DREAMWORKS ANIMATION’S NEW VOICE: RYAN REYNOLDS IN “THE CROODS”
Dreamworks’
latest animated family adventure “The Croods,” (3D) takes us along on their
journey where the trek opens up to a lot of discovery. The Croods headed
by their patriarch Grug (Nicolas Cage) along with his wife Ugga (Catherine
Keener) and kids Eep (Emma Stone) and Thunk (Clark Duke) and baby Sandy plus a
feisty Gran (Cloris Leachman) have always been under the shelter of dark caves,
always rushing inside when the sun starts to set.
With
any journey comes discovery – and “The Croods’” trek provides many “firsts,” including:
the first family road trip, fire and shoes, as well as the first pet, the first
cell phone …plus: the first joke, the first pair of sunglasses, and even the
first mid-life crisis.
A
very important milestone of their firsts include their first encounter with Guy
(voiced by Ryan Reynolds), a guy whose ideas encourage the Croods to discover
and invent new things on their own. Guy’s inventive ideas ultimately
expose all of the Croods to new possibilities and to a new world – a place, he
says, that “has more suns in the sky than you can count, and where things are
better.”
But even with his superior know-how, Guy is not without his own challenges.
“He’s been living on his own for a long time,” says Ryan Reynolds of his
character, who makes his animated feature film debut with “The Croods.”
“Unlike the Croods, he doesn’t have a family, so Guy’s life is full of
variables, whereas their lives have been pretty static. And Guy has been
exposed to new things every day because he’s constantly on the move. He’s
been forced to evolve.”
“Guy
is also forced to rely on his imagination, so he lives inside his head a lot,”
Reynolds continues. “And that’s a great thing to play because he can be as over
the top as you want him to be. Guy has no limits because he’s constantly
thinking.” Even with his superior mind, Guy needs the Croods’ companionship,
and to feel like he’s part of a family. I would describe Guy as a pretty lonely
guy. He's a character that's been on his own for so long that a lot of his
social skills have atrophied to some degree. He needs the Croods in much the
same way as the Croods need him - they each have something that they're
desperately missing in their life and they need some kind of catalyst to move
them forward. They create the family that Guy yearns for and he has a sense of
belonging with them that he didn't have before. For them Guy is a key
evolutionary step - they need to move forward or die, and he’s the man that can
help them do that,” Ryan enthuses.
Asked
what is the central message of “The Croods,” “I think there are a number of
central messages: I think it's about leaving our safety nets behind. Every time
I've ever done that in my life it's been incredibly rewarding, even if it
didn't seem so at first. Every risk I've ever taken, every failure I've ever
experienced has been something that pushed me forward as a human being and made
me stronger, better and wiser. I think we have this habit in the world we live
in of seeking comfort all the time, never ever wanting to be uncomfortable for
a moment, and I think we atrophy in a lot of ways. I think the central message
really is about stepping out of that shell and allowing that vulnerability in
and growing.”
“The
Croods” (in 3D and 2D) is released in theaters nationwide from DreamWorks
and 20th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.
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