The Croods Review - Prehistoric Fun, Feels and Visual Splendour

*This review is largely spoiler free, but read cautiously if you haven’t seen the film yet*

2012 was an up-and-down year for DreamWorks Animation, with the strong performance of Madagascar 3, but the commercial disappointment associated with Rise of the Guardians (although only in the über-competitive and expensive world of  animation can a gross of $300 million not be a great thing), but 2013 seems to be off to a good start so far. The studio's first film of the year is out now and you know what? The Croods is good. Reviews have been tepidly enthusiastic and, certainly, The Croods isn't up there with How to Train Your Dragon or Kung Fu Panda 2, but it is still a very fun, very funny and suitably warm film - just another in DreamWorks' recent string of really good animated pictures.

The Art of The Croods Review

The Croods, directed by How to Train Your Dragon's Chris Sanders and Space Chimps' Kirk DeMicco, is DreamWorks' first film under Fox. While it seems critics aren't all too taken with the story of "the world's first family", one area that has been unanimously praised is the film's visuals. As such, and going off the beautiful shots we've seen in the trailers, the Art of book looked to be a must-buy. With just under a week to go until the release of the film, we can say that The Art of The Croods is definitely worth the purchase for animation fans.

Chris Sanders Shares New Storyboards from The Croods

Chris Sanders, director (alongside Space Chimps' Kirk DeMicco) of DreamWorks' next feature film, The Croods, has released some cool storyboards from the caveman-comedy film, due out on 22nd March.

Second Trailer for DreamWorks' The Croods

The second trailer for DreamWorks' first film of 2013 is now online. iTunes Movie Trailers brings us the second look at the Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) and Kirk DeMicco (Space Chimps) directed caveman-comedy, due for release on 22nd March, 2013.

Not everyone's in full support of the film, some of the character designs are certainly a little blocky, but the world of the film is absolutely breathtaking, and the story promises to be an engaging one, infused with Sanders' usual flair and heart - as well as the abundance of comedy visible in the trailer. And I loved the little wink to Ice Age's Manny at around the 1:30 mark.

I can't stress enough how magnificent this film looks; it's stunning (check out a couple of particularly marvellous shots from the great new trailer above). I have very high hopes for The Croods.

Brand New Trailers: The Croods and The Lone Ranger

Yesterday we showed you some brand new images from Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger, and told you to expect the debut trailers for that and DreamWorks' The Croods today. They're online now, and they're fantastic - and you can check them out after the jump break!

DreamWorks News - The Croods and Turbo

Over the last few weeks, several pieces of news have come to light concerning, arguably, the second biggest animation studio around today, DreamWorks Animation. The studio behind Shrek and Kung Fu Panda is infamous for rolling out an awful lot of films, as such, its roster of upcoming films is very substantial, including sequels, adaptations of short films, a spin-off Penguins of Madagascar movie, and an adaptation of Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books. Included amongst these films, are two which I'm greatly anticipating: The Croods and Turbo.

Above you'll see a gorgeous new piece of artwork for The Croods, a caveman-era family comedy, directed by Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) and Kirk DeMicco (Space Chimps) and starring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone. The artwork is vibrant and colourful and will hopefully imbue life and fun into the film. The Croods is scheduled for release on 22nd March, 2013.

Secondly, the voice cast for Turbo, the story of a snail with dreams of racing grandeur, has been revealed, along with another gorgeous, more iridescent, piece of artwork (above). Following on from starring in The Croods, Ryan Reynolds will headline Turbo (directed by David Soren) just a few months later on 19th July, 2013. Reynolds will be joined by Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena and Samuel L. Jackson.

On the casting of Reynolds as the lead, DreamWorks' Chief Creative Officer, Bill Damaschke said:

"Ryan Reynolds' infectious enthusiasm and humor will bring life to the lead role of Turbo and set the tone for this amazing roster of all-star voice talent. This high-octane journey will take audiences on the race of their lives and completely re-define the traditional notion of moving at a snail's pace!"

Via DreamWorks' official Facebook page.