Stone Age fun

For years, U.K. animation studio Aardman has built a reputation for quirky, Claymation shows and films like Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run. Their latest children’s movie, Early Man, carries on that tradition, but loses a bit of the daffy, characteristically British humor that gained their other films a loyal following.

Dug (voiced by Eddie Redmayne) is an average Stone Age Neanderthal living an average Neanderthal life, but dreams of more. Unfortunately, his chief thinks Dug’s ambition to hunt mammoths is too risky and insists their tribe continue subsisting on rabbits. Until, that is, some Bronze Age bullies, led by the French-sounding Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston), invade their idyllic territory with plans to turn it into a copper mine. Dug’s only chance to win back the caveman valley is to beat the Beaker people in their sacred game, otherwise known as soccer, in a match for the ages.

While Early Man scores lower in the wit department than some other Aardman films, the story is still plenty funny and boasts a sweetness that makes up for fewer jokes. There’s little in this PG film to cause parents concern, besides the classic walking-in-on-someone-in-the-shower routine.

Christians who take Genesis 1 literally will appreciate how little evolution crops up in the movie. In fact, two quick, subtle exchanges suggest a respect for religious faith.

Early on, before they head out hunting, the cavemen gather for a prayer of thanks for the green bounty they share with so many beautiful creatures. This is followed by a punch line where they ask for a blessing on their plan to kill and eat some of them. It’s a funny moment, and while no specific deity is mentioned, it provides an opportunity to explain to kids that humankind has always had a concept of God and giving thanks to Him.

Likewise, a ruler later describes soccer as a gift from heaven. It’s a nice little grace-note for believing parents in a genre that offers too few of them.