is like this.

            American Dog story reels were pretty bad, as anyone worked at Disney would agree-with lots of room for improvement. There’s a reason it was reworked when Sanders up and quit Disney. I bet his very next film will be his best.

  • Richard

    What is it with animation and girls with red hair? You’d think it was the most common type of hair color in the world, instead of the most rare.

    • Ex

      For this I assume that it’s because apparently some of them had red hair. Or, atleast that’s what I gather from sci-sites posting things like “Ancient DNA Reveals That Some Neanderthals Were Redheads”.

      But maybe I’m thinking too hard and animators like to make things stand out.

  • Mic

    I like what I saw.

  • Andrew Kieswetter

    It really looks good. I’m reminded a little of the ’70s Japanese animated series Kum-Kum with the characters.

    • Chris Sobieniak

      It’s weird for me to watch the show and not get a proto-Gundam vibe out of those designs!

  • http://drgrobsanimationreview.com/ Gijs Grob

    This trailer looks better than the poster. I don’t get the idea of cavemen in a fantasyworld at all, but I’m very glad to watch a female lead, who’s NOT a princess. Even better, to watch CURVY female lead, instead of an absurdly slim one, like always. I’ve not seen one since ‘The Incredibles’ (and that was a mother). To hell with anyone who equals curvy with being unattractive! Utter nonsense.

    • Sarah J

      Personally I like the idea of cavemen in a fantasy world. I love fantasy, but I feel like creators of fantasy works often limit themselves by only using certain types of settings, with certain types of creatures and certain types of situations. What makes fantasy so wonderful is that you have so much freedom, yet it seems most writers want to stick with “medieval Europe setting”, (though sometimes you get “modern world, except mythical creatures are hiding”) choosing from a small selection of stock plots. Why don’t we have more prehistoric fantasy? Or futuristic, or post-apocalyptic?

      Also agreed on the girl. I hate how most movies insist that the female characters be total bombshells. (it’s especially egregious with films that try to do an “inner beauty” message. It’s almost always the guy who is ugly, which only sends the message that “it’s okay to be ugly if you’re a guy”) Even “ugly” girls are just super pretty girls with glasses and an unflattering outfit and hairstyle. This girl, it’s hard to call her “pretty” but looking at her doesn’t make you want to rip your eyes out.

  • Alan

    i think this looks brilliant! So there.

  • http://zeteos.blogspot.com/ mick

    None of that worked. From the initial nicholas ‘bill and ted’ cage to the weird designs to the floaty animation… BUT, I would regard Chris Sanders as one of the best cartooners in the world so the film will probably be great in the end. The same thing happened with how to train your dragon, trailer looked like a box of frogs, the film looked tip top

  • Anim Curmudgeon

    I am shocked at the lack of animation polish and finesse. The anim is SO swimy and lacks silhouette value. Things as basic as lipsync, A/B gestures and head turns seem wonky and half hearted. The glaring physicality issues are a big surprise and I just can’t except that this level of quality is coming from DWA’s top animation talent. I’m also wondering how much mocap is being used and how much DWA India/China contributed to the film. So I guess Croods is the beginning of the ’12 films in 4 years’ marathon eh?

    • wever

      …since when has DreamWorks Animation ever used mo-cap??!

    • Superdonut

      Regarding Lipsync,

      Most trailers really mess around with the dialog, even changing it completely to make it fit the trailer.

      Marketing may take a scene where the dialog is completely outside the context of the trailer and shots are completely out of order compared to what you’ll see in the film.

      Judge the lipsync with the actual movie, not the marketing materials.

  • Frank Ziegler

    Feisty female as main character….again? Can there be no other kind of female character ever? Male characters stupid, female characters smart. Whatever, I’m not going.

    • Sam

      You’re right. What we need is more generics moms and Jessica Rabbits. And totally agreed, guys are always represented as stupid. They’re always dumb inventors, like in HTTYD and Cloudy, or inept thieves like in Tangled, and never good at anything like how Sully’s the top scarer in Monsters Inc or Mr. Incredible saving the day in the Incredibles. Heck, that’s probably why Pixar waited so long to have a female lead, so they wouldn’t offend any guys. Men definitely got the short end of the stick as far as double standards go.

  • Alissa

    For a teaser of a movie still in production and not being released until next year (did you all forget that?) I like it. I love how dainty the girls hands and feet are, so cute! And (what little) of the creatures seen looked really cool. I’m cautiously excited, can’t wait to see more.

  • http://ryanrosendal.blogspot.com Ryan

    “The Croods” will be interesting as it’s the first Chris Sanders flick where Dean DeBlois is NOT his co-director.

    What this means I have no idea.

    • Hank

      It means Kirk DeMicco directed the croods cartoon as well.

  • James

    I have a feeling this will be like How to Train Your Dragon. A story we’ve seen a million times before told with visual flair and a lot of heart. But the good kind of heart, not the kind you see in promotional videos of crap kids films where someone learns a lesson at the end.

    Also, this is nothing like the Flintstones. At all. To say the film is unoriginal because it uses a caveman setting is like saying daffy duck was unoriginal because donald had already been created.

    Finally, why do people keep talking about gender? Did not even think of the girl in the trailer as the ‘female hero’, but instead just as the ‘hero.’ If equality the’s key aim then people (from fans to professional journalists) need to give a female protagonist as little hype as they would a male one.

  • http://4eyedanimation.com JoeCorrao

    Cavemen can’t talk

    • http://drgrobsanimationreview.com/ Gijs Grob

      ??? They most probably could, and Neanderthals, too

  • Andrew Kieswetter

    To Chris Sanders and everyone else at Dreamworks:Please DON’T give away the entire movie in the trailers. It’s more fun to experience it in it’s actual release than to show the movie from begining to end in the trailers.

  • Sarah J

    It appears Sanders agrees with James Cameron on the notion that animals are better when you make them rainbow. I approve.

  • Untitled

    This best part about all this whining is coming back months from now, after you’ve all seen the film, LOVE IT, bought the T-shirt and re-reading all the comments from the haters.

    This film looks fine. Certainly better than Toy Story 3, at least the 75% of it I saw before walking out.

    • http://4eyedanimation.com JoeCorrao

      you walked out of TS 3?….

      • Untitled

        Yep! Took another hour or two to get rid of the awful headache it induced.

  • akira

    dreamworks is kicking pixar’s booty!

    great idea taking sanders off of bolt, john lassetter!!! it got him to a studio where he doesn’t have so many dbags holding him back

    nice animation too you guys, doesn’t look like mo cap OR pixar mime style acting

  • http://dailygrail.com/ Red Pill Junkie

    Did they find a portal to a parallel dimension?

    Because otherwise I have no idea what happened in that trailer :-/

  • Joel

    I agree with the comments, bad cg and lazy plot. I think when you see some of the designs it’s even more sad how the final product turned out. This sketch by Chris Sanders for example… http://www.chrissandersart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Crood-650×841.png

    When compared to what the film ended up looking like…http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KMcciPZxlxM/T0HogUDqV-I/AAAAAAAAABI/VT5DIiKKi4I/s400/The%2BCroods%2BNew%2BPoster.jpg

    yeesh. horrible.

    • Chris Sobieniak

      They really couldn’t get the hair and figure right.

    • ExF

      … That’s a promo sketch he made for some event where he had a booth. That is HIS drawing in his style … not concept art. He did not design the characters in this movie, he was put on it after someone else started it. just look at his Astid drawings, same case of him not designing the character because it was made before he was put on it.

      And if you want to see how the movie looks then just look at the trailer and not that ugly low res poster.

  • Greg Jones Jr

    I know better than to judge a movie solely based on a teaser trailer. Chris Sanders hasn’t let me down yet so I’ll definitely be checking this out. But in regards it’s resemblance to Brave, whatever. If anything this looks to be something Brave should have been: a fun exciting adventure.

  • Dave

    Of course, all the comments about the heroine’s attractiveness, accuracy in features, make one totally forget that her arms and legs (and most likely face)would be totally covered in hair if it really WAS accurate. And us non-Europeans know how we’d like that.

    • re:hair

      They could make it work. For me it would only increase the character’s believability. If, sitting in a theatre, I notice that she has leg hair I’d think: “wow, she really is a neanderthal” instead of “I wonder what she used to shave with…?”

  • http://viewster.com/ Viewster

    Hope so, its really cool…but i’m always wrong XD Thanx for the video :)