A family of Neanderthals, the last of their kind, are afraid to venture from their cave home. The father, Grug (voice of Nicholas Cage), is afraid of change and wants everything to stay the same. He thinks "Fear is good!". But the daughter, Eep (voice of Emma Stone), is braver, and wants to venture out at night. One night she does--and encounters a fire-making guy named Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds). He warns her that a cataclysm is coming. He gives her a conch shell that makes noise, like a horn, and tells her to use it if she wants to find him again. The next day and earthquake happens, which destroys the cave and opens a hole in the mountainside, revealing a new, tropical land. The family encounters some new dangers and meets up with Guy, who wants to travel to the mountains in the distance, where it will be safe from the oncoming disaster...
The Croods is not nearly as entertaining or well-written as the producers' How to Train Your Dragon, though it's visually amazing. The animals are all amalgamations of creatures, such as a ram-horned bird, an owl/panther, turtle shelled birds and a big-headed sabre-tooth cat. My biggest gripe is that it's never explained how Guy knows about the disaster beforehand and how to survive it by "going towards the light". Is this supposed to be heaven or something?