Justin Posted November 9, 2014 Posted November 9, 2014 Wondering if anyone has seen The Croods and what you thought of it. It's one of my favorite movies but I don't really want to say why with too many details until I see a bunch people have seen it and what they thought. I think it's probably one of the deepest and realest family movies I've ever seen. And the fact that there's no magic but rather it uses dreamlike environments makes it feel like it's tapping into my psyche. Anyone seen it? Liked it? Hated it? 1
luxfelix Posted November 10, 2014 Posted November 10, 2014 I saw it! I interpreted it as a remix of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. (Put up a spoiler alert and lets discuss. )
MysterionMuffles Posted November 10, 2014 Posted November 10, 2014 Yes! I loved this movie. Watching it with my siblings, we kept sharing glances when there was commentary about sticking old and tired ways instead of venturing out into the new and exciting. Definitely a worthwhile Disney film!
Justin Posted November 10, 2014 Author Posted November 10, 2014 As soon as I realized it was a film not to be taken literally but actually intended to represent how cavemen and early humans would have reacted to something new, I was instantly fascinated. They did such a good job with this movie. Literally every moment of screen time is dedicated to how humans stuck to the ways that allowed them to survive or how they are now being required to venture into "New" territory in order to survive. The End, in my interpretation, is natural selection--it's what's pushing them forward to keep progressing or die. I think that's what the intro was basically stating. The Croods were the family that "made it" and their adventures were a metaphor for how humanity made it. There were a lot of powerful parts for me, including the "Hug, rhymes with Grug" scene, but, oddly, the football analogy was what let me know this movie was different. It contrasted today's sports so perfectly because, unlike team sports today, they lined up in formation and made plays for survival. They made the concept of a team important. That struck me so strongly that it made me hyper-aware of all of the other metaphors that were to come. Eep getting to know fire for the first time, seeing the curiosity in her eyes and actions was truly fascinating. When she was looking at it, I said to myself, "We're discovering fire for the first time." I felt like the movie went to extremely great lengths to make us feel like we were discovering the basics of human progress along with the Croods. There were some hilarious moments too. The kid, Thunk, wanting so hard to please his dad, being so happy with himself that he remembers not to leave the cave at night. And Nicholas Cage just had some hilarious moments throughout. The environment itself is exaggerated for metaphorical story-telling purposes. The predators in the film and the representation of "The End" were the stuff of nightmares. It's almost as if Dreamworks knew about my night terrors as a kid. The End was incredibly real to me, as though I've seen the same representation in my dreams as a child. It represents death; it represents the way you can't go if you want to survive; it's something that we are inherently aware of from a very early age. And the creatures are representative of the dangers you face along the way that you'll eventually have to tame if you want to keep moving toward tomorrow. Overall, I think the film does an extremely good job of representing the best of humanity, with some flaws thrown in (sometimes for comedic effect) for balance. I think this is a great film mainly due to the fact that it disregards magic and shows how family stays together through the absolute worst of times and uses their own humanity (or cavemanity) to progress. The scariest and yet most hopeful part of the movie is the ending. There's nothing to suggest that the world won't continue to end. They will continue to keep moving forward, learning, and adapting, doing exactly what they need to do in order to progress to where we, as humans, are today. This is my favorite film right now and I highly recommend it. 5 Stars. ***** Also, totally an Allegory of the Cave. I saw that in the first few minutes. That was another aspect that had me hooked right away.
luxfelix Posted November 10, 2014 Posted November 10, 2014 Also, totally an Allegory of the Cave. I saw that in the first few minutes. That was another aspect that had me hooked right away. Yeah... I suppose it is low-hanging fruit to make that connection. I could be wrong but, wasn't Guy homo sapiens while the Croods were neanderthals? Also, I thought at first that there was going to be the dumb dad trope (as in contemporary sitcoms), but I'm glad that didn't end up being the case.
Justin Posted November 10, 2014 Author Posted November 10, 2014 I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to sound condescending. I'm just saying that I think the people who didn't get that right away and took it literally didn't have the pleasure of enjoying the story as a metaphor and instead tried to enjoy it as an actual event that occurred long, long ago. Regarding whether they were neanderthals, I'm not sure. They explicitly said they were "cavemen" but I don't know if that means neanderthals. I also don't know if that means that maybe they weren't quite human and therefore weren't really trying to inform humanity with their learning experiences, therefore giving them some leeway with the story they told. Or maybe they went all out from an evolutionary perspective and made the implication that neanderthals and humans mated and created the species as we are today. Anyway, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sound condescending! I was just happy I saw it and you saw it too! My bad! Oh! And regarding the dumb dad trope, I'm really glad they went with it where they did. He was "dumb" for a reason, a really good reason. He just hated new things. So the phenotype of his intelligence was dumb, but the genotype was exactly what was needed to survive, and he put a lot of effort into keeping his family alive because he loved them. The fact that he needed to change and made the effort to keep them alive by changing his perspective showed how much he loved them.
PatrickC Posted November 10, 2014 Posted November 10, 2014 Thanks I'll take a look at this movie recommendation for the Philosophy Film Club.
luxfelix Posted November 11, 2014 Posted November 11, 2014 I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to sound condescending. I'm just saying that I think the people who didn't get that right away and took it literally didn't have the pleasure of enjoying the story as a metaphor and instead tried to enjoy it as an actual event that occurred long, long ago. Regarding whether they were neanderthals, I'm not sure. They explicitly said they were "cavemen" but I don't know if that means neanderthals. I also don't know if that means that maybe they weren't quite human and therefore weren't really trying to inform humanity with their learning experiences, therefore giving them some leeway with the story they told. Or maybe they went all out from an evolutionary perspective and made the implication that neanderthals and humans mated and created the species as we are today. Anyway, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sound condescending! I was just happy I saw it and you saw it too! My bad! Oh! And regarding the dumb dad trope, I'm really glad they went with it where they did. He was "dumb" for a reason, a really good reason. He just hated new things. So the phenotype of his intelligence was dumb, but the genotype was exactly what was needed to survive, and he put a lot of effort into keeping his family alive because he loved them. The fact that he needed to change and made the effort to keep them alive by changing his perspective showed how much he loved them. No worries, I didn't think you were condescending. That's true with Grug, and his growth as a character reinforced the values he already had (love for family). Thanks I'll take a look at this movie recommendation for the Philosophy Film Club. Oh yeah, when/where does that take place by the way?
PatrickC Posted November 11, 2014 Posted November 11, 2014 Oh yeah, when/where does that take place by the way? The Film Club meets monthly for now in Google Hangout (10 max). The next one is due this Saturday 15 Nov. There will also be a live stream available to unlimited listeners in the thread link I posted previously.
luxfelix Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 The Film Club meets monthly for now in Google Hangout (10 max). The next one is due this Saturday 15 Nov. There will also be a live stream available to unlimited listeners in the thread link I posted previously. Cool beans! (I'm now following so I should get an update when it's posted.)
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