“We never had a chance to explore the outside world, but what we didn’t know was that our world was about to change” ~Eep, The Croods
It’s the story of the “first family,” forced to leave the security of their cave as they face a changing, evolving world. On Friday, March 22nd, 2013, families across the country will join The Croods in this prehistoric adventure of a lifetime. Most of the film takes place in the lush and gorgeous new world where this family learns the value of exploration, taking risks, and togetherness.
During my time at DreamWorks Animation, I had an opportunity to hear from Markus Manninen, Visual Effects Supervisor for The Croods, who took us through the creation of this spectacular new world the first family finds themselves in after their cave is destroyed. What I found fascinating was how much thought and detail went into this world that is so integral to the story line. “It was important for the story that this felt like earth because we wanted this to be a regular family that [was] trying to survive and go through regular life in [the] context of actually survival and eating (Manninen).” The evolution of the design was such that it had to be engaging and act as a story point, since there is no “villain.” In a sense, the only “villain” is this new world where The Croods must now learn to adapt and find their place in.
So what inspired the creation of this new world? In a sense it was two-fold. Director Kirk DeMicco wanted the sense of the audience being there with the family. “So we started exploring the things that are going to make you feel like you’re there (Manninen).” The Croods live out in the open, so naturally the elements, such as insects, played a role in defining and authenticating this world. Color and contrast between The Croods’ old habitat and the new world was also important. “We [wanted] to feel color come into this world so that when the movie starts, we get to know the world that the family is in and the limitations in some ways visually of that. Then this beautiful blossoming color world comes to life in front of them and shocks us as an audience because we’re going through the journey with them (Manninen).” The New World isn’t simply a place The Croods discover…it’s a paradigm. When this family comes out of their old habitat into the new world, they are forced into it and “we had to figure out how to create this time between time that the story took place in (Manninen).”
As you might expect, much research went into the visual creation of the film. The art department helped the filmmakers describe the materials that the worlds are made of and those assets were created based on their exploration. Knowing that the team conducted extensive research, I was curious as to how much of the film’s visual aesthetic was true to history versus make believe. “I think we didn’t want to limit ourselves from the period, if you’re talking about nature and the look. We wanted to take it as a starting point thinking about what we knew as it happened historically (Manninen).”
The amount of research and carefully thought out detail that went into creating the worlds you see in The Croods is remarkable and vital to the story. The film, filled with humor and heart, will delight audiences young and old. See The Croods in theaters 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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