Early Man (2018)

Set at the dawn of time, when prehistoric creatures and woolly mammoths roamed the earth, Early Man tells the story of Dug, along with sidekick Hognob as they unite his tribe against a mighty enemy Lord Nooth and his Bronze Age City to save their home.

Director:

Nick Park

Writers:

Mark Burton (screenplay by), James Higginson (screenplay by)

Stars:

Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Redmayne	...	Dug (voice)
Tom Hiddleston	...	Lord Nooth (voice)
Maisie Williams	...	Goona (voice)
Timothy Spall	...	Chief Bobnar (voice)
Miriam Margolyes	...	Queen Oofeefa (voice)
Rob Brydon	...	Message Bird / Brian / Bryan / Gonad the Gaul (voice)
Kayvan Novak	...	Dino / Jurgend (voice)
Richard Ayoade	...	Treebor (voice)
Selina Griffiths	...	Magma / Additional Voices (voice)
Johnny Vegas	...	Asbo (voice)
Mark Williams	...	Barry (voice)
Gina Yashere	...	Gravelle (voice)
Richard Webber	...	Grubup (voice)
Simon Greenall	...	Eemak / Thongo / Additional Voices (voice)
Nick Park	...	Hognob (voice)

Storyline

An asteroid collides with the prehistoric Earth, causing the extinction of the planet's dinosaurs, but sparing a tribe of cavemen living near the impact site. Finding a roughly spherical chunk of the asteroid that is too hot to touch, the cavemen begin to kick it around and invent the game of football. Many years later during the Stone Age, a young caveman named Dug (Eddie Redmayne) lives in the village with the chief Bobnar (Timothy Spall) and many other cavemen such as Asbo, (Johnny Vegas), Gravelle (Gina Yashere), Treebor (Richard Ayoade), Magma (Selina Griffiths), Barry (Mark Williams), Grubup (Richard Webber), Thongo (Simon Greenall) and Eemak (Simon Greenall). One day, Dug suggests to Bobnar that they should try hunting woolly mammoths instead of rabbits, but Bobnar brushes him off..

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Plot Keywords:

claymation | caveman | stone age | bronze age | prehistory | 

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Taglines:

Time to Test Their Metal

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for rude humor and some action

Details

Official Sites:

Aardman [UK] Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

El cavernícola

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$8,267,544, 29 March 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aardman Animations, Amazon Prime Video, BFI's Film Found

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the commentators at the final match describes Dug's team as "Early Man united," a reference to the Manchester United football team in England. Goona's name is a play on "gooner," a slang term for fans of Arsenal - another English team and a long-standing rival of Manchester United.

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Goofs

Chief Bobnar shaves his stubble with a beetle. Parts of his stubble reappear during his conversation with Dug.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dug: Nearly there, Hognob. Nearly there, just a bit further. Try a little bit harder. We can do it.

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Crazy Credits

Characters from Wallace & Gromit - Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Feathers McGraw - make cameo appearances during the end credits. You can see them among the cave painting-style figures at the sides of the screen as the credits roll.

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Connections

Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: The Puppet Master (2018)

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Soundtracks

Tiger Feet
Written by Nicky Chinn (as Nicholas Chinn), Mike Chapman
Performed by New Hope Club
Published by Universal Music Publishing MGB Ltd
Courtesy of Virgin EMI Records Ltd.
Under licence from Universal Music Operations Ltd.

User Reviews

Sending up the Stone Age and football

Although not the biggest fan of football, that it's from Aardman (responsible for gems like 'Wallace and Gromit', 'Creature Comforts', 'Chicken Run' and 'Shaun the Sheep', have not seen anything bad from them actually), being a family film/animation fan and that it had so many talented actors in the voice cast was enough to convince me to see 'Early Man'.

Seeing it, 'Early Man' is not one of Aardman's best and it doesn't see them at the top of their game. Then again, with a studio as consistently very good to great as Aardman, that is not a standard that can be reached constantly. It is nonetheless a very worthy effort from them and as a family film, and a film in general, 'Early Man' to me was immensely enjoyable. There is a lot of talent on board and the film doesn't waste it.

'Early Man' does lose a little of its lustre, in pace and material, towards the end, the one part where the story's predictability is most obvious (up to this point the gags, inventive visuals and puns made things feel fresh) and less overlook-able. The easily foreseeable conclusion is also a little too pat.

Otherwise, as clichéd as it sounds, could find little else to fault 'Early Man'. Visually, the film is a delight. It is rich in colour and detail, the characters are adorable and cleverly modelled and there is some nice visual invention here, like the cave paintings. One is genuinely immersed in this colourful Stone Age world. The music score is suitably energetic and really gives the film its momentum and adds to it.

As to be hoped, 'Early Man' really entertains...hugely, both in sending up the Stone Age and football. Despite how mismatched it sounds having Stone Age inhabitants having their version of football, the combination actually goes very well. Any film that helps me appreciate football better, like 'Early Man' did, is worthy of any kind of credit.

The gags come thick and fast, there's plenty of them and they are subtle, clever and often hilarious, in typical Aardman fashion. Love their versions of technology, like the beetle electric shaver and the crocodile clothes pegs. There are some inspired puns and wordplay, like the duo of football pundits, primordial soup and the name Goona. 'Early Man' makes a lot of effort appealing to kids and adults alike and succeeds in doing that.

Kids will be thoroughly absorbed in the action and the inventive ideas and technology while adults will love, or at least appreciate, the puns (which they are actually more likely to get) and there is even a Mud reference to get nostalgic over. The pacing is spirited and tight throughout, and while the story is not much new and loses steam towards the end the energy and that it never goes wayward are to be applauded.

Characters are uniformly engaging, from the likeable protagonist, hilarious supporting characters to the camp villains. The voice cast are a talented bunch and they are all terrific, even those who raises some initial surprise in their involvement (i.e. Eddie Redmayne and Maisie Williams) do a great job, while Timothy Spall, Mark Williams and Tom Hiddleston (experienced in villain roles and not unfamiliar to voice work, both of them obvious) are standouts.

In summary, immensely enjoyable family fare for something for all ages. 8/10 Bethany Cox