Movie Reviews

‘The Croods: A New Age’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Prehistoric Family Plays It Safe In Amiable Sequel

By Dillon Gonzales
February 24, 2021
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The first prehistoric family is ready for another rocking adventure! The Croods have survived fanged beasts, natural disasters, and even young love, but now they must face their biggest challenge yet: another family! In search of a new home, the Croods discover a walled-in paradise created by the sophisticated Betterman family (emphasis on the “better”). As they try to coexist, the differences between the two families escalate into a full-blown feud, but when a new threat forces both families to embark on an epic adventure, they must all learn to work together…or they’ll all go extinct!

For in-depth thoughts on The Croods: A New Age, please see my colleague Michele Arbir’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

The Croods: A New Age comes to 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a stunning and vibrant 2160p Dolby Vision transfer. The colors present in this transfer are practically leaping off the screen with the wide range of hues permeating every inch of the frame. The textures, from the character designs to the environments, are extremely impressive and give the film a real sense of depth. One of the areas where the sequel improved on the original film is the fluidity of the character designs. All of the individual strands of hair are unique and flowing in a subtly more natural way. The level of detail these animators put into each environment shines through here. Black levels are incredibly strong with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. To say this is anything but perfection would be a grave misrepresentation of the quality.

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray utilizes a Dolby Atmos track that gives this lively film a real vitality. There is an emphasis on the front channels for a good portion of the sounds, but activity kicks in to the surrounds and rears during the more kinetic and action-oriented bits. The film really satisfies when it comes to the music, and this track pumps the sound straight through your body in a really satisfying, enveloping way. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting lost amongst the music or sound effects. The low end effects from the subwoofer give certain moments that much-needed extra weight to completely sell it for the audience. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered appropriately within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. The Croods: A New Age will have your house rocking and shaking in the best way.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Joel Crawford, Producer Mark Swift, Head of Story Januel Mercado and Editor Jim Ryan provide a fun and informative track in which they detail some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of production, developing the story and animation style from film to film, and many more worthwhile insights that are worth checking out for fans.

Dear Diary – World’s First Pranks: A new three-minute short in which Eep and Dawn discover the joys of pranking people in increasingly inventive ways. There are some solid laughs in here.

Family Movie Night – Little Red Bronana Bread: A nearly four-minute short in which Dawn spins a yarn about Eep keeping her delicious Bronana Bread safe from punch monkeys. The shadowy animation style is a fun touch.

Gag Reel: Nearly two minutes of flubbed lines and humorous moments from recording the vocal performances are included here.
To Gerard: A nearly eight-minute short about an older gentleman who brings a bit of wonder to a little girl’s world through magic. This is incredibly precious and heartwarming.

Deleted Scenes: 23 minutes of unused material comprising eight scenes are included here with intros from director Joel Crawfrod. There are some fun moments shown through mostly rough animatics featuring Thunk appreciating a mirror, Phil experiencing a series of mishaps, some trippy scenes between Phil and Grug and more.

The Croods’ Family Album: An eight-minute look at the talented cast and the characters they portray in the story. This piece highlights what each performer brings to their characters, how they are similar to their characters, what they have gained from the experience and more.

The Evolution Of…: A ten-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss wanting to make this follow-up more of a celebration rather than bringing unneeded cynicism to their world.

How to Draw – Caveman Style: Story Artist Heidi Jo Gilbert provides a 29-minute tutorial on how to draw some of your favorite characters from the film.

Famileaf Album: A three-minute video that guides you through how to make your own Famileaf Album. This would be a fun activity for kids.

Stone Age Attack: Three videos totaling six minutes are provided here which gives step-by-step instructions on how to create tasty treats such as Francy Fruit Leathers, Shark Milk Smoothies and Supersized Surprise. These actually look pretty tasty.

Final Thoughts

The Croods: A New Age does not really deliver anything too innovative to the table storywise, but there is enough of the same that families should enjoy the time spent returning to this world. The best aspect of the new film is the introduction of The Betterman family, who bring a unique and hilarious perspective to this prehistoric world. The message at the core of the story is worthwhile in these divisive times without coming off as a “message movie.” Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a frankly perfect A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. If you find yourself yearning to spend time with this family after the first film, this one will prove to be a pleasant endeavor. Recommended

The Croods: A New Age is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.