The Croods: A New Age Christian Movie Review (2020)

Guidance: Talk Together

This animated sequel stays light and funny, but it includes repeated peril, teen romance, rude humor, and a few worldview ideas families may want to talk through. Its strongest discussion points are family loyalty, leaving home, and a casual evolutionary frame that can sit awkwardly beside a Christian understanding of human origins and identity.

Why This Guidance Level

The Croods: A New Age is broadly in the family-adventure range, but it is not content-free. Younger viewers may notice the opening loss scene, repeated chase-and-attack danger, and some rude humor, while older children may pick up the film’s stronger message about romance, independence from family, and its evolutionary framing. For many Christian families, the bigger issue is less the surface content and more the chance to discuss what makes a family strong, what growing up should look like, and how Christian hope in Christ differs from a vague search for “Tomorrow.”

Faith & Worldview Perspective

The film warmly affirms courage, loyalty, and sacrificial care for family, and those are real goods. At the same time, it frames humanity in evolutionary terms and treats personal fulfillment and couple-centered independence as a major step forward. That may conflict with a biblical view because Scripture grounds human worth in being made by God, not in being further up an evolutionary ladder, and it places hope ultimately in Jesus Christ rather than in a self-defined “Tomorrow.” Parents may want to discuss how leaving home can be healthy without treating family bonds or God-given authority as obstacles.

Truths Reflected

• Family members should protect and care for one another.
• Courage and teamwork help people endure hardship.

Tensions to Discuss

• The evolutionary framing can conflict with the Christian belief that people are created by God with dignity and purpose.
• The story leans toward finding hope and identity in romantic partnership and personal freedom rather than in God’s design and hope in Christ.

Content & Discernment Markers

Occult & Spiritual Content

• Occult material does not stand out here. The main spiritual tension is worldview-based rather than magical: the story’s language about finding “Tomorrow” functions more like a hopeful life motto than a religious practice. Parents may want to discuss where true hope is found in Jesus Christ.

Sexuality & Relationships

• A central thread is Eep and Guy’s young romance. Eep describes having “butterflies in my stomach,” draws heart shapes, and the two talk privately about a future home “just the two of us.” Grug later complains about “whispers and kisses,” showing that romance is a clear part of the story even though it stays mild by family-film standards. Parents may want to discuss the difference between affection, maturity, and God’s timing for relationships.

Identity Themes

• The film contrasts the Croods and the Bettermans in a way tied to being more “advanced,” using an evolutionary frame for human identity and progress. That may conflict with a biblical view because it shifts human value toward development and sophistication rather than being made in God’s image. A Christian parent may want to discuss why every person has dignity before God.

Violence & Intensity

• The opening includes a sad and tense moment in which Guy’s parents are trapped in rising tar and tell him to run toward the light. The scene implies death and may land heavily for sensitive children.
• Much of the action is slapstick adventure peril: animal chases, near misses, shouting during danger, and lines like “Nothing has tried to kill us in the last ten minutes, so let’s camp here.” The tone is comic, but the threats are frequent.
• There are also moments of rough family banter during action, including “Go for the groin,” played for laughs in sibling conflict. Parents may want to discuss the difference between comic exaggeration and wise, self-controlled behavior.

Language & Humour

• Language is mostly mild and comic. Insults and put-downs include words like “useless,” and there is a partial outburst, “I’m gonna chill your a…” that gets cut off. The film also uses rude humor around body parts and smells, including “Go for the groin” and “you only smell the feet you wanna smell.”
• There is also a mild exclamation, “What the heck is that?” used in surprise. The humor stays in the family-animation lane, but parents with younger children may still notice the tone.

Other Content Notes

• The story repeatedly emphasizes “The pack stays together,” which reflects loyalty and belonging, but it also creates tension when a father resists the idea of his daughter growing up. This can open a useful conversation about loving protection versus fearful control.

Notable Moments

• Tar pit farewell: Guy’s parents urge him to flee as rising tar traps them, setting a sad backstory and a theme of searching for hope.

  “Son, the tar is rising. You’ve got to go.”

• Romantic future talk: Eep and Guy imagine a private future together apart from the rest of the family.

  “Maybe our Tomorrow is a place of our own, you know? Like a home. Just the two of us.”

• Family motto: Grug’s repeated line captures the film’s strongest family theme and its central tension.

  “The pack stays together.”

• Rude humor line: A joke about privacy turns into a smell-and-feet gag that younger viewers may repeat.

  “It means you only smell the feet you wanna smell.”

Discussion Prompts

• Hope and “Tomorrow”: The movie talks a lot about finding “Tomorrow.” What do you think people in real life put their hope in, and how is Christian hope different?
  • Biblical guidance: Scripture points us to a living hope grounded in God’s promises and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, not just in a better place or future we imagine for ourselves.
  • Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3, Romans 15:13
• Family loyalty and growing up: When does family protection become controlling, and what does healthy growing up look like?
  • Biblical guidance: The Bible honors family bonds and also recognizes that maturity brings new responsibilities. Love should not be driven by fear.
  • Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4, Genesis 2:24, 1 John 4:18
• Human worth and origins: The story treats some people as more advanced than others. What gives a person value according to God?
  • Biblical guidance: Christians believe every person has dignity because God made us in His image, not because someone seems smarter, stronger, or more evolved.
  • Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27, Psalm 8:3-5
• Romance and wisdom: How can strong feelings be real without being the best guide for every decision?
  • Biblical guidance: Feelings matter, but wisdom, self-control, and God’s design for love and commitment matter too.
  • Scripture: Proverbs 4:23, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Galatians 5:22-23