Aardman Animation never gets the amount of credit since they are probably the most underrated animation studio giving us classics such as Wallace & Gromit, Arthur Christmas, and many others projects. While Early Man falls stray from the rest from a story that’s kinda weak, it isn’t an enjoyable movie that made for everyone when it has their trademark humor that young children won’t get until they get older.
What the Story?: In the years of the stone age, Dug (voiced by Eddie Redmayne) and his bumbling tribe of cavemen are forced into the badlands after Lord Noot (voiced by Tom Hiddleston, with a French accent), the ruler of a Bronze town, clears them out. So in order to win back their land, Dug challenges him to a football game and will need the training to win it all.
Writer/director Nick Park has an original idea here combining it with impressive stop-motion animation that Aardman has always been known. And it has certain funny moments that you’ll be able to understand and still laugh about when the joke’s over. Not all of the jokes didn’t fully land, mainly because it was difficult to tell if it was meant to be funny. The voice talents are always welcome with well-known talents like Redmayne and Hiddleston providing funny voice work as their characters. The likes of Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall, and many other British talents give their best when working with hilarious jokes that are suited for this kind of audience. However, as said before, the story changes when it focuses on this underdog sports story that’s predictable but with the cavemen when it should’ve been another take on something like The Flintstones or The Croods.
Not to say Early Man is bad, it’s should’ve been smarter and more charmer addition to Aardman’s catalog of terrific films they have. Probably not gonna be one of the best animated movies of the year and it’s hard enough to know that it’s probably won’t be remembered as the rest of the year continues.
Though Early Man stands as the weakest film from Aardman from a thin story, it was still able to gain some clever laughs and gorgeous animation included.
Grade: B-
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