Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film Early Man. The Emil M. Larson Public Library will be showing Early Man as part of their Summer Reading Program Movie Lineup on July 3 at 2:00 p.m. Go and enjoy!
Early Man
Early Man is a 2018 stop motion animated sports comedy film directed by Nick Park and written by Park, Mark Burton and James Higginson. It was produced by Aardman Animations and stars the voices of Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams and Timothy Spall. The film follows a tribe of primitive Stone Age valley dwellers who have to defend their land from bronze-equipped invaders in a football match.
Early Man premiered on January 20, 2018 at the BFI Southbank cinema and was released theatrically on January 26, 2018. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the visuals and humor, although it was considered inferior to previous Aardman works. The film was also less successful financially compared to previous Aardman offerings, grossing just $54 million against a budget of $50 million. The film was also the last Aardman film to be released theatrically in the United States, until Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom on September 18, 2026, as Netflix acquired streaming rights to further Aardman films in late 2019.
Plot: A plucky cave man named Dug, his sidekick Hognob and the rest of their tribe face a grave threat to their simply existence. Lord Nooth plans to take over their land and transform it into a giant mine, forcing Dug and his clan to dig for precious metals. Not ready to go down without a fight, Dug and Hognob must unite their people in an epic quest to defeat a might enemy—the Bronze Age.
(Voice) Acting: Eddie Redmayne voiced Dug, a young Stone Age caveman. His four most notable titles currently are Les Misérables, The Theory of Everything, The Danish Girl and Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them. I don't have a favorite.
Maisie Williams voiced Goona, a tomboyish vendor and football enthusiast in the Bronze City whom Dug befriends. Her four most notable titles currently are The New Mutants, The Falling, The Book of Love and the Game of Thrones television series. I haven't watched her other work.
Timothy Spall voiced Chief Bobnar, the chieftain of Dug's tribe and his father figure. His four most notable titles currently include Mr. Turner, Secrets & Lies, The Damned United and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. My favorite is probably the Harry Potter franchise, though he's been in a lot of stuff.
Miriam Margolyes voiced Queen Oofeefa, the queen regnant of the Bronze Age City who Nooth works for. Her four most notable titles currently are The Age of Innocence, Balto, Romeo + Juliet and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Again, the Harry Potter film franchise is my favorite.
Kayvan Novak voiced Dino, Lord Nooth's second-in-command who also works voiced a referee for the football game. Novak also voices Jurgend, the team captain of the Bronze City's football team. His four most notable titles currently include Four Lions, Syriana and the televisions series Fonejacker and Facejacker. I don't have a favorite among his titles.
Minor roles were voiced by Rob Brydon as Brian and Bryan, two sports commentators in the Bronze Age City that work for Queen Oofeefa, and a Message Bird, a pigeon who carries messages by mimicking human speech, and Gonad "Gaul", a member of the Bronze City's football team; Richard Ayoade as Treebor, a large and cowardly caveman and member of Dug's tribe who is constantly embarrassed by his mother; Selina Griffiths as Magma, a cavewoman and member of Dug's tribe who is the overbearing mother of Treebor; Johnny Vegas as Asbo, a fidgety caveman and member of Dug's tribe who often says "Champion"; Mark Williams as Barry, a caveman and member of Dug's tribe who isn't bright and has a rock friend named Mr. Rock; Gina Yashere as Gravelle, an injury-prone cavewoman and member of Dug's tribe; Richard Webber as Grubup, a hungry caveman and member of Dug's tribe who will eat anything; Simon Greenall as Eemak, a warm and funny caveman and member of Dug's tribe who the other tribe has trouble understanding; Greenall also voices Thongo, a strong and silent cavemen who mostly responds with a grunt; Nick Park as Hognob, Dug's pet wild boar; and Antony Bayman, Time Hands, Adrian Rhodes, Victoria Stevens, Luke Walton and Ben Whitehead as additional voices.
Background information: In June 2007, two films were announced by Aardman, one of them being appropriately joked as an "untitled Nick Park film, which is not another Wallace & Gromit feature film." In May 2015, it was announced that the title of the film would be Early Man, and it would be financed by the British Film Institute for $50 million.
As with previous stop motion films created by Aardman, the characters in Early Man were developed over time with the voice actors to determine the way the characters look, move and speak. The results were turned over the the film's 35 animators at the studio to work on individualizing the characters. A crowd of people took part in an audio recording at the memorial stadium, home to Bristol Rovers.
The studio began principal photography on the film in May 2016 and wrapped on October 5, 2017.
On September 21, 2017, a competition was launched on the CBBC television programme Blue Peter to design a prehistoric character inspired by Early Man, with the winner receiving the opportunity to see their character brought to life by Aardman, as well as receiving tickets to the premiere alongside the runners up. It closed on October 12, 2017, and the winner was announced in January 2018.
Early Man was released in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2018 by StudioCanal. StudioCanal also distributed the film in France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. In the United States, it was released on February 16, 2018 by Lionsgate, through its Summit Entertainment label. In Canada, it was released by eOne Films on the same day.
Early Man grossed only $8.2 million in North America and $46.3 million in other territories (including $15.8 million in the United Kingdom) for a worldwide gross of $54.6 million, against its budget or $50 million.
Final Thoughts: Early Man is a fine film, but not Aardman company's best, nor my favorite. I prefer the Wallace & Gromit show(s) and movies and Chicken Run. However, I've never been the biggest fan of sports, so this movie doesn't speak to me in that sense. To the movie's credit, it is very funny, perfect for kids.
My favorite scene was the instant replay preformed by the puppets.
My favorite quote is "Sliced bread? That's the best thing since... well, ever!" —villager.
Rated: G
Where to watch it: According to Google, Early Man is available to watch for free on YouTube, Tubi and the CW. You can also watch it with a subscription on Amazon Prime (limited time), VIX, and YouTubeTV. Or you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars.
The Emil M. Larson Public Library will be showing Early Man as part of their Summer Reading Program Movie Lineup on July 3 at 2:00 p.m. Go and enjoy!
