Early Man Review: A charming if slight treat

Fans of any form of animated film probably owe a thing or two to Aardman Studios and Nick Park. The British studio and writer/director are arguably responsible for bringing the joy and craftsmanship of stop-motion animation to the masses thanks to TV shorts like Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. When computer-generated animation became the new norm, Aardman was a reminder of how real animation could be when made by someone like Park instead of a keyboard. And it’s hard to imagine movies like Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox having an idea of what to be without Park’s bumbling bald Brit and his trusty canine being out in the world first. And in the spirit of being there first, Park and Aardman reunite to use the story of the first men to walk the Earth to tell the story of…..soccer?

Yes Early Man takes place a few ages after the big meteor hit the planet to knock off the dinosaurs. The human race is in its caveman days, with the likes of ambitious young Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his tribe hunting for rabbits and living life in the forest. Then an imposing legion of bronze warriors led by the pompous Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) tears into the tribe’s home and forces them out to mine for more bronze. Dug finds his way back to the warriors’ advanced civilization that treats the game of soccer (or futbol, since this is a British production) akin to the gladiator games of the forthcoming Roman times. Dug challenges Lord Nooth to pit his best players against his tribe in a game with his home village on the line. With the help of futbol enthusiast Goona (Maisie Williams), Dug and the gang train to win back their home.

Early Man is an unquestionably British production. The voices of celebrated British talent, including Richard Ayodae, Timothy Spall, Mark Williams and Miriam Margolyes proudly flex their cockney accents throughout the movie. Not only is the main focus of the movie inexplicably set on futbol (not soccer, you Yanks), but also on a mix of classic slapstick and oddball visual imagery a la Monty Python. Aside from the sparse but distracting potty humor, most of the comedy in Early Man sticks the landing. Not exactly outbursts of laughter, but more distinguished chuckles at visual gags or comic timing. The hit-miss ratio of the comedy is split down the middle, but the 89-minute runtime still manages to fly by with little fuss. Like all Aardman productions, the best thing about Early Man is the flawless claymation by Park and his team. It’s impressive to see the camera pan back to note the real three-dimensional sets and how the movement of the clay characters stays fluid. That scale has its limitations though, shown in a few minor hiccups during the climactic futbol match.

Still, Early Man is easy to roll with partially thanks to the investment of the voice cast. Redmayne somehow manages to get his trademark twee up even more with a higher vocal delivery that certainly fits the goofy cartoon nature of the movie. It’s amazing how his squeaky enthusiasm doesn’t get annoying in the slightest, charming to the point of being more likable than his actual voice. The ace is Hiddleston with his ridiculously over-the-top French accent that would make Inspector Clouseau chuckle. With all of his focused accentuation of nearly every line of dialogue he has, the only crime is that we don’t get to see him use every single bone in his body to physically emphasize every action he makes. It’s the best Michael Palin tribute ever done.

2018 is now two for two in British family films (sans Peter Rabbit, but you’ve already forgotten about Peter Rabbit haven’t you?). While it doesn’t have the ode to classic cinema and fully-committed sentimentality of Paddington 2, Early Man gets by on its unique animation style and English twee. It is one of the lower-tier Aardman productions in terms of the writing and comedy, but it’s leaps and bounds above a lot of last year’s run of animated movies. Like all Aardman offerings, it’s a reminder of the possibility and joy when the human touch is applied to the craft of animation. Even if it’s for something as preposterous as a prehistoric soccer game, Aardman will try to make all move smoothly.