My youngest - Grumpy- has been ill this week. He has not borne his mild malaise well. He has demonstrated all the patience and graciousness of a rhino with a migraine. He truly is suffering from man-flu - and therefore we must all suffer.
Thankfully this week I was sent a copy of the film "The Croods" on DVD to review. It will be on general release on DVD and Blu-ray on December 9 but through the miracle of blogging I had the chance to watch it early and it has saved my sanity.
Let me give you an example. We had a major meltdown from the less-than-patient patient because his brother didn't peel his banana correctly. My son pointed out there was no such thing as a correct way to peel a banana which prompted tantrum #2 from child and, to be honest, from tired and over emotional mummy.
The wailing (from both of us) could have gone on all night but thankfully we had a marvellous distraction in the form of "The Croods" which happily distracted Grumpy from his lecture on how to peel a banana as he settled to watch it for the 6th time. Yes, you read that right. In my desperation to keep him quiet and happy I have let my child watch this DVD back to back six times.
Luckily it is a great film so I have been happy to watch it over and over. From the creators of Madagascar and How To Train Your Dragon the movie is filled with memorable characters (I defy you not to love Grug) and colourful characters like Belt, a cute 'n furry pet/belt!
It's rare to find a film which holds the attention of our whole huge family. We range in age from 5-50-something and the children's tastes range from Zombie apocalypse type films to movies featuring over-happy American teens singing and dancing about being wizards, or cheerleaders or something - I dunno, my brain turns to mush when these things come on.
Meanwhile I am a Monty Python fan with a secret love of soppy rom-coms. DH loves action and adventure blockbusters. But we all loved "The Croods." Even DS#2 who was the least keen grudgingly admitted it wasn't all bad while the rest of us were laughing out loud at the antics of the antics of the fearful cave people who are forced to search for a new home when their cave is destroyed. They are helped by cool, buff newcomer Guy who, shock, horror, has IDEAS!
It is the perfect Christmas present for just about any age. I know even my 89-year-old Gran would love it and so would be just the thing to stick on when you are sick of re-runs and Christmas specials on the TV. It's lively enough to keep you awake after a large lunch and like many of the films from the clever people at DreamWorks it entertains on many levels to keep young and old entertained whilst offending no-one.
The Croods is rated U (Or G if you're Irish) which is deemed suitable for all. The cover does carry a warning; "contains mild threat" but my 5-year-old wasn't worried by anything in it. I found bits of the film a bit tear-jerking but bear in mind I had a sleepless night with my sick child, plus I'm a sucker for a bit of pathos anyway.
The rest of my family has just come home from school and started the film again - and on the 7th time of watching I'm still captivated. Even my daughter who saw the film at the cinema has enjoyed seeing it again on the small screen - plus now she has the added treat of watching the special features which come as a bonus on the DVD/Blu-ray yet. I'm not going to tell you anything about those- you'll just have to buy a copy and discover them yourself!
The final world comes from the sick boy by who said:"The punch monkeys are my favourite animals in it and I like Guy and Belt but I loved all of it. It stops me feeling poorly when I watch it."
Well you can't get a better recommendation than that can you?
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of The Croods on DVD from the nice people at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Views and opinions of madmumof7 and my family of reviewers, ill and healthy, remain unbiased!
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| DVD sleeve |
Let me give you an example. We had a major meltdown from the less-than-patient patient because his brother didn't peel his banana correctly. My son pointed out there was no such thing as a correct way to peel a banana which prompted tantrum #2 from child and, to be honest, from tired and over emotional mummy.
The wailing (from both of us) could have gone on all night but thankfully we had a marvellous distraction in the form of "The Croods" which happily distracted Grumpy from his lecture on how to peel a banana as he settled to watch it for the 6th time. Yes, you read that right. In my desperation to keep him quiet and happy I have let my child watch this DVD back to back six times.
Luckily it is a great film so I have been happy to watch it over and over. From the creators of Madagascar and How To Train Your Dragon the movie is filled with memorable characters (I defy you not to love Grug) and colourful characters like Belt, a cute 'n furry pet/belt!
It's rare to find a film which holds the attention of our whole huge family. We range in age from 5-50-something and the children's tastes range from Zombie apocalypse type films to movies featuring over-happy American teens singing and dancing about being wizards, or cheerleaders or something - I dunno, my brain turns to mush when these things come on.
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| Academy award-winning actor Nicolas Cage is the voice of Grug in "The Croods" (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It is the perfect Christmas present for just about any age. I know even my 89-year-old Gran would love it and so would be just the thing to stick on when you are sick of re-runs and Christmas specials on the TV. It's lively enough to keep you awake after a large lunch and like many of the films from the clever people at DreamWorks it entertains on many levels to keep young and old entertained whilst offending no-one.
The Croods is rated U (Or G if you're Irish) which is deemed suitable for all. The cover does carry a warning; "contains mild threat" but my 5-year-old wasn't worried by anything in it. I found bits of the film a bit tear-jerking but bear in mind I had a sleepless night with my sick child, plus I'm a sucker for a bit of pathos anyway.
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| poorly Grumpy |
The rest of my family has just come home from school and started the film again - and on the 7th time of watching I'm still captivated. Even my daughter who saw the film at the cinema has enjoyed seeing it again on the small screen - plus now she has the added treat of watching the special features which come as a bonus on the DVD/Blu-ray yet. I'm not going to tell you anything about those- you'll just have to buy a copy and discover them yourself!
The final world comes from the sick boy by who said:"The punch monkeys are my favourite animals in it and I like Guy and Belt but I loved all of it. It stops me feeling poorly when I watch it."
Well you can't get a better recommendation than that can you?
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of The Croods on DVD from the nice people at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Views and opinions of madmumof7 and my family of reviewers, ill and healthy, remain unbiased!