Where the Bronze Age and Stone Age meet, Early Man follows a loveable man, Dug, and his tribe as they try to continue the values that have kept them alive... so far!
Dug must unite his tribe and overcome the many challenges facing them to ensure their way of life can endure - in a hilarious way.
Brought to you from Director Nick Park (The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run), Early Man is set at the dawn of time. In a very comical way, the first scene shows dinosaur and man living side by side when a meteor crashes into the earth. Dinosaur is wiped off the planet and mankind and the beautiful game of football is created.
Following Dug (voice of Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and his Stone Age tribe, they set out to reclaim their valley from Bronze Age interlopers led by Lord Nooth (voice of Tom Hiddleston, Avengers Assemble, Thor Ragnarok) seeking to mine their land for ore.
Rather than a bloody battle for the valley which may not be suitable for younger audiences, in good taste, the Stone Age tribe must beat the Bronze Age invaders in a game of football!
Having forgotten their hidden footballing past, Dug acquires the aide of a Bronze Age girl, Goona (Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones TV Series, Doctor Who TV Series), whom just wants to play on the football ground yet isn’t allowed by her people as she is a girl. Through a Rocky like montage, Goona helps Dug and his tribe train for the big game.
As you would expect from Director Nick Park, there is a Wallace and Gromit feel to the delight of fans of the franchise. Dug’s faithful pet hog Hognob (voice of Park) seems to have the same relationship as Wallace did with Gromit, Hognob helping his master behind the scenes to rectify mistakes and shortcomings.
Other voices in this fantastic cast include Timothy Spall (Harry Potter Franchise, Mr. Turner), Rob Brydon (A Cock and Bull Story, Marion & Geoff), Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter Franchise, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers), Johnny Vegas (Bleak House, Blackball) and Mark Williams (Harry Potter Franchise, Father Brown TV Series).
Humour feels very British with Lord Nooth sounding like one of the Frenchmen from Monty Python and the Holy Grail declaring “Ze age of stone is over!” and “Long live ze age of bronze!”. I was half expecting a Trojan horse, or wooden rabbit, to be sent in!
Huge attention to detail of characters and set are paid and the entire film oozes fun, making the experience a joy to watch for the whole family.
