As a studio, the often forgotten Aardman Animations releases
very few feature length films. Since 2000, the studios first venture into the
feature film game with Chicken Run,
Aardman has only released seven feature films. To various degrees of reception,
of course, but all relatively successful. And following a rather weak 2017 in
terms of animation, getting an Aardman release just two months in is a good
sign for 2018.
A plucky cave man named Dug (Eddie Redmayne), his sidekick
Hognob and the rest of their tribe face a grave threat to their simple
existence. Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) plans to take over their land and
transform it into a giant mine, forcing Dug and his clan to dig for precious
metals. Not ready to go down without a fight, Dug and Hognob must unite their
people in an epic quest to defeat a mighty enemy -- the Bronze Age.
The plot of Early Man
is surprisingly simple: it’s a sports film after all. That’s right Aardman has
taken the invention of soccer to the stone age. And while the premise itself
seems ripe with opportunity, the execution isn’t quite there. It’s typical
sports fare, first of all, complete with the scrappy underdog and the seemingly
unbeatable team. Beyond that, the message and jokes aren’t terribly unique
either, so the whole mess just feels like a retread of other films, just in Claymation
form.
A lacking story can be forgiven in animated films if, and
only if, the characters are somewhat memorable or likeable. But unfortunately
for Early Man, there isn’t a whole
lot of cleverness or wit behind any of the humor, landing more in easy to hit
joke area that lackluster animated films live in. The comedy moments that do
work, while few, fall to Tom Hiddleston’s Lord Nooth, though even his comedic
moments are not really that great, just better than the rest.
It must be said that, admittedly, I am not a huge personal
fan of Aardman’s animation style. The character designs are just so hit or
miss, and overall the entire experience just doesn’t ever work for me. Even so,
one has to recognize the skill involved behind it. It’s well done animation
without a doubt, and for those that enjoy the style its likely gorgeous, just
not my favorite.
Overall, Early Man
is marginally better than most of 2017’s animation offerings, but a
disappointment from Aardman’s standpoint. It’s not a film that’s going to blow
anyone away, nor is it really worth going out of your way to see, but there are
worse ways to spend 90 minutes, and at least the film will mildly amuse
audiences who couldn’t get tickets to Black
Panther.
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