Aardman Animation is, without question, one of the finest animation houses in the business. The stop-motion specialists that brought us “Wallace & Gromit,” “Chicken Run,” “Arthur Christmas,” “Shaun the Sheep Movie” and several other cheeky delights, craft lovely, inventive, heartfelt and hilarious movies. The passion, expertise, and precision bleeding into each frame is remarkable in its impeccable style and thoroughness. There has long been a remarkable consistency to the brand, and that’s why it’s a little disappointing that “Early Man” is underwhelming by their usual standards. Directed by longtime Aardman anchor Nick Park, from a screenplay by Mark Burton (“Shaun the Sheep Movie”) and James Higginson, “Early Man” is more amusing than uproarious, providing a fair share of chuckles but only a handful of real belly laughs.
The core concept is pure Aardman. “Early Man” is, as expected, a story about cavemen and early civilization, but it’s also an extended look at the birth of soccer, as told in Aardman’s signature, typically spunky, rambunctious style. Our Stone Age protagonist is Dug (Eddie Redmayne), an adventurous, if a bit clumsy and overzealous, caveman with bigger ambitions for his brethren. Led by Chief Bobnar (Timothy Spall), his small tribe lives meagerly in the valley hunting rabbits. But Dug doesn’t want to hunt rabbits; he wants to hunt mammoths. But nobody else in his crew has the same aspirations, content with their simple, undemanding life. But they’re forced to take action when their humble home is invaded by the snarling, pompous Lord Nooth (voiced with snooty delight by Tom Hiddleston), who drives these prehistoric personalities away from their land.
With villainous glee, Lord North announces the end of the Stone Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age. But Dug won’t let his tribe stand down without a fight. When Dug sneaks into the Bronze Age city and discovers their obsessive love of soccer, he promptly challenges them to a match that will settle the score. The tribe has a shot at reclaiming their land, but there’s a problem: they’ve never played soccer. However, with the help of Goona (Maisie Williams), one of Lord Nooth’s subjects, these Stone Age savages might just have a chance at beating these Bronze Age snobs at their own game — literally.
The rich, cozy prehistoric environment is a gorgeous one for Aardman. The textures, the designs, the backdrops, the vast array of trees and wildlife, the vivid attention to detail — all these components are terrifically rendered, frame-by-frame, by the animation team. The problem, however, is that this lush location is rarely seen throughout the movie. Once the plot gets rolling, there’s hardly any time spent among these green, vibrant plains. The land of Bronze is vast and incredible in its creation, as is the soccer field and the volcanic wasteland which services the grand majority of this film. But there’s something undeniably inviting and magical in that early domain and it’s a shame that it gets abandoned so quickly in service of the story.
Nevertheless, “Early Man” is certainly not without its charms. The cracking wit and jubilant spirit found in nearly every Aardman Animation product is buoyantly found here. Even if the comedy itself is rather hit-and-miss, and the plot perhaps much too simplistic and routine for its own good, there are so many winning moments found throughout that it’s hard to walk away without anything to celebrate. The voice acting is also terrific, particularly from an inspired Hiddleston, who sounds like he’s having an absolute ball in his villainous role.
Yet, as beautiful as the picture is, the pleasures of “Early Man” are fleeting. Aardman’s own high bar isn’t quite reached this time around, and it might be best to temper your expectations. An average Aardman effort is still better than most of what passes for family entertainment, and “Early Man” does win you over, but perhaps just not as much as it should’ve. [B-]