DreamWorks had a weird challenge on their hands. It took seven years to get a sequel to their 2013 caveman hit onto the big screen. Seven years! In animation time, that’s basically an eternity. Most kids who loved the first one were practically driving cars by the time the second one dropped. But somehow, The Croods: A New Age didn't just land; it actually managed to be one of the few bright spots in a very bleak 2020 box office landscape. It’s a movie that feels like a sugar rush. It’s loud. It’s neon. It’s got "Punch Monkeys."
Honestly, it’s easy to dismiss it as just another loud kids' movie. But if you actually sit down and look at what director Joel Crawford did here, there’s a lot more going on under the hood than just slapstick humor. It’s a satire. A really biting one, actually. It takes the "modern vs. traditional" trope and turns it into a literal wall between two families: the titular Croods and the "evolved" Bettermans.
The Croods: A New Age and the Satire of the Modern Suburbanite
Let’s talk about the Bettermans. Phil and Hope Betterman, voiced by Peter Dinklage and Leslie Mann, are the absolute peak of "wellness culture" parody. They live in a giant, walled-off farm that looks suspiciously like a high-end Silicon Valley campus or a gated community in Malibu. They have "windows" (which are just empty frames), "private rooms," and even a rudimentary version of a man-cave.
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They’re the foil to Grug’s prehistoric paranoia.
While the first movie was all about the fear of the dark and the unknown, The Croods: A New Age shifts the lens toward the fear of "the other." The Bettermans look down on the Croods not because they’re dangerous, but because they’re "uncivilized." It’s a classic class struggle disguised as a cartoon about cavemen. The "New Age" in the title isn't just about the Neolithic period—it’s a direct jab at the lifestyle-brand, essential-oil-using, avocado-toast-eating culture of the 21st century.
It’s funny because it hurts.
We see Phil Betterman trying to "civilize" Grug by introducing him to the concept of privacy, which basically just leads to isolation. It’s a surprisingly deep commentary on how modern conveniences often trade community for comfort. The movie doesn't just say "modern is bad," but it definitely asks why we’re so obsessed with building walls to keep the "wild" out.
Visual Evolution and the Neon Aesthetic
Visually, this thing is a beast.
If you compare it to the original 2013 film, the color palette has shifted dramatically. The first movie was earthy. Gritty. Lots of browns and oranges. The Croods: A New Age looks like someone dropped a highlighter in a bucket of Skittles.
The character designs for the new creatures are peak DreamWorks creativity. We’re talking about Wolf-Spiders, Land-Sharks, and the aforementioned Punch Monkeys. The Punch Monkeys are a personal favorite because their entire "language" is just hitting each other. It’s stupid. It’s brilliant.
The animation team, led by head of layout Jon Gutman, used a much more "snappy" style of movement this time around. It’s less about realism and more about expressive, squash-and-stretch energy. This matches the frantic pace of the script. The movie rarely breathes. It just goes.
Why the Delay Actually Helped the Story
Usually, a seven-year production hell means a movie is going to be a disaster. Ask anyone who followed the development of this film; it was canceled at one point! In 2016, after the Comcast-DreamWorks merger, the project was totally scrapped.
Then it was revived.
That gap allowed the writers (Kevin and Dan Hageman, along with Paul Fisher and Bob Logan) to move past the "growing pains" of Eep and Guy’s relationship. Instead of a rehash of the first film’s romance, we get a story about two different ways of life colliding. Guy, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, becomes the prize in a tug-of-war between his past (the Croods) and his "evolved" future (the Bettermans).
It also gave Emma Stone more room to play Eep as a character who is genuinely conflicted. She’s not just the rebellious teen anymore. She’s looking at a "better" life and wondering if "better" actually means "happier."
The Thundersisters: A Moment of Pure Hype
We can’t talk about this movie without mentioning the third act. Everything goes sideways when the men get kidnapped by the Punch Monkeys to be sacrificed to a giant "Spiny Mandrill."
What follows is the "Thundersisters" sequence.
It’s a heavy-metal, neon-soaked rescue mission where the women of the movie—Gran, Ugga, Eep, Hope, and Dawn—form a warrior tribe. It’s easily the best part of the film. Gran (voiced by the legendary Cloris Leachman in one of her final roles) reveals she used to lead a band of warriors, and her "wig" is actually a living creature.
It’s absurd. It’s glorious.
It also subverts the "damsel in distress" trope without feeling like a lecture. It’s just fun. Seeing Hope Betterman go from a high-strung, judgmental "Karen" type to a battle-hardened warrior is a character arc that works surprisingly well for a 90-minute animated flick.
The Real Success of the Box Office
When The Croods: A New Age hit theaters in November 2020, the world was a mess. Most theaters were closed. People were scared.
But it became a "sleeper hit."
It stayed in the Top 10 for months. Literally months. It earned over $215 million worldwide, which sounds small compared to billion-dollar hits, but in 2020 dollars? That’s a massive win. It proved that families were desperate for high-quality, theatrical-grade entertainment. It also paved the way for the "Universal Window," where movies went to VOD (Video on Demand) much faster than before.
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This movie basically changed how movies are released.
Things Most People Miss
There are some deep-cut details in the background of the Betterman enclosure that reference other DreamWorks properties. If you look closely at some of the "inventions," there are nods to Flushed Away and Bee Movie.
Also, the soundtrack is secretly great. Mark Mothersbaugh (of Devo fame and Thor: Ragnarok glory) did the score. He brought that weird, synth-heavy energy that makes the prehistoric world feel more like a psychedelic dream than a history lesson. The "I Think I Love You" cover is a certified bop.
One thing that often gets overlooked is the development of Dawn Betterman. Usually, in these movies, the "other girl" is a jealous rival for the protagonist’s boyfriend. The writers avoided that entirely. Dawn and Eep become instant best friends. They bond over their scars. They bond over wanting to see the world. It’s a refreshing take on female friendship that doesn't rely on "catty" tropes.
The Problem With Perfection
The Bettermans' obsession with perfection is the movie's main villain—more so than the Spiny Mandrill.
Phil Betterman’s desire to keep his daughter "safe" inside the walls is a direct parallel to Grug’s cave from the first movie. It shows that even when we evolve, our fears just change shape. We go from fearing the dark to fearing a lower "standard of living."
It’s a smart way to bridge the two movies. Grug realizes that his cave wasn't a home, and Phil realizes that his paradise is just a fancy cage.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re planning on sitting down with the family to watch The Croods: A New Age again, or if you’ve never seen it, here is how to get the most out of it:
- Watch the background. The "creature design" in this movie is some of the most imaginative in modern animation. Keep an eye out for the hybrid animals—they’re everywhere.
- Listen for the satire. Pay attention to Phil Betterman’s dialogue. It’s a hilarious indictment of modern tech-bro culture.
- Check out the spin-offs. If your kids love the world, there’s a series called The Croods: Family Tree on Hulu/Peacock that continues the story of the two families living together. It’s surprisingly solid for a TV spin-off.
- Look for the "Easter Eggs." There are several references to the first movie’s "rules" that get flipped on their head.
This movie isn't just a sequel that exists to sell toys. It’s a vibrant, chaotic, and surprisingly thoughtful look at what it means to be a family in an "evolved" world. It acknowledges that while walls might keep us safe, they also keep us from actually living.
Ultimately, it’s a film about breaking down those walls—whether they’re made of stone or "modern" wood.
To get the full experience, watch the first movie and the sequel back-to-back. The jump in animation technology and the shift in thematic tone make for a fascinating study in how DreamWorks has changed as a studio over the last decade. You’ll notice how the humor moved from basic slapstick to a more rhythmic, almost "Looney Tunes" style of comedy that defines the second film. It’s a wild ride that holds up way better than the average animated sequel.