One day, while we were driving around the city, my son spotted a billboard for The Croods, the latest film to be released by DreamWorks Animation. He was so tickled by Sandy’s (the baby) cheeky pose, that he decided right then and there that he wanted to see the film. A few weeks later, I spent a beautiful sunny winter day at DreamWorks Animation Studio in Glendale, California learning all about the inception and development of the characters, the creation of the prehistoric worlds, and the evolution of the story.
The Croods follows the story of the world’s first modern family as they travel across the globe in search of a new home after the destruction of their cave. The film is filled with humor, heart and stunning visuals, and I can’t wait to share more information as we approach opening day. Here is a short clip to get you familiar with the story:
At the heart of the film are the members of the Crood family, each with his/her own unique quirks. James Baxter, one of the animators who worked on The Croods, detailed the process of animating the characters and showed us how the look of each family member was a reflection of his/her personality. We wanted to make “these cavemen different from any other kind of cavemen you’ve seen before but to also make them really funny and entertaining.”
As you watch the film, you may notice that certain characters have animal influences, consistent with idea of the prehistoric human. Grug (the patriarch in the family) has gorilla-like features and walks hunched with clenched fists in various scenes throughout the film while Eep (the adventurous eldest daughter) moves around more like a tiger, consistent with her tiger skin attire. Her movements are more athletic and dynamic than her father’s. Eep is unique in that the animators also studied Emma Stone’s facial features and incorporated them into the look of her character.
As you watch the film, you’ll notice two secondary plots taking place, one of which is the emerging relationship between Eep and Guy. Guy is the “Human 2.0 of the group,” Baxter explained. His character is more evolved, thus his look and movements reflect that progression. Additionally, the animators worked to depict the relationship between Guy and Eep through the way they moved and interacted together. “We were experimenting with getting their relationship down because it was very important that Eep would be much more physically dominant than Guy.” During this particular segment of our day, we watched onscreen as the animators put the two characters together to explore their movement, ensuring their proportions were accurate.
Each relationship in the film was carefully thought out by the animators and character designers at DreamWorks and the theme of evolution is consistent throughout the film. In the beginning, we see matriarch Ugga “tossing Sandy on her back, chimp-like.” It was not until the end of the film that she actually carries Sandy on her hip. One of the things I found particularly interesting about Sandy’s character was the fact that she was modeled after a Jack Russel Terrier. I actually found myself watching the film and thinking that she very much resembles a small dog in her movements and behavior!
As you watch the film, you’ll notice that the members of the Crood family are not what you expect. In fact, that is one of my favorite aspects of the film…the unexpected both in story and character development. This was the exact aspiration of the filmmakers…to create a family that was “a little bit different.”
I can already say with certainty that my childrens’ favorite character is Belt, adorable sloth and sidekick to Guy. During our day at DreamWorks Animation, we were gifted with a plush, talking version of this adorable character and my children cannot stop giggling at his signature saying “Da da daaaaa!”
As we continue to delve into the film, I’ll share how the art director and production designer worked to create the colorful worlds you see and how they ensured that each character fit in to the backgrounds.
The Croods opens in theaters on March 22nd, 2013. You can keep up to date with the film via the following social media channels:
Like The Croods on Facebook
Follow @DWAnimation on Twitter #TheCroods
Re-pin DIY tutorials, printables, and more from The Croods on Pinterest.
No compensation was received for this post. I attended a media day, and the content obtained via interviews facilitated the writing of this post.
Images: DreamWorks
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my daughter can’t wait to see that movie!