From the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, comes another stop-motion, claymation
movie that is clearly not targeted toward my demographic. In what can be simply described as "The
Stone Age vs. The Bronze Age," Early Man tells the story of a caveman named Dug, that
unfortunately finds himself living in time where the world is transitioning into a new age. The Stone
Age, in which Dug and his tribe are a part of, now faces the reality of extinction with the welcoming
of the new, more technologically evolved, Bronze Age.
Through what seems to be an act of heroism, in trying to save everything that he knows and loves,
Dug, instead, accidentally finds himself being transported into the very modern civilization that he is
fighting against. Now, it's up to Dug and his tribe to try to save their valley and their more simplistic
way of life through a dual that is set up between them and the people of the Bronze Age.
This story seems very "Shrek-esque" (and I know that there are more than likely more stories that this
movie is similar to, but that was the first one that came to mind, so I guess I'm showing my age here).
I'm sure that this movie will have something to say about the effect of technology on society, drawing
parallels between the society within the movie and our society of today, and also about how change is
inevitable and that though, it may suck at times, that it's also a great thing when put into perspective;
all things that I suppose are good lessons to teach your kids. When I checked out the cast, I was pretty
surprised at what I found, Eddie Redmayne plays the lead character, Dug, but then we have Maisie
Williams, Tom Hiddleston, and Richard Ayoade to help round out the cast.
Though, like I said this movie is clearly targeted toward a much younger demographic, Chicken
Run, was one of my favorite movies growing up (again showing my age), coupling that with the fact
that it is on the more original side of storytelling and actually looks decent, I have nothing but high
hopes for this movie and I'm sure that this is something that the kids will love too.
Early Man is set to hit cinemas 2018 A.D.
