Early Man
review by Bobby Blakey
Aardman Studios continues to deliver some of the best animated features around including Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run and The Pirates: Bands of Misfits. Now they are taking on the prehistoric age with their latest film Early Man featuring the voice talents of Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams and Timothy Spall with director Nick Park at the helm, but does it offer up the expected laughs or should it have stayed in the dark ages?
Early Man follows the dawn of time, when dinosaurs and wooly mammoths roamed the earth and tells the story of how one plucky caveman unites his tribe against a mighty enemy and saves the day! I love all things Aardman and to date they have never let me down and Early Man is no different. The film kicks off with some big laughs and lets you know that you are in for a fun ride. I have loved every trailer for this film, but there ended up being so much more to the story than I expected. All the characters in the film are hilarious and memorable creating yet another fun entry into the world of Aardman. Each of them bring their own something special to this fun feature that is part sports flick and part prehistoric silliness.
As expected Aardman has offered up some brilliant animation and designs. They have created an entire world that might be the most epic look and feel to date. Their constant attention to detail always amazes and here is no exception. There are some really cool vibrant visuals that play up as a character all its own, but when you add the awesome characters to the mix then you have a brilliant piece of animated fun. All of the voice work is spot on creating personas that you can't help but love and remember. They have made sure to make some memorable voices that matched up with the looks of the characters all around.
In addition to the great animation and laughs there is some great music that will keep the smile going right until the end of the credits. If you are a fan of the Aardman films or just fun animated features then this is a must see film that I hopes gets the love it deserves.
In addition to the film this release offers up numerous bonus features including featurettes that take you behind the pain staking work it takes to bring these kinds of films to life. Return to the age of dinosaurs with Early Man available now on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.