The Croods (franchise)

Lore & Background

The Croods franchise began with the 2013 animated film The Croods, originally announced in May 2005 under the working title Crood Awakening as a stop motion film by Aardman Animations. Chris Sanders took over development in March 2007, but work on How to Train Your Dragon postponed the film's schedule. The final title was revealed in May 2009, with Kirk DeMicco as co-director. The film features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman.

The sequel, The Croods: A New Age, was released in 2020 after multiple delays and a temporary cancellation. Originally scheduled for a November 3, 2017 release by 20th Century Fox, it was moved to December 22, 2017, then removed from the schedule. Following DreamWorks Animation's acquisition by Comcast and NBCUniversal, the film was revived and released by Universal Pictures on November 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It introduced the Bettermans, another family voiced by Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann, and Kelly Marie Tran.

Two television series expanded the franchise: Dawn of the Croods (2015–2017), a 2D-animated prequel on Netflix with 88 episodes, and The Croods: Family Tree (2021–2023), a CGI animated series on Hulu and Peacock based on the sequel. Two video games were also released: The Croods: Prehistoric Party! (2013) and a mobile village-building game by Rovio (2013).

Reader's Guide

The Croods franchise represents DreamWorks Animation's exploration of prehistoric family dynamics in a fictional setting. Its significance lies in its longevity across multiple media: two feature films, two television series, and two video games. The franchise's production history reflects industry shifts, including the transition from 20th Century Fox to Universal Pictures distribution after DreamWorks Animation's acquisition. The television series Dawn of the Croods, produced as a prequel, experimented with different animation techniques, starting with Toon Boom Harmony before switching to traditional hand-drawn animation. The franchise's legacy includes a dedicated fan base and continued streaming presence on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Peacock. Critical reception varied, with the video games receiving mainly negative reviews. The franchise's chronological order places Dawn of the Croods before the first film, followed by its series finale, then the sequel, and finally Family Tree.

Did You Know?

• The franchise was originally conceived as a stop motion film by Aardman Animations under the working title Crood Awakening.
• The sequel The Croods: A New Age was temporarily cancelled in November 2016 before being revived in September 2017.
• Dawn of the Croods, a prequel series, aired 88 episodes on Netflix between 2015 and 2017.
• The mobile game The Croods, developed by Rovio, received a Metacritic score of 40 out of 100 for the Wii U version of The Croods: Prehistoric Party!, not the mobile game.

Franchise Scope & The Croodaceous World

The Croods is an American media franchise created by DreamWorks Animation that spans feature films, television series, and video games. The story is set in a fictional prehistoric era called the Croodaceous period, a world populated by bizarre hybrid creatures. At its heart, the franchise follows a cavepeople family as they journey through dangerous yet exotic terrain in search of a new home after their previous dwelling was destroyed. The franchise launched with the 2013 animated feature and has since expanded to include a 2020 sequel, two television series (Dawn of the Croods and The Croods: Family Tree), and two video games. This interconnected universe gives the Croods family a rich narrative landscape across multiple media formats, from theatrical animation to streaming content and interactive gaming, all rooted in the same prehistoric setting.

Feature Film Development & Production Turmoil

The 2013 original was first announced in May 2005 under the working title Crood Awakening, initially conceived as a stop-motion project by Aardman Animations. Chris Sanders assumed development in March 2007, though his schedule was disrupted by How to Train Your Dragon. The final title and co-director Kirk DeMicco were revealed in May 2009. The film starred Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, Cloris Leachman, and Randy Thom, and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. The sequel, The Croods: A New Age, endured a far more turbulent path. Originally slated for late 2017 under Fox, it was pulled from the schedule in August 2016 amid Comcast and NBCUniversal's acquisition of DreamWorks. Production was officially cancelled in November 2016, only to be revived in September 2017 under Universal's banner. The pandemic ultimately pushed its release to November 25, 2020.

Television Series & Animation Styles

The franchise's television output showcases two distinct animation approaches. Dawn of the Croods, a 2D-animated web series serving as a prequel to the 2013 film, aired on Netflix from December 24, 2015, through July 7, 2017. It comprised 88 episodes, each containing two 11-minute segments, and featured an entirely new voice cast including Dan Milano as Grug, Cree Summer as Ugga, and Stephanie Lemelin as Eep. The first three episodes were animated in Toon Boom Harmony by Vancouver-based Bardel Entertainment, but DreamWorks determined that software was ill-suited for scenes with multiple characters. The remaining episodes were hand-drawn by South Korean studios EMation, NE4U, and Dong Woo Animation. In contrast, The Croods: Family Tree (2021–2023) adopted a CGI style, streaming on Hulu and Peacock. It brought back Kelly Marie Tran as Dawn and A.J. LoCascio as Thunk, while introducing new voices like Kiff VandenHeuvel as Grug and Amy Landecker as Ugga.

Video Games & Critical Reception

The Croods franchise extended into interactive entertainment with two video games released in 2013. The first, The Croods: Prehistoric Party!, was developed by Torus Games and published by D3 Publisher, hitting shelves on March 19, 2013. It was adapted for Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo DS, and allowed players to guide the Croods family through 30 party-style mini-games. Unfortunately, the title received mainly negative reviews. The second game, simply titled The Croods, was a village-building mobile game developed and published by Rovio, the studio behind Angry Birds. It launched on March 14, 2013, for iOS and Android platforms. Critics were equally unimpressed, with Metacritic scoring it a 40 out of 100. Despite the franchise's strong visual identity and family-friendly appeal in its animated films and series, its foray into gaming failed to translate that charm into well-received interactive experiences.