The Croods: A New Age Blu-ray review

Feb 22, 2021- Permalink

Universal Pictures has just released the sequel to 2013’s The Croods, the aptly-named __, which follows the prehistoric family in a new adventure that has them coming across a more advanced family. I had a chance to take a look at the Blu-ray combo set, which includes a digital code and a DVD.

The 1080p AVC-encoded Blu-ray disc is in the original’s 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The image looks great, with an amazing amount of detail in the computer-animated characters and the world they live in. The colour palette pops with rich colours across the whole spectrum whether it’s characters, clothing, or flora and fauna. Sharp edges and deep black levels complete the picture. If it looks this good in Blu-ray, the 4K version will look even better.

On the audio side, your ears have a choice between an English Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack, a Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 track and, in Canada, a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, and Spanish. Those with an Atmos setup might wish for slightly more use of the height speakers for atmosphere but other than that this is a very enjoyable surround track that places you into the Croods’ prehistoric world and even your subwoofer gets a nice workout in this soundscape. The dialogue, supplied by a voice cast that includes Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Leslie Mann, Peter Dinklage, Clark Duke, and the late Cloris Leachman, is clear, centred, and well-prioritized.

As mentioned earlier, the Blu-ray combo set comes with a DVD copy and a digital code. There’s a nice selection of extras including audio commentary by director Joel Crawford, producer Mark Swift, head of story Januel Mercado, and editor Jim Ryan as well as two new Crood short films, Dear Diary: World’s First Pranks and Family Movie Night: Little Red Bronana Bread. There’s also a gag reel, another Dreamworks short, deleted scenes, a look at the voice actors and illustrators, and some other short features that are fun for the family.

A fun story, a great visual and audio experience, and a nice selection of extras make The Croods: A New Age a fun addition to your family’s collection.